About Beth Cooley
I am a Mathematics student at Durham University, and I am passionate about maths, music and the environment. My summer 1 research project was titled "Listening to mangroves: Using Autonomous Recording Units and Machine Learning tools to assess avian biodiversity in the mangroves of coastal Suriname", where I developed skills in Data Science, R (statistical programming language), and academic writing, and provided new information on the ecology of these critical ecosystems.
I have graduated from the Arete fellowship in Effective Altruism, where I considered how my career can have the most positive impact on society (and concluded by using my maths skills in environmental research). Other current research interests include analysing the maths behind stochastic and serialist music, and ways to increase women's participation in maths higher education. I care strongly about equality and diversity, and am the first year representative on the EDI committee for maths at Durham.
I am also a woodwind player (clarinet, saxophones, flute) and play music in a range of styles from orchestral to jazz to musical theatre. In my role as Treasurer of Durham Student Music, I support and advise the treasurers of our 40 groups, and facilitate collaborative projects and charity fundraising. I want to make sure that finances is never a barrier to participation in music, through central fundraising and running a series of grants for individuals and societies.