Gregory Spell

Background

About Gregory Spell

I firmly believe that the qualities required of a world-class scholar correspond exactly with those essential to a multitude of careers and worthwhile pursuits. Among these qualities, I count dedication to the craft, precise and eloquent communication, perspective and insight born from hours of study and analysis, a fascination with this world, and a genuine devotion to caring for it. As a PhD. student and researcher at Duke University, I eagerly seek to enhance such characteristics within myself, an endeavor I pursue through completing coursework, serving as a teaching assistant, conducting research, and writing about such research. In so doing, I have developed an understanding of advanced statistics and machine learning while also honing the computer programming skills necessary to implementing practical and interesting algorithms. While I find significant satisfaction in studying and contributing to the corpus of human understanding, my fulfillment is compounded by ensuring the benefits of my labor and innovation extend far beyond myself. To this end, I focus my research on problems regarding natural language processing, a field which has numerous practical applications. Specifically, I collaborate with political scientists at Duke University analyzing political texts - legislative and judicial - so as to better understand their implications for American society.