:: 352 Words

Academically

I am a student studying nuclear engineering. I recently finished my undergraduate degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and I am about to start my graduate studies in computational neutronics. In my career, I want to support nuclear research by developing open source tools to solve nuclear engineering problems.

Here are some of the tools that I use often:

  • OpenMC is a Monte Carlo code for neutron and photon transport. I have used it for shielding, dose evaluation, multi-group cross section generation, and depletion calculations.
  • Scarabee is a lattice physics code for LWR analysis. I have used it for reactor core design (and some help in debugging my toy nodal expansion method code).
  • Zotero is a bibliography management tool. I use it whenever I need to make a bibliography (it works very well with BibLaTeX) or read a paper.
  • GitLab is an open source git repository host that focuses on CI.

Clever people have figured out computational methods to solve many very complex problems. As I develop my skills, I like to go back and implement the methods for myself, not as a professionally working software package, but rather as a tool to help me fully understand and appreciate the problem being solved. A couple of the more significant outcomes of this learning strategy are included in my /projects.

Personally

In addition to nuclear engineering, I spend my free time hiking, cycling, running, and rock climbing. I really enjoy spending time outside, seeking out the less visited places and leaving the beaten trail. I may upload some pictures of my adventures at some point. I occasionally also like to fiddle with electronics. I strongly recommend the Student Manual for the Art of Electronics (Hayes & Horowitz, 1989) to anyone wanting to get started. If I am really bored, I sometimes read. I am slowly working through each of Dostoevsky’s novels, a multi-year endeavor for me.

References

Hayes, T. C., & Horowitz, P. (1989). Student Manual for The Art of Electronics. Cambridge University Press.