Experimental Scientist Anna Schneider Switches To Code, and Helps To Save The World

**Anna Schneider** started her career as a theoretical and computational scientist with an interest in climate change. Earning a degree in math and a PhD in biophysics, she was able to explore the correlation between weather patterns and renewable energy, while also blazing a trail as one of the few leading women in her field. However, after life as a theoretician, she yearned to make a more direct impact on the ecological health of the planet.

She turned to programming in an attempt to find a new outlet for her talents and interests. By joining groups such as PyLadies and Women Who Code, she was able to build a support group of likeminded individuals, who could help her learn the discipline, while also supporting her in her transition from one male dominated industry to another. She also participated in hackathons such as EcoHack, which provided her with a fun, low pressure way to exercise the skills she was gaining.

Today, Anna Schneider is the co-founder and CTO of WattTime, a tech nonprofit that provides open source, real-time data about the carbon footprint of electricity across two thirds of the United States. This position allows her to make a real difference, while giving her greater flexibility and more concrete, measurable goals. Her hope is to eventually connect her database to the Internet of Things so that smart devices will be able to automatically adjust their settings to operate in a more ecologically friendly manner.

In addition to trying to save the world through software, Anna maintains connections to her roots, and still teaches scripting to scientists through groups like Software Carpentry. She has also shared some of the wisdom that she gained from her experience of transitioning from grad school to data science in a popular post published by the Berkeley Science Review.