Resume
General Education
Awards
- National Science Foundation Fellowship in Biophysics, 1997
- High Honors in Physics, 1997
- Elected to Membership in the Society of Sigma Xi, 1997
- Allen G. Shenstone Prize in Physics, 1997
- Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Caltech, 1996
Scientific Research and Activities
- thesis work with Markus Meister
evaluating the validity of a computational theory of early visual
processing, and with Haim Sompolinsky
investigating the limits on human acuity imposed by fixational eye
movements. My dissertation can be downloaded here.
- rotation with Peter Fromherz
at the Max Planck Institut fur
Biochemie in Munich, Germany, using electron beam lithography
of silicon chips to develop 100nm structures for neuron adhesion. Summer 99.
- School on Neural Information Processing, at the Abdus Salam Internation Center for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy. May 1999.
- rotation project with Bruce Schnapp, studying the dynamics of labeled RNA that is localized during oogenesis, by co-injecting Xenopus oocytes with two RNAs, one coding for Green Fluorescent protein fused with a viral coat protein, and the other coding for a normally localized fragment with an additional region to which the viral protein binds. 1999.
- thesis with Washington Taylor, improving the efficiency of simulating quantum mechanics with quantum computers, by adapting a discrete wavefunction evolution algorithm to a lattice of arbitrary geometry. 1996-7.
- with Henry Lester at the California Institute of Technology, identifying voltage sensor domains and ion channel selective permeability in the GABA and serotonin transporter proteins through combination electrophysiology and fluorescence microscopy. Summer 1996.
- with William Bialek of the NEC Institute, studying theoretical and actual limits of neural signal processing from the view of statistical mechanics and information theory by deriving properties and limitations of an Ising model of neural connectivity. Spring, 1996.
- with Raymond Goldstein, developing a heuristic explanation for spontaneous Turing pattern formation arising in diffusive chemical systems whose parameters near Hopf instabilities indicating stable temporal oscillations. Fall, 1995.
- with Stanislas Leibler, growing genetically modified E.coli bacteria, performing motility assays in different chemical media, and helping develop computer software to automate data acquisition and allow statistical analysis of tumbling patterns of chemotaxis. Summer, 1995.
- with Lyman Page, interfacing electronics for control of a microwave telescope probing the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation left over from the Big Bang. Summer, 1994.
- independently rediscovered the four-dimensional 24-cell, composed of 24 regular octahedra, originally discovered in 1900. Spring, 1994.
Computing
Computer Programming Experience
- C, C++, Mathematica, MATLAB
- PC interface for a GPIB hardware board, digital multimeter, oscilloscope, and frequency analyzer. 1994.
- Realtime stereo viewer for rotating arbitrary 4- or 5-dimensional shapes such as hypersolids, the Klein bottle, or complex-valued functions of a complex variable. 1994.
- Bacterial motility analysis software. 1995.
- Plug-in for Adobe Illustrator to model and generate trees' branching patterns. 1995-6.
Other computer-related experience
- Intimate familiarity with Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Pagemaker, Fractal Design Painter, which I have used for graphic illustration, technical drawing, and desktop publishing.
- Music composition using Performer and Finale.
- Design of SALESGOD's customized interactive selling system for selling SALESGOD's customized interactive selling systems. Proscape Technologies, Inc. Summer-Fall 1997.
Other Interests