MSC #240, Caltech
Pasadena, CA 91126-0240
United States
Interests and Objectives
My strongest interests lay in the foundational and frontier areas of physics—and especially the issues connecting them. My thoughts currently dwell mostly in quantum foundations, due to my research experience last summer. However, I am also very intrigued by quantum gravity, and am attempting to develop my own knowledge in the area while following recent developments; I would very much like to gain experience in the field. Tangentially, I enjoy working in mathematical logic, although my career will probably not take me in this direction.
Currently Pondering
- Comparative axiomatizations of quantum mechanics
- The role of quantum information and quantum computing in our understanding
- Formally axiomatizing physics in general (and possibly metaphysics), and the consequent role of Gödelization
- The ultimate role of de Broglie–Bohm theories, in light of their integration with quantum field theory
Currently Reading Up On
- General relativity
- Quantum field theory and related foundational issues
- Quantum paradoxes, especially those framed in terms of weak measurements and retrocausality
- Conceptual overviews and comparisons of the different approaches to quantum gravity
- Mathematical prerequisites for quantum gravity study (usually falling under the broad heading of “geometry”), with applications to more abstract formulations of quantum field theory and general relativity.
Concrete Goals
At this time, I hope to pursue these interests by…
- Continuing my coursework in order to get a solid understanding of basic undergraduate concepts.
- Leaving myself enough free time so that I can pursue interests far beyond the undergraduate curriculum, albeit with a more conceptual and less problem-based focus.
- Spending my upcoming summers doing research in both my areas of interest (per the above), and related areas that I might not understand the attraction of until I try them.
- By June 2010, obtaining a B.Sc. in mathematics and possibly a Masters in physics at Caltech, setting myself up for a career as a mathematical physicist.
- In the long term, earning an appointment at a theory-focused research institute aligned with my interests.
- Extensive and ongoing reading, at varying levels of difficulty and technicality, of books and arXiv papers in mathematics, physics, and cosmology. I am currently alternating between Schutz’s
A First Course in General Relativity and Zee’s
Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell, while attempting to keep up with gr-qc, hep-th, and quant-ph on the arXiv.org preprint archive. For fun, I read and ponder Aharonov and Rohrlich’s
Quantum Paradoxes.
- Already, independent