Hi, I am Nina Ervin!

Who Am I

I’m a data scientist and machine learning engineer focused on building models that solve real-world problems and turn complex data into actionable insights.

I currently work as a Data Science Intern at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, contributing to projects in Computational Biology. My work includes improving machine learning systems, such as vision–language models. I am also an incoming intern on the Data Science & Modeling team, where I will contribute to the PermitAI project, which develops tools to extract and map information from environmental permitting documents and geospatial datasets. Through this work, I collaborate closely with an interdisciplinary group to design experiments, evaluate model performance, and translate machine learning techniques into practical tools.

I completed graduate coursework in Computer Science with an emphasis in AI at the University of California, San Diego, and earned my B.S. in Computer Science from Western Washington University, graduating Magna Cum Laude and being named the 2024–25 Outstanding Undergraduate in Computer Science.

During my undergraduate studies, I worked as a Lead Undergraduate Researcher with the Hutchinson Machine Learning Research Group, developing machine learning models for large-scale data analysis and presenting results to technical and non-technical audiences. I also served as the lead data science tutor in WWU’s Computer Science tutoring program, helping students develop practical intuition for machine learning, deep learning, and analytical modeling.

I’m particularly interested in applying machine learning to large, complex datasets, especially spatial, environmental, and infrastructure data, to build tools that support better decision-making in industry.