Taylor W Hickem

Data detective applying structured problem solving approach to improving people's lives and moving society to a just and sustainable future

I have a passion for developing technology solutions for resilient and sustainable cities. I enjoy applying my passion for mathematics, complex abstract topics, programming in python/R/ MATLAB/Javascript/VB and hacking to real world applications using data driven problem solving.

In the past 11 years I have helped manufacturing companies improve bottom line performance with total value >USD 4 million/year through data driven continuous improvement (CI) projects.

I credit my past achievements in driving improvement changes and discovering actionable insights to a combination of background knowledge from STEM fundamentals and communicating through persuasion arguments rich with data visualizations.

The value-add I contribute to the teams I work with is my track record of successful CI research projects for complex ill defined problems, advanced techniques in Data Science, domain specific knowledge in STEM topics and experience field research pilot and prototype validation.

Experience and qualifications

• statistics and applied mathematics : Linear programming , convex opt, time series, pattern recognition, FFT, graph search, MLE, regression, PCA, forecasting

• machine learning : gradient descent, MLE, classification, decision trees - practical application using scikit-learn

• 5+ yrs programming experience - python, R, MATLAB, Javascript, Visual Basic

• data mining with unstructured data sets and python packages - nltk

• manufacturing data systems - DCS, SCADA, SQL, smart IoT

• 14 yrs developing and implementing CI projects for manufacturing, driving change through technical persuasion argument + data visualizations

• subject matter knowledge in cross-disciplinary range of STEM fields - Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Neuroscience, Biology

Career achievement highlights

2017 $5 mil ($500k/year annualized) averted capital project by expanding capacity using process improvements for BPA free Organosol capacity by 75% reduction in cycle time for bottleneck step horizontal milling

2017 $1 mil/year new product ready for market through RCA investigation and process improvements to resolve quality variations in BPA free Organosol coatings appearance

2015 data mining, statistics, nonlinear modeling to improve crude feed purchases decisions by developing novel algorithm to predict qualities of steam cracker byproduct

2014 Eliminated bottleneck for crude cracking plant by resolving quality problem in MEROX unit desulfurization capacity using field testing, KPI monitoring program and knowledge expertise operator training, kinetic model and unit operating manual

2012 $2 mil/year energy savings from optimization of steam-to-carbon ratio for SMR hydrogen plant from RCA investigation, data analysis, field experiments and process improvement in flow transmitter instrumentation reliability

2010 Improved precision crude feed purchases by introducing risk-based asphaltene precipitation mixing matrix based on SBN/IN model