Dr. Rob Mastrodomenico obtained a BSc in Mathematics and Statistics and PhD in Statistics at the University of Reading. He has spent his career working as a data scientist in the sports sector, building predictive models for sporting events. In 2011 he set up Global Sports Statistics which provides consultancy and modelling services to clients in the sports sector. Aside from statistics, Rob’s other interest is in programming. He has years of experience in many different languages but has become an advocate for Python and all that it can do to support all aspects of dealing with and modelling data.

Dr Phillip Brooker is an interdisciplinary researcher in the field of social media analytics, with a background in sociology and sociological research methods (incorporating ethnomethodology, conversation analysis, science and technology studies, computer-supported cooperative work, and human-computer interaction). He has previously contributed to the development of Chorus (www.chorusanalytics.co.uk), a data collection and visual analysis package for social science research on Twitter. Phillip also co-convenes the Programming-as-Social-Science (PaSS) network (www.jiscmail.ac.uk/PaSS) which explores computer programming as a subject and methodological tool for social research and teaching. Phillip is currently employed as a Research Associate on CuRAtOR (Challenging Online Fear and Othering), which aims to investigate how online interactions result in 'cultures of fear'.