Hello! Welcome to the online space for all of our FRIB-TA summer school needs – we decided it could be a good idea to have a space for organizers and participants to write some introductions before the program actually starts to get the ball rolling on socialization efforts and see if we have some common interests (both physics and otherwise )
My name is Kyle Godbey and I am a member of the Research Faculty at FRIB studying time-dependent dynamics of atomic nuclei. I have a strong love of all things computing and have been having a blast diving deeper into computational statistics over the last couple of years. I grew up in a small-ish town in Kentucky but I’ve traveled around a bit since then before settling at FRIB in 2021. I have wayyyy too many hobbies, but in general I love media and art in all its forms and always love to receive recommendations whether it’s music, movies, or some other media.
Pablo Giuliani here! I am, together with Kyle, a member of the research community at FRIB (did my grad school at FSU). My first time at the lab was during the 2018 FRIB-TA summer school on neutron stars and I had a blast (we have to go to have ice cream at the dairy store!!). I am so so happy to be part of the organization of this summer school, now 5 years after.
I am passionate about a lot of things in research including statistics, machine learning, physics (nuclear and in general), and I always work in complementary teams with many folks. I am also super passionate about teaching and helping people realize their potential and thrive.
Beyond research, I also have many facets in my life that make me happy, including many friends (like Kyle, Edgard, and the rest of the organizers), a loving dog and a half (see bellow), a grand piano at the lab, and lots and lots of food and coffee. Currently obsessed with this music band: Rura - Topic - YouTube .
Hello everyone! My name is Tong Li and I’m now a postdoc researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. I got my PhD in physics at Michigan State University, and I yearn for the cool climate in Michigan whenever I’m burned by intense sunshine in California. I hope everyone enjoys the beauty of MSU campus during the summer school!
I’m doing research in the field of nuclear density functional theory, focusing on the large-scale calculation for nuclear decays and its combination with advanced statistical and computational tools. Outside research, I enjoy music and try to find every opportunity to go to concert after the pandemic.
P.S. Pablo, I didn’t know that you love the grand piano at FRIB when I was there. Do you often play it?
Hello, my name is Isaiah Richardson and I am a current Graduate Student for Brad Sherrill’s research group. I work on rare isotope production focusing on mid Z isotopes (Sulfur and Calcium for example). I also have had the pleasure of working with BeAGLE simulated data for eA interactions at high energies (18 GeV electron into 110GeV/nucleon 238U for example) for the future EIC collider. Outside of work I am currently working on learning traditional Okinawan karate and I play games occasionally.
Hey everyone! I’m Kyle Beyer, a PhD student at the University of Michigan. I study optical potentials and fission. I’m primarily interested in emulators for scattering and Bayesian model calibration and UQ for complex, noisy, and high-dimensional experimental observables.
Outside of physics I love running, cycling, climbing, mountaineering and generally getting outdoors.
Hello everyone! I’m Alexandra Semposki, a PhD candidate at Ohio University. I am a member of the BAND collaboration and my main focus within that framework has been UQ and Bayesian model mixing to improve our understanding of modelling in nuclear physics. I’ve worked with Gaussian Processes for a while now but have yet to use emulators in my research so I’m excited to learn more from the other organizers about how to do that! Some of my other physics interests include dense matter (neutron star EOS, etc.), many-body physics for ab initio nuclear structure, and quantum computing in general.
In daily life, I like hiking, camping in Michigan (where I’m originally from), reading novels and poetry, learning about other cultures (working on learning German!), and occasionally sketching.
I’m Edgard Bonilla, currently a postdoc at Stanford University with the LIGO group. By day I do instrument science work for LIGO and get my hands dirty. By night I work on reduced order modelling and other general theoretical/simulation questions with my FRIB buddies Pablo and Kyle.
Overall I’m into mathematical questions, modelling, discussing random ideas and putting them to practice. As a physicist I try my best to be well-rounded, so I have many many interests, including from phase transitions/nucleation processes, electromechanical transducers, gravitational waves, dimensionality reduction, applied graph theory and controls systems.
Outside of my day (and night) work, I like learning about other cultures, long conversations, history, geopolitcs and rock music. Also let’s toss in cooking, long walks/hikes, and videogames for good measure.
Hi! I am Simone Perrotta. I am currently a postdoc at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, but I come from Sicily and did my PhD in joint supervision between the University of Catania (Italy) and University of Seville (Spain).
I have a background in nuclear reaction and structure theory at low energies, and I am currently working on the development of nucleon-nucleus optical-model potentials: lots of fits and a lot of interest in Byesian methods, UQ and emulators!
I am looking forward to trying the best food MSU has to offer (?) and doing something fun together!
Actually, the weather app claims it’s going to be warmer in East Lansing than in Livermore. Personally, I still find it to be cold here in the morning (or pretty much anytime if there is wind…).
