s

Introduction

I am a Ph.D. computational astrophysicist, software developer, and open science devotee. I currently work for RKF Engineering LLC as a simulation and model developer and engineer for long-range wireless communication systems (both ground and satellite systems).

Prior to that, for five years, I worked for Giant Army as Staff Astrophysicist and Developer on Universe Sandbox, a physics simulator sandbox game currently available on Steam.

Before that, I was working for the Department of Statistics at Columbia University studying open coding, open data, big data management, and statistical issues of reproducibility in the sciences. A major focus was a project called ResearchCompendia.science. ResearchCompendia.science is a web service that allows researchers to run codes associated with scientific publications. The service allows authors of publications to create companion websites on which others may reproduce the paper's results or run their own parameters.

Prior to that, I worked in the field numerical relativity. I have ten years of experience designing, developing and testing massively parallel numerical simulations that evolve highly non-linear partial differential equations (the Einstein Equations) in three or more dimensions for dynamical systems (close binary black holes and neutron stars). Though my degrees are in physics, and astrophysics, I have a very strong and unique computer science background in software development and testing, numerical simulations, analysis, database management, and cluster management.

My main operating system is Linux (though I use OS X since NASA). I have extensive experience with both independent and large scale collaborative software design, development, and testing. I have experience developing for parallelized simulation software (Cactus and Carpet), for distributed computing software (Einstein@Home), game development in C# and Unity (Universe Sandbox), and developing and working with visualization software (DUSTVis). I have a lot of experience with versioning systems (Git, SVN, CVS), and database management.

My personal simulation codes are usually C++ (parallelized with OpenMP or MPICH). Smaller simulations are written in Python or Java. Collaborative simulation codes are sometimes Fortran. For analysis I use Python, R, Gnuplot, Octave, Matlab, Mathematica, or Maple. The scripting for simulation management and analysis I usually use Python, Ruby, bash, or Perl. I am always quick and eager to learn new languages and skills.

From 2010 to late 2012 I occupied a NASA Postdoctoral Position (NPP) in the Astrophysical Sciences Division at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center doing numerical relativity and gravitational astrophysics related to the (2012 de-funded and soon to be refunded) LISA mission (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) and relevant to LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory).

I received my Ph.D. from the Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany for research at the Max-Planck Institut für Gravitationsphysik (Albert Einstein Institute) in February 2010 for the thesis "Numerical Simulation of Binary Black Hole Spacetimes and a Novel Approach to Outer Boundary Conditions".

I am currently living in Washington, DC. In my free time I occupy myself with open source projects, Coursera/EdX/Udacity classes, electrical engineering projects, interactive public art, fire spinning, and rock climbing.

I like hunting dragons, I like rapid prototyping and I get compulsively excited about results on the horizon. I am never bored. I am passionate and hard working, but I also enjoy life and am very engaged. I do not believe these two things are separate, nor do I believe they need to clash.

Contact

Email:

View/Download

Other