About

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Statistics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (expected May 2026) with experience in consulting, teaching, and applied analytics. I focus on translating complex research questions into rigorous analysis and clear, decision-ready communication.

Education

  • University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Lincoln, NE)
    Ph.D. in Statistics, expected May 2026
  • University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Lincoln, NE)
    M.S. in Statistics, 2021-2023
  • Winona State University (Winona, MN)
    B.S. in Mathematics and Statistics, Minor in Data Science, 2018-2021

Experience

University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Lincoln, NE)

Statistical Consultant | June 2023-Present

  • Assisted 70+ clients across all stages of research, including experimental design, statistical analysis, and interpretation.
  • Authored and reviewed technical reports to align results with applied research questions.
  • Co-developed and presented workshops and instructional resources in R, including data visualization and two-way ANOVA.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Lincoln, NE)

Graduate Teaching Assistant | August 2021-May 2023

  • Served as instructor of record for undergraduate and graduate statistics courses.
  • Designed syllabi and lesson plans, assessed learning outcomes, and supported student success through office hours.
  • Led graduate lab instruction in statistical methods and research design.

Fastenal (Winona, MN)

IT Data Support Analyst | June 2020-August 2021

  • Responded to internal reporting requests and data questions from business stakeholders.
  • Investigated source-code and reporting discrepancies using Oracle SQL.

Technical Skills

  • Programming and Tools: R, Shiny, Quarto, SAS, SQL, Git/GitHub, Python
  • Additional Tools: LaTeX, Tableau, HTML, CSS
  • Statistical Strengths: Experimental design, Frequentist and Bayesian modeling, statistical learning, data visualization, forecasting, data cleaning, web scraping

Honors and Awards

  • Statistics Graduate Student Fellowship (University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2025)
  • David H. and Annie E. Larrick Graduate Student Travel Award (University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023)
  • Othmer Fellowship (University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2021)

Courses Taught

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

STAT 218: Introduction to Statistics | Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Summer 2022

  • Instructor of record
  • The practical application of statistical thinking to contemporary issues; collection and organization of data; probability distributions; statistical inference; estimation; and hypothesis testing.

STAT 380: Statistics and Applications | Spring 2023

  • Instructor of record
  • Probability calculus; random variables, their probability distributions and expected values; t, F and chi-square sampling distributions; estimation; testing of hypothesis; and regression analysis with applications.

STAT 801A: Statistical Methods in Research (Non Calculus) | Fall 2022

  • Lab instructor
  • Statistical concepts and statistical methodology useful in descriptive, experimental, and analytical study of biological and other natural phenomena. Practical application of statistics rather than on statistical theory.

STAT 811T: Statistics for Middle-Level Teachers | Summer 2022

  • Co-instructor
  • Designed primarily to develop and equip middle-level teachers with the statistical knowledge they need for teaching. The course follows an inquiry/discovery design, dedicating much of class time to activities, discussion and group work. The course emphasizes topics in statistics that are part of the middle-school mathematics curriculum, as well as their application in other disciplines. The course also includes statistics that are used in education and school-based research.

Workshops

SC3L Workshops, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Spring 2025)

  • Developed and taught one-hour workshops for students and faculty.
  • Topics included Data Visualization with R and Design of Experiments with R.

R Workshops, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Spring 2022, Spring 2023)

  • Co-taught multi-day workshops for students and faculty.
  • Topics included Introduction to R, Graphics with ggplot2, Data Wrangling, and Statistical Modeling with R.

Service

  • Iowa State University Graphics Group - Seminar Coordinator (Spring 2025)
  • Department Search Committee - Student Representative (Spring 2024)
  • Statistics Graduate Student Association - President (2022-2023)

Publications

  • Vanderplas, S., Blankenship, E., and Wiederich, T. (2024). Escaping Flatland: Graphics, Dimensionality, and Human Perception. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 140-156. Springer Nature Switzerland.
  • Wiederich, T., and VanderPlas, S. (2024). Evaluating Perceptual Judgements on 3D Printed Bar Charts. Journal of Data Science, 22(2), 176-190. doi:10.6339/24-JDS1131