I am a second-year student in the Warwick Maths and Stats CDTLink opens in a new window researching the construction of Bayesian belief networks (BBNs) through the use of structured expert judgement (SEJ) elicitation. More specifically, I am interested in the use of BBNs as decision support systems - modelling policy interventions that are being considered for real-world implementation by governments, councils and other decision centres. One of my research applications is the modelling of pollinator sustainability strategies in Australia in light of the incursion of the Varroa destructor mite in 2022. My current research focuses on how we can utilise causal mechanisms latent to the elicited network structure to minimise the elicitation burden during the quantitative elicitation phase (i.e. when experts are asked to quantify the relationships between variables in the model).

Prior to starting my PhD, I completed a 4-year BSc MMORSELink opens in a new window degree at the University of Warwick in the Department of Statistics. My Masters dissertation was on network-searching algorithms, taking a computational and theoretical approach to optimising a search on a network whose structure is unknown to the searcher. The searcher only learns the structure of the network as they traverse it, remembering which edges they have travelled along (and in which direction), and remembering which edges they have not traversed at all. This was under the supervision of Professor Steve AlpernLink opens in a new window.

I presented my Masters research at the 2023 LSE-Warwick Workshop on Search Games and PatrollingLink opens in a new window, and I have also attended a number of other conferences and workshops such as BAYSM 2024Link opens in a new window and INFORMS Advances in Decision Analysis 2024Link opens in a new window. I also regularly attend the Seminar Series in Expert JudgementLink opens in a new window organised by TU Delft.

Aside from academia, I enjoy many sports such as trampolining, badminton, climbing, football and snooker. I also speak Spanish and have studied Spanish modules up to Level C1 of the Common European Framework through the Language CentreLink opens in a new window as part of my undergraduate degree.

Publications

• Drury, K. & Smith, J.Q. (2024) "Dynamic Bayesian Networks, Elicitation and Data Embedding for Secure Environments"Link opens in a new window

  Entropy 2024, 26(11), 985; https://doi.org/10.3390/e26110985

Grants

• University of Warwick - Interdisciplinary Research Spotlight - Behaviour - Small Grant Scheme 2024/25Link opens in a new window
• University of Warwick - Interdisciplinary Research Spotlight - Behaviour - Small Grant Scheme 2023/24Link opens in a new window

GTA Teaching

• 2024/25: ST117 - Introduction to Statistical ModellingLink opens in a new window
• 2024/25: ST301/ST413 - Bayesian Statistics and Decision TheoryLink opens in a new window
• 2024/25: ST120 - Introduction to ProbabilityLink opens in a new window
• 2023/24: ST231 - Linear Statistical Modelling with RLink opens in a new window
• 2022/23: ST120 - Introduction to ProbabilityLink opens in a new window