J.C. Salevan, PhD

J.C. Salevan joined the Office of Institutional Research (OIR) as a research data analyst in August 2017. Though they work on topics that touch many parts of the university, their primary focus is on faculty and staff data. That analysis runs the gamut from reporting on university demographics - for instance, they maintain the university's Faculty Demographics statistics - to supporting committees working on diversity and equity. In 2020, they joined a university-wide effort to support COVID-19 data and testing, building the dashboard and visualizations on Yale's COVID-19 Statistics page which they continue to maintain.

J.C.'s background is in physics and mechanical engineering; before coming to OIR, they completed their PhD in Yale's School of Engineering and Applied Science. During their thesis, they studied experimental fluid dynamics and granular physics with Nicholas Ouellette and Corey O'Hern, specifically examining the effects of turbulent fluid flows on sediment transport in eroding riverbed systems. This work studying disordered systems was actually good preparation for institutional research: both fields involve collecting and organizing a vast array of data, distilling it down to the most important patterns and effects.

Outside of data and research, J.C. spends a great deal of time on DEI work. They served on the board of WISAY (Women & Gender Minorities In Science At Yale) and as an organizer with lgbt+physicists as a graduate student, and now as Yale staff they are a member of Yale's LGBTQ Affinity Group, where they co-chair the Trans-Specific Issues Committee. They have also been invited to speak on supporting diversity in science, for instance at the APS Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics and the IEEE Photonics annual meeting. Outside of work, J.C. spends their free time training in aerial circus arts and caring too much about baseball.