# Jools Clarke

> PhD student at UCL using machine learning to study exoplanet atmospheres, and building data pipelines for the ESA Ariel space telescope.

Jools Clarke is a PhD student in astrophysics at University College London (UCL), based in London.
Research interests: Machine learning, Exoplanet atmospheres, Atmospheric retrievals, Machine learning interpretability, ESA Ariel space telescope, Python.
Contact: j.d.clarke@ucl.ac.uk

## About

Hi! I am a final year PhD student at University College London (UCL) in
London. My primary research interests are **machine learning** and
**exoplanet atmospheres**.

I am currently working with the upcoming ESA Ariel Space Telescope to
finalise data processing pipelines for the mission launch in 2029.

Click below to see my recent work or get in touch with me.

## Publications and reports

- [Progress in Reducing Emissions 2026 Report to Parliament](https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/progress-in-reducing-emissions-2026-report-to-parliament/)
- [PERTURB-c: Correlation Aware Perturbation Explainability for Regression Techniques to Understand Retrieval Black-boxes](https://joolsclarke.co.uk/perturb/perturb-c_arxiv_hook/): Note: This manuscript is currently being revised.
- [NeurIPS 2024: Efficient Model Compression Techniques with FishLeg](https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.02328)

## Pages on this site

- [Jools Clarke](https://joolsclarke.co.uk/): Jools Clarke is a PhD student at UCL using machine learning to study exoplanet atmospheres, creator of the Perturb interpretability framework, working on data pipelines for the ESA Ariel space telescope.
- [Ariel Creative Resources](https://joolsclarke.co.uk/ariel/gallery/): Posters, artwork, a 3D model of the Ariel space telescope and an unofficial Ariel mission font, made by Jools Clarke and free to download.
- [Climate Change Committee Placement](https://joolsclarke.co.uk/ccc/): From February to August 2026 Jools Clarke led the technical migration of the UK Climate Change Committee's models from Excel to Python, and contributed to the 2026 Progress Report to Parliament.
- [Conference and Summer School Map](https://joolsclarke.co.uk/conferences/): Map and list of the conferences, consortium meetings and summer schools Jools Clarke has attended and presented at, from Lisbon to Reykjavík.
- [Perturb](https://joolsclarke.co.uk/perturb/): Perturb is an interpretability framework for machine learning atmospheric retrievals of exoplanets, finding the critical datapoints a retrieval relies on. Paper, code and FAQ.

## Conferences and talks

- Ariel Consortium Meeting - Lisbon 2024: Presented my machine learning retrieval methods to Ariel consortium & attended the early careers open discussion.
- Ariel Consortium Meeting - Leiden 2025: Presented my interpretability methods to Ariel consortium & attended the early careers open discussion.
- Ariel Summer School Fréjus 2025: Summer school on data reduction and retrieval techniques, with hands on component.
- BEACON Reykjavík 2025: Presented work on machine learning atmospheric retrievals and interpretability in the context of biosignature detection, and participated in cross-disciplinary discussions with astrobiologists.
- Exoplanets by the Lake 2025: Presented in depth session on my research into machine learning interpretability and uncertainty quantification, attended workshops on data reduction and retrieval methodologies and how to mitigate their inaccuracies. Also participated in data recovery hackathon style challenge.
- Ariel Consortium Meeting - Madrid 2025: Presented introduction to my PERTURB framework and lead discussions to gain community feedback.
- Ariel Consortium Meeting - Vienna 2026: Presented work on interpretability using TauREx in lieu of black-box retrieval methods.

## Creative work (free to download)

- [Deploy](https://joolsclarke.co.uk/ariel/gallery/deploy.png): Ariel Open Conference art competition submission
- [Decode](https://joolsclarke.co.uk/ariel/gallery/decode.png): Ariel Open Conference art competition submission
- [Discover](https://joolsclarke.co.uk/ariel/gallery/discover.png): Ariel Open Conference art competition submission
- [Discovering Exoplanet Atmospheres](https://joolsclarke.co.uk/ariel/gallery/discovering_exoplanet_atmospheres-jools_clarke.pdf)
- [3D Model of the Ariel Telescope](https://joolsclarke.co.uk/ariel/gallery/Ariel_Model-Jools_Clarke.stl)
- [Unofficial Font of the Ariel Mission](https://joolsclarke.co.uk/ariel/gallery/ArielSpaceMission-Regular.otf): In beta, please report any issues!

## Elsewhere

- [ORCiD Profile](https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9533-5387)
- [UCL Profile](https://www.ucl.ac.uk/mathematical-physical-sciences/research-projects/2024/jun/jools-clarke)
- [GitHub](https://github.com/jools-clarke)
- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jools-clarke-b82588167/)