Feature Friday: Christian Schoeberl

In his current role at CSET, Christian Schoeberl 's work spans a range of crucial areas. He specializes in cleaning and enhancing datasets, developing machine learning systems to support data-driven decision-making, and conducting rigorous statistical analysis to inform policy discussions. His fluency in both international and domestic policy matters, combined with his technical prowess, makes him a valuable asset in CSET's research efforts.

Christian's most recent contribution, a data brief titled "Spurring Science: Examining U.S. Government Grant Activity in AI," co-authored with CSET's Hanna Dohmen, exemplifies the depth and impact of his work. This insightful analysis sheds light on how U.S. government agencies are leveraging grants to drive innovation in artificial intelligence research, with important implications for policymakers and stakeholders.

We appreciate Christian's valuable contributions and the significant role his work plays in informing our understanding of the intersection between technology, data, and public policy. We're excited to hear more about his insights and experiences. Over to you, Christian!

What do you like most about CSET?

CSET has been a fantastic place to learn about a variety of technical and policy projects. We are constantly looking to improve our internal operations, which presents many opportunities for novel solutions or efficiency improvements across our quantitative tools. Once that side of your brain needs a break, you can spend your lunch brainstorming a new research project or hearing from a subject-matter expert on a specific policy topic. CSET offers so many resources and has so many cool people that you can learn something new every day.

What inspired you to pursue your current career path?

My current career path is one that merges quantitative skill with collaboration and teamwork. I first got into "computer programming" when I was kid. My local library offered a robotics course, which was my first introduction to how the digital components of my life actually worked. My love of teamwork and collaboration stemmed from a lifetime of rugby, in which the individual is only as successful as the team. While I'm not the person going to briefings or fielding media requests here at CSET, I provide my coworkers who are engaging externally with the quantitative findings they need to be successful. Playing that support role allows me to contribute to the organization's work, while letting my coworkers focus on what they do best.

What has been your most rewarding project at CSET and why?

I take pride in the article classification system CSET has developed, because it was a long-term and rigorous undertaking that required a lot of collaboration. It was the first time I was able to have a key role in the full production process for a major tool, which included meeting with the analysts who would be the ultimate end users, finding the weaknesses of the first version of the classifier, and leveraging state-of-the-art tools during development. This classification system is one of our most widely-used tools, and is available in a variety of ETO tools - which made the project all the more nerve-wracking!

Outside of work, what are your passions or hobbies?

Outside of work, I spend a great deal of time with my dog, Potato. Him and I are often exploring the streets of DC, walking on the Mall, and finding the best dog treats. I also play touch rugby here in DC as often as I can, which has been a great way of meeting people, and try to see as much live music as possible here in the District.

What is your favorite book or podcast, and why?

One of my favorite books is "Dark Matter" by Black Crouch. It was recently adapted to television on AppleTV - go check it out!