Name:
Nathan Suri
Position:
Graduate Student in Physics
What do you do here at Wright Lab?
I am a member of the Yale ATLAS group under the guidance of Professor Keith Baker. ATLAS (A Toroidal LHC Apparatus) is one of two general-purpose detectors located along the circumference of the world’s largest particle accelerator (the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN), built for the express purpose of uncovering the secrets of the universe by systematically probing its fabric through subatomic collisions, generally protons against other protons. My current research focuses on leveraging the power of machine learning (ML) to grapple with the big data problem inherent to CERN. The collection of LHC experiments generate 15 petabytes of data per year. Looking for new Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) physics is akin to finding a specific grain of sand on a beach. ML provides new tools to physicists such as myself to bolster current search efforts. Currently, I design ML models that assist in denoising ATLAS data.
I am a member of the Yale ATLAS group under the guidance of Professor Keith Baker. ATLAS (A Toroidal LHC Apparatus) is one of two general-purpose detectors located along the circumference of the world’s largest particle accelerator (the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN), built for the express purpose of uncovering the secrets of the universe by systematically probing its fabric through subatomic collisions, generally protons against other protons. My current research focuses on leveraging the power of machine learning (ML) to grapple with the big data problem inherent to CERN. The collection of LHC experiments generate 15 petabytes of data per year. Looking for new Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) physics is akin to finding a specific grain of sand on a beach. ML provides new tools to physicists such as myself to bolster current search efforts. Currently, I design ML models that assist in denoising ATLAS data.
What is the most unique and/or exciting experience you’ve had here at Wright Lab?
I am still new to the Wright Lab scene; however, I am amazed and grateful by how welcoming everyone is, both in my group and in other adjacent ones.
What are you looking forward to in the coming year at Wright Lab?
During my first year, I have been mainly focused on classes and setting up my research. Moving into the summer and the subsequent year, I am excited to become more engrossed by my work. Additionally, I am quite interested in exploring ways to apply the computational techniques I am currently learning to other disciplines. Many state-of-the-art ML techniques are grounded in techniques from other disciplines describing the natural world, so I am always on the hunt for new inspiration and problems to apply them to.
What is something that people might not know about you that you’d like to share with the community?
Just as I seek to understand the mysteries of the world through my computational analyses of ATLAS data, I also indulge in my hobbies of creative writing and photography as methods to explore and share my experiences of the world we live in. While my models train, you may sometimes find me scribbling away notes for a new poem or short story at my desk!