Seth Billiau

Welcome to Seth's Personal Website

Seth Billiau

Hi, I'm Seth!

I graduated with honors from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in Statistics and a minor in Government. Raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, I gained experience as a political organizer, campaign manager, and legislative aide, leveraging data to support criminal justice reform legislation in the Michigan House of Representatives and to win important local elections during the competitive 2016, 2018, and 2020 election cycles. In July 2021, I moved to Washington DC and joined Booz Allen Hamilton, bringing my passion, technical know-how, and strong communication skills to new challenges in the federal and commercial spaces. Now, I work as a quantum physicist and lead scientist, building Booz Allen's quantum and AI businesses.

More Projects

My full portfolio of data science and data visualization projects

PCR Classification

PCR Classification Using Gene Expression

Creating ANNs, Random Forests, and XGBoost techniques to predict pathological complete response (pCR) from gene expression.

Python R
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Permutation Feature Importance

From Scratch: Permutation Feature Importance for ML Interpretability

Use permutation feature importance to discover which features in your dataset are useful for prediction. Published in Towards Data Science.

Python
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Ivy League Basketball

Visualizing Ivy League Basketball

R Shiny app on 2020 Ivy League Men's Basketball statistics with interactive visualizations for easy comparison.

R
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Mental Health in Tech

Mental Health in the Tech Industry

Visualizing the culture surrounding mental health in the tech industry with D3.js.

D3.js HTML CSS Javascript
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Spotify Cold Start

Exploring the Cold Start Problem via Spotify

Using content-based filtering and k-Means clustering to generate Spotify playlists from a "cold start."

Python
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Population Genetics

Population Genetics

R Shiny app exploring population genetics through a series of interactive simulations.

R
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Three Point Shots

3 Point Shooting Trends in the NCAA

Analyzing Trends in the NCAA 3 Point Shooting from 2003 to 2019 using Hierarchical linear modeling.

R
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Harvard Club Finances

Funding Disparities in Harvard Club Finances

Funding disparities and accountability issues in the Harvard Undergraduate Council Finance Committee grant process.

Python
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World Pool Masters

2021 World Pool Masters Predictions

Using Elo and FargoRate systems to simulate & predict the 2021 World Pool Masters tournament. Medium article with an R Shiny companion app.

Python R
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RTex with Overleaf

RTex with Overleaf: A Beautiful Alternative to R Markdown

A Medium article with everything you need to know about RTex files, how to make them, and how RTex compares with R Markdown.

R LaTeX
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Experience

Background & Expertise

Experience

Quantum Physicist, Engineer, Booz Allen Hamilton

July 2021 - Present

Hired as a member of the Strategic Innovation Group (SIG) to develop algorithms, write scripts, use automation, and find answers to help clients make important decisions.

Legislative Aide, Michigan House of Representatives

April 2020 - September 2020

Lobbied state lawmakers in favor of restorative justice legislation including reforms to expungement of public criminal records, drug sentencing guidelines, and cash bail. Solved problems during the COVID-19 crisis by connecting constituents to services like the Michigan eviction diversion and food assistance programs.

Teaching Fellow/Course Assistant, Harvard University

September 2018 - May 2021

Instructed undergraduate and graduate students in a variety of quantitative topics from linear algebra and real analysis to Markov Chains and statistical inference. Recipient of the Derek Bok Center Certificate of Distinction and Excellence in Teaching in Fall 2018 and Spring 2019.

Courses: Linear Algebra and Real Analysis I, Mathematics for Computation and Data Science, Intro to Probability, Intro to Statistical Inference

Summer Campaigns Fellow, Michigan House Democratic Fund

May 2018 - August 2018

Coordinated campaign operations for State House and County Commission campaigns in Western Michigan. Raised over $40,000 in 3 months. Kept 2 State House seats and flipped 2 County Commission seats.

Director of Communications/Campaigns Director, One Michigan Alliance

March 2017 - September 2017

Liaised with candidates to impact policy and help progressives win elections in West Michigan. Communicated with media to publicize events and wrote press releases and notifications.

District Staff, Michigan State Representative David LaGrand

March 2017 - September 2017

Overhauled the representative's contact database and fundraising infrastructure using R and NGPVAN. Raised over $26,000 in 3 months. Supervised a research team to further the Representative's legislative goals.

Campaign Manager, Phil Skaggs for County Commission

August 2016 - November 2016

Managed all campaign staff and volunteers while organizing daily canvassing events. Served as the candidate's primary advisor on strategy and tactics using data analytics to target voters. Raised over $33,000 in 3 months and filed appropriate campaign finance reports. Won election by 1,057 votes over a three-term incumbent.

Lead Intern, Hillary for America – West Michigan

February 2016 - May 2016

Responsible for managing and running phone banks. Main point of contact for volunteers. Organized events with notable guests including Chelsea Clinton.

Education

What I've Learned

Harvard University

August 2017 - May 2021

A.B. in Statistics (Data Science) with a secondary in Government with Honors. 2018 & 2020 John Harvard Scholar, Detur Book Prize recipient.

Study Abroad: University of Oxford

June 2019 - August 2019

Study Abroad coursework in evolutionary biology and population genetics at Queen's College. Created an R Shiny app to teach introductory population genetics with interactive simulations.

Grand Rapids Christian High School

September 2013 - May 2017

Valedictorian, National Merit Finalist, Congressional Medal of Merit Recipient, 2-time State Champion and National Quarterfinalist Public Speaker

Interests and Hobbies

Korean-American Adoptee

Korean-American Adoptee

I'm passionate about building multi-generational Korean-American adoptee communities (inclusive of adoptees, adoptive parents, non-adopted Koreans, and allies) to provide emotional and professional support, advocacy, and educational services for the Korean adoptee experience. I volunteer with ASIA Families and I'd love to chat about it!

Sports

Live Sports Fan

I'm a fan of all of the Michigan sports teams, but forced by proximity to support DC sports, too. Catch me at a baseball, basketball, or football game - or even a motorsports race!

Get in Touch

I'd love to hear from you! Whether you have a question, want to collaborate, or just say hello, feel free to reach out.

✉️ Email LinkedIn GitHub

616-443-3973