What do you do here at Wright Lab?
I am the leader of the machine learning research team for the Project 8 (P8) experiment, and as such my job is to improve the P8 event reconstruction techniques in terms of accuracy and efficiency using machine-learning methods such as deep learning with convolutional neural networks. This work is important as it has the potential to boost our statistical power when extracting the much sought-after absolute neutrino mass value, a very tiny value which is measured from the deviation to the endpoint of tritium beta-decay energy spectrum the massive neutrino introduces.
What is the most unique and/or exciting experience you’ve had here at Wright Lab?
Obtaining my Ph.D. in Physics! I first started at Yale Physics back in 2012, and after some lab rotations in cosmology/astrophysics and taking a personal break from school, I joined the Project 8 experiment at Wright Lab in 2015. After many great years working at Yale, I defended my thesis during the summer of 2021 under Karsten Heeger, and I’m now continuing my work as a postdoc with the same team.
What are you looking forward to in the coming year at Wright Lab?
I am working on publishing a second paper on my thesis research regarding the use of a machine-learning framework for event reconstruction in P8, which has already shown a significant improvement over traditional methods.
What is something that people might not know about you that you’d like to share with the community?
I paint, everyday! I’ve found that it is a very important part of my well-being, so even when I travel I take watercolors or pastels with me and a writing notebook. Else the trip is insufferable no matter how beautiful the scenery is, haha. Thanks to traveling to conferences, workshops, and collaboration meetings via Wright Lab, I have been fortunate to visit and see much visual art around the world, which is now the main reason I pick a place to travel.
