How Can Computer Science Support Wildlife Conservation?

This Women’s History Month, EESI is celebrating women’s contributions to environmental and climate action as well as amplifying their voices. This week, EESI sat down with Gracie Ermi, a computer scientist at Vulcan Inc., to discuss her work in wildlife conservation and how she is using her career to inspire the next generation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Vulcan Inc. was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen and his sister Jody Allen to oversee the family's businesses and philanthropic activities, which include improving ocean health, combating climate change, and supporting conservation.

Gracie Ermi

Q: Can you tell me about your work? What do you do?

Ermi: I am a computer scientist, and I build technology platforms that support wildlife research. I use machine learning to train computers to automatically do some of the most tedious tasks involved in wildlife research so that experts can focus more of their time on the important work that we need them to be doing. Usually, the tedious tasks involve processing thousands of pictures of an endangered species in order to learn important information about the population.

For instance, right now I’m working on training machine learning algorithms to automatically identify individual killer whales in drone images to enable faster assessment of the health of each animal. Saving time for the researchers so that they can put that information into action sooner is our ultimate goal. Our non-profit partners do incredible work, and we work closely with them so the technology we build supports and enhances their efforts.

Q: What motivated you to pursue this field of work?

Ermi: I actually didn’t learn what coding was until I got to college. I was never interested in technology growing up, and no one in my life worked in the tech industry, so I never even considered this career as an option for myself. When I got to college, I was encouraged to take a computer science class because I liked math. That first class opened my mind to all the ways technology could be used to help people and solve big problems, and I started to look at coding as the way that I would be able to contribute to causes I cared about. Now, I am doing just that through the conservation technology projects I get to work on at Vulcan Inc.

Q: What do you enjoy most about your work?

E: The best thing is that I feel like the code I’m writing is making a difference. I also love getting to work with wildlife researchers and learning more about the animals we are trying to protect. I feel a great deal of responsibility to make sure we take care of our planet for current and future generations, and my work is one of the ways I feel I am able to fulfill that responsibility.

Q: I noticed that you are an AAAS IF/THEN ambassador, can you tell me more about your work with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)?

E: Absolutely! Myself and 124 other women from a wide variety of STEM fields were selected as AAAS IF/THEN Ambassadors to serve as high-profile role models for the next generation of scientists and engineers. We’ve been given all sorts of opportunities to collaborate with each other and with youth-serving STEM organizations to create videos, engage on social media, visit classrooms, speak at events, and more. The goal is to share our STEM journeys and careers so that every kid has a chance to see themself represented in STEM so that they can picture themselves being successful here, too. Check out the IF/THEN Collection to learn more about the other ambassadors and the incredible ways they are changing the world with STEM.

Q: What attracted you to the ambassadorship?

E: I didn’t even know what coding was before college, and yet that’s what I do for a career now. If I hadn’t chosen the college that I did or hadn’t had certain professors along the way, I never would have known to consider computer science as an option for myself. Because of stereotypes, I thought that people who love to play video games and aren’t very social were the only types of people who worked in technology. Now, I know that’s not true, and I also know that computer science opens up a lot of doors to jobs that are fun and meaningful as well as financially freeing.

Not everyone will decide that they want to be a computer scientist, however, I very firmly believe that all kids deserve to know that this career is accessible to them if they do want it. I want young people to know that you don’t need to have had a lifelong passion for something to pursue it as a career. You don’t have to look a certain way or have certain interests to be successful here. You can be a whole person with wide-ranging interests and goals, and that does not count you out from being an amazing programmer.

Q: What advice would you give to young girls who are interested in pursuing a career in STEM?

E: I would tell them to stay true to themselves. Society likes to tell people that they should do things this way or that to succeed, and it can be exhausting to feel pressure to change yourself to fit a certain mold. But remember that you bring a perspective to the table that no one else brings. If you ever find yourself in a space where there aren’t very many other people who look like you, while that can be an extremely hard situation to be in, remember that that space needs to hear what you have to say. Your voice is important and your ideas are unique, and the world needs to hear from you exactly as you are.

Q: Do you have any future plans? What’s next for you?

E: I plan to keep working on cool projects at Vulcan! I am looking forward to figuring out how to expand some of our existing projects to help even more scientists. Plus, I’m always looking for new ways to bring science and technology to a wider audience of students, so if anyone has ideas for ways we can collaborate in that space or if you know a group of students who would like to hear more about how I apply technology to conservation, feel free to reach out! You can message me on Instagram at @gracieermi. And you can learn more about my work by following @VulcanInc on Twitter and Instagram!

Author: Sydney O'Shaughnessy