Hi everyone! I’m Josh Wylie, a PhD student at MSU/FRIB. My research focuses mainly on open quantum systems and exotic nuclei, but I’m also interested in physics education and outreach.
I’m originally from a town called Puyallup, in Washington state. I’m a fan of hiking, especially when there are mountains, and I also like rock climbing when there’s time! Otherwise, I occasionally bake cakes and try my hand at other art things - with varying levels of success.
Hello! My name is Landon Buskirk and I’m a second-year undergraduate Student Research Assistant at Michigan State and FRIB. I work with Kyle and Pablo, primarily developing the Bayesian Mass Explorer (BMEX) web offerings as well as working on a machine learning project aimed at learning normalizing flows for quicker posterior sampling.
I grew up and live locally in Michigan, having many roots here at Michigan State. I enjoy running frequently and I completed my first marathon last fall. My other hobbies include music production, board games, and video games.
Hiiiii! Pranav here. I would like to follow the CENAM frontiers conference talks and introduce what I love: Astronomy and food! My research is all about mass models and abundances, so statistics and computing is at the heart of anything. Looking forward to learning and working with everyone!!
Hello! My name is Andrew Yeomans-Stephenson and I am MSU student as well as participating in MSU’s Physics and Astronomy REU program. My research over the summer is in uncertainty quantification.
I have grown up in the area but have traveled to every state except Alaska! I like to stay active and listen or play to music.
My name is Frederi (it sounds like Feathery). I’m a statistician at Michigan State and also at Rice University in Houston, TX. I’ve been working with folks from FRIB since 2017, back when the researchers there started getting serious about using Bayesian statistics to quantify the uncertainty in their nuclear models. This FRIB TA Workshop is the culmination of years of work and months of brainstorming, planning, and practice. Super excited to be part of it.
My training is (ahem, ancient history) in probability theory, which is great for folks who want to understand the underpinnings of Bayesian theory. Among other applications of Bayesian uncertainty quantification, beyond NP theory, I’ll work on any question where quantifying risk is key. That includes insurance mathematics, quantitative finance, climate change, agricultural economics, and more. I am currently quite engaged in agro-eology, the study of how to make our farming and food system sustainable from the perspective of biodiversity. Here’s one example: Grant Quantifies Farm Risk Mitigation Through Improved Soil Health - Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research ](Grant Quantifies Farm Risk Mitigation Through Improved Soil Health - Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research) ]. I practice what I preach, as the proud owner and operator (with my spouse) of an 80-acre sheep and hay farm in mid-Michigan, known as Chinook’s Acres [if you are looking for a solution to your Eid al Adha requirements, ask me on Monday!]
Other than farming, and working in a zillion diverse academic areas, my only other special skill is probably that I’m fluent in French. I don’t play any musical instruments, I can’t swim, I won’t run, I used to be a decent singer but I’m too old and out of practice now. My most unusual set of characteristics might be that I was born in Hollywood, California, and lived the first year of my life in the most isolated and sparsely populated place in California (Bear Valley, Alpine County), deep in the snows of the Sierra Nevada.
Musical recommendation: the Cocteau Twins, a Scottish indie rock band from the 1980s that is credited with inventing two otherworldly musical styles (dream pop and shoegaze). The lead singer, Liz Frasier, is said to have the “Voice of God”, which to me is a parable for what we will engage in this week: we can only hope to understand the physical world via models with some uncertainty, the truth remains unattainable. (e.g. Cocteau Twins - Cico Buff - YouTube
or Cocteau Twins - A Kissed Out Red Floatboat - Best Version - YouTube or Cocteau Twins-Lazy Calm - YouTube )
Hello all !
I am Shwetha Vittal.
I am Graduate student at University of Notre Dame. I am interested in ab initio nuclear structure and beta decay.
Other than physics, I like hiking, bird watching and sketching.
I love Cocteau twins! Not sure if you knew, but my primary band in undergrad was a shoegaze duo. We never made it bigger than dorm basements and coffee shops though
Hi All!
I’m an astrophysics graduate student from the physics department at Florida State University. I work with the star formation group on the product of simulated stellar nurseries, newborn stars.
I’m originally from (I make you guess if you’re up for it), lived in Orange, CA for 16 years, and then crossed the country to Tallahassee, FL where I (I’m Luz), currently call home.
Beyond physics I’m part of the SIGGRAPH community: https://s2023.siggraph.org/ with an obsession for short animated films, I carry a jump rope everywhere (many tricks to learn!), and I’m currently getting back into running race shape.
Looking forward to lots of learning, meeting you, and working/having fun together!
Simone, i cant believe you’re from Catania. I’d never been to Sicily until.two weeks ago, when i flew into Catania to attended a wedding in Noto. What a wonderful part of the world!
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