05/18/2026
Congratulations Nirel!! We are so proud to have you as an ORFE Alumni!
: “I didn’t come into Princeton planning to study Princeton University - Operations Research and Financial Engineering. I started in chemical and biological engineering, thinking I’d be a biomedical engineer. But after taking core chemistry classes, I started rethinking my path, especially whether I wanted to go to grad school, med school, or enter industry.
Talking to upperclassmen led me to ORFE. What stood out was how flexible it was. I could shape it into data science, finance, or something more technical. At the same time, I was still interested in biomedical applications. I spent that summer at Wake Forest University working on machine learning in a chemical engineering lab through an REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates). That experience made me realize how much I enjoyed building models and working with data.
In my junior fall, I studied abroad in Stockholm, Sweden, where I focused on machine learning and saw how data science is applied internationally. We visited places like Berlin and Gothenburg and saw startups in action, providing me with a broader perspective on how this work translates outside the classroom.
I’ve also interned at Yahoo, working on the monetization team, where I helped build predictive models for option pricing using large-scale datasets. That experience showed me what it looks like to apply these skills in a real industry setting and confirmed that I enjoy working with data at large scale.
My senior thesis brings a lot of my interests together. I’m working on predicting power outages in Ghana using satellite, weather data, and sensor data. The goal is to understand which factors are most likely to lead to outages. I had the chance to travel to Ghana to conduct interviews and get a better sense of how these systems work on the ground.
On campus, I’ve been involved in a range of communities, from playing bass clarinet in the orchestra, vice president of the Powerlifting Club, treasurer for the National Society of Black Engineers, and a member of the Princeton African Student Association, the Ghana Student Association, and being a Community Living Advisor in Henry Hall.
After graduation, I’ll be heading to Carnegie Mellon University to pursue a master’s in applied data science as a Rales Fellow!" - Nirel Amoyaw '26, Princeton University - Operations Research and Financial Engineering.
