I am a Computational Designer at Google, currently working on Delve. Previously, I was the Senior Data & Design Researcher at the Brown Institute for Media Innovation at Columbia University.

I work at the intersection of data, visualization, urbanism, and the humanities, and I teach graduate level workshops and seminars on mapping, advanced GIS and data visualization. I’ve also worked as a research scholar at the Center for Spatial Research and the Spatial Information Design Lab, as an architectural designer for Carlos Zapata Studio and D.G.T. Architects, and as the GIS project coordinator for the Catholic Charities of New York.

Here’s a more detailed version:

EDUCATION

  • Masters in Architecture, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University in the City of New York, 2012.
  • Masters of Science in Urban Planning, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University in the City of New York, 2009.
  • Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, Universidad de Los Andes, 2004.

PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS

CONSULTING SERVICES

PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

RESEARCH PROJECTS

  • Concentrated Cleanup, a mapping, spatial analysis, and visualization project in collaboration with CUNY and Urban Omnibus, Saldarriaga, J., Checker, M., Mogilevich, M., Johnson, G., 2021 - present.
  • Targeted Harassment of Academics by Hindutva: A Twitter Analysis of the India-US Connection, a data analysis project examining social media activity around the Dismantling Global Hindutva conference, Ahmed, M., Saldarriaga, J., Devulapalli, S., 2021 - present.
  • Uprooted: How Newark Acquired a Medical School and Destroyed a Neighborhood, a visual storytelling and interactive mapping project chronicling forced displacement in Newark, NJ, Newest Americans, Saldarriaga, J., 2020 - 2021.
  • Indian Muslims Today, a project documenting, analyzing and visualizing the state of the Muslim population in India, Hankel, B., Jaffrelot, C., Ahmed, M., Saldarriaga, J., 2021.
  • AR for Everyone! Experiencing Augmented Reality News Stories in the Browser, an exploration in and documentation of combining mapping and augmented reality to create news stories for the browser, Schneider, Z., Saldarriaga, J., Aneja, S., 2021.
  • Analyzing Choice of Transportation in New York City During Covid-19, a data analysis, visualization and mapping project looking into the changes in transportation patterns in New York City during the Covid-19 pandemic. Saldarriaga, J., King, D., 2020 - 2021.
  • Mapping Data Flows, a visual exploration of the types of data collected by Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google, and what they use it for. Battelle, J., Saldarriaga, J., Martin, Z., Albasi, M., Bhuta, N., Penney, V., 2018 - 2019.
  • Counting and Mapping Police Killings, a statistical and mapping investigation into extra- judicial killings in the Philippines, Coronel, S., Ball, P., Saldarriaga, J., Security Forces Monitor, 2018 - 2019.
  • Conflict Urbanism: Infrapolitics, a spatial investigation into the politics and social acts behind infrastructure in three global-south cities, Mumbai, Johannesburg, and Medellín. Kurgan, L., Rao, A., Saldarriaga J., McSweeney, M., 2017 - 2018.
  • Conflict Urbanism: Colombia, an interactive mapping and spatial analysis project examining the Colombian conflict and its effect in the urban environment. Kurgan, L., Saldarriaga, J., Rettberg, A., 2015 - 2017.
  • Mapping Mughal Hindustan, 1500 - 1600 CE, a scholarly and interactive mapping project which re-frames the various sites of early Mughal Hindustan as affective geography. Ahmed, M., Saldarriaga, J., Devulapalli, S., Fattaleh, N., Sá Pereira, M., 2018.
  • How We Die, a dynamic topographical installation that visualizes the leading causes of death in New York City between 2007 and 2013. Saldarriaga J., Sanchez, S., 2018.
  • Locations of Justice, an interactive mapping project documenting the reach and locations of the institutions and agencies involved in New York City’s criminal justice system. Kurgan, L., Saldarriaga, J., Hartman, J., Architectural League, Urban Omnibus, 2017.
  • The Haven Project, an interactive data visualization project analyzing health and environmental metrics for New York City. Kurgan, L., Saldarriaga, J., Izen, J., New York Restoration Project, 2015.
  • Science Surveyor - Context on Deadline, an interactive application providing context information for science journalists on a deadline, Holloway, M., Tenen, D., Kurgan, L., Jurafsky, D., McFarland, D., Saldarriaga, J., Basic, G, 2014 - 2015.
  • Citibike Station Imbalances & Citibike Rides, data visualization and mapping projects studying Citibike usage, activity data and station imbalances, Saldarriaga, J., King, D., Kaufman, S., Ferzoco, J., 2014.
  • Port to Port, an interactive data visualization and mapping analysis of 6 years of oil shipment routes to and from U.S. ports, Kurgan, L., Saldarriaga, J., Berner, A., Murray., S., 2014.
  • NYC Taxi Activity, data visualization animations illustrating movement and imbalance patterns in New York City taxicabs, Saldarriaga, J., King, D., Peters, J., 2012.
  • Here Now! Social Media And The Psychological City, data visualization and mapping project studying social media check-ins in New York City. Williams, S., Saldarriaga, J., Bullen, G., Tan, F., Youse, N., 2011.

AWARDS, EXHIBITIONS AND GRANTS

INVITED TALKS

  • Conflict Urbanism: Colombia, workshop session presented at the Quantification of Urban Space lecture series, University of London Institute in Paris, 2021.
  • Mapping Data Flows, data presentation for the AI and Data Governance panel at the Global Solutions Summit 2020.
  • Mobility + Spatial Agency: Autonomy in the New Urban Interface, AIA New York, New York, 2019.
  • Spatial Data Analysis and Visualization, lecture for the Housing Studio masters course at The City University of New York, New York, 2018.
  • Research Through Visualization, lecture for the Strategic Communications masters course at The City University of New York, New York, 2018.
  • Visualizing the conflict: Maps, animation and experimental methods, lecture sponsored by the Masters in Peacebuilding at the Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia, 2017.
  • Conflict Urbanism, lecture for the Inaugural Programming “Foundations of the Digital, Foundations in the Humanities: Race, Gender, Class” lecture series at Studio Chi, DePaul University, Chicago, 2017.
  • Research Through Visualization, lecture for the Research Methods course at the Masters of Science of Architecture at Penn State University, State College, PA, 2017.
  • Visualizing New York’s Citibikes: Imbalances, Social Justice Issues And Its Interaction With Other Modes of Transportation, lecture for the International Workshop in Data Analytics and Visualization in Transport, IFSTTAR, Paris, France, 2014.
  • The Uncertainties of Data, lecture for the City As Resource Lecture Series, Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, Zürich, Switzerland, 2014.

CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION

CAMPUS TALKS

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

  • Points Unknown: New Frameworks for Investigation and Creative Expression Through Mapping, four and five week workshops and full semester graduate course combining mapping, narrative and storytelling for the School of Journalism and the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (Columbia University, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Summer 2021, Spring 2022).
  • Cartografías Sociales, a 7 week course introducing professional architects and urban planners to new methods in spatial data analysis, mapping, and representation (Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, Spring 2022).
  • Introduction to Computational Journalism, an introductory five-day workshop on tools, methods, and concepts such as programming, reproducible research, web scraping, and APIs, for professional journalists from the European Broadcasting Union (Columbia University, Summer 2019).
  • Data Visualization for Architecture, Urbanism and the Humanities, an introduction to data visualization theory and methods for students new to the fields of computation and information design. Interdisciplinary, undergraduate and graduate levels (Columbia University, Spring 2017, Spring 2018).
  • Mapping for Architecture, Urbanism and the Humanities, an introductory mapping course combining methods and topics for architecture, urbanism and the humanities. Interdisciplinary, undergraduate and graduate levels (Columbia University, Spring 2016, Fall 2016).
  • Advanced Geographic Information Systems, an urban planning graduate seminar in advanced techniques and methods in geographic information systems (Columbia University, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015).
  • Geographic Information Systems, a GIS course for the Epidemiology and Population Health Summer Institute (Columbia University, Summer 2015).
  • Open Cartographies, an architecture graduate course exploring new techniques in mapping, web mapping and data visualization (Columbia University, Fall 2014).

SERVICE TO THE PROFESSION

  • Manuscript review for the Frontiers In Future Transportation academic journal, 2022.
  • Manuscript review for the Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science academic journal, 2018, 2021.
  • Member of the Program Committee for the Urban Data Visualization Workshop (CityVis), IEEE VIS Conference (2018 - 2019).
  • Member of the organizing committee for the Data Through Design Exhibition, 2019.
  • Member of the Program Committee for the CityVis Competition 2018, IEEE VIS Conference 2018.

EXTRACURRICULAR UNIVERSITY SERVICE

MEDIA COVERAGE

  • Puerto Rico Mapathon, a collaborative workshop to improve geographic data of Puerto Rico in wake of hurricane Maria. Organized along with the Group for Experimental Methods in the Humanities. Covered by the New York Times, The Atlantic CityLab, PBS and Wired, 2017.
  • Citibike Citibike Rebalancing Study, featured in The Washington Post and StreetsBlog NYC, 2014.
  • Rides, a video animation of 48 hours of Citibike rides. Featured in The New York Times and Fast Company Co.Design, 2014.
  • New York City Taxi Activity, a visualization of origins and destinations of yellow cabs in New York City. Featured in The Atlantic CityLab, 2012.
  • Here Now! Social Media and the Psychological City, featured in ArchDaily, 2012.
  • Taxi! A video animation of taxi rides around New York City. Featured in The Atlantic CityLab and FlowingData, 2012.

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

  • Proficiency in Python (including Pandas, Geopandas, Matplotlib, and Altair), Postgresql (including PostGIS), GIS (ArcGIS and QGIS), Web mapping (including Mapbox, Leaflet, Carto, and Tangram), Tableau, JavaScript (including D3, p5, and Three.js), Git, Rhinoceros (including Grasshopper), 3DS Max, Maya, AutoCAD, Adobe Creative Suite, Processing, Arduino, HTML, CSS, SPSS, and MS Office.

LANGUAGES

  • English (fluent), Spanish (native), French (fluent), Modern Greek (Basic)

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