Adam J Campbell PhD

Data Science | Geospatial | Data Storytelling

I am a data professional with diverse experience spanning data analysis, data engineering, and academic research. I’m passionate about telling compelling stories with data and discovering novel datasets that reveal unexpected insights. My work focuses on developing automated workflows and exploring innovative approaches to data exploration and visualisation.

This website contains my writing on these topics, along with explorations of other subjects that capture my curiosity. From data visualisation techniques and statistical analysis to automation workflows and storytelling approaches, I share insights from my professional journey and ongoing learning. Please reach out if you’d like to know more about anything I discuss here or if you’re interested in collaborating on similar projects.

Interests

Data Visualisation
Storytelling
Statistics
Automation

Education

PhD in Earth and Space Science, 2015

University of Washington
MS in Geology, 2009

Portland State University
BS in Physics, 2003

Oregon State University

Experience

Data Engineer

Ministry for the Environment

Apr 2023 – Present (remote)

Built a scalable data ingestion and processing system leveraging cloud technologies (AWS S3, Lambda, Snowflake, dbt-core) and an ELT framework, transforming ad-hoc manual updates into an automated, continuously-updated system. Implemented robust data quality checks and monitoring systems across the pipeline to ensure accuracy and integrity. This resulted in improved data efficiency, scalability, and reliability, enabling faster and more informed decision-making across the organization.

Kaitātari Matua | Seniror Data Analyst

Ministry for the Environment

Apr 2022 – Apr 2023 (remote)

Delivered a critical public data product by aggregating, cleaning, and integrating datasets from 76 local councils into a unified, scalable system. Designed and deployed interactive dashboards to visualize complex data insights, enabling public accessibility and supporting data-driven decision-making for stakeholders.

Kaitātari | Data Analyst

Ministry for the Environment

Mar 2021 – Apr 2022 (remote)

Responsibilities include:

R/Shiny app development and deployment
Statistical analysis

Geospatial Analyst

Dunedin City Council

Aug 2018 – Mar 2021 Dunedin, New Zealand

Responsibilities included:

Geospatial product development
Designing machine learning tools
Data visualisation

Postdoctoral Researcher

University of Otago, School of Surveying

Sep 2015 – Aug 2018 Dunedin, New Zealand

Developed a new multivariate statistical analysis method for interpreting present-day changes to Antarctica’s ice shelves. This method combined computational models with geospatial-time series data to create statistical fingerprints for ice shelf events, which correctly identified the timing and magnitude of past known events. Model used to forecast next 300 years of ice shelf evolution.

Postdoctoral/Graduate Researcher

University of Washington, Department of Earth and Space Science

Sep 2009 – Sep 2015 Seattle, Washington, USA

Developed computational models and analysed data using a variety of statistical approaches on 4 major projects, responsible of managing research databases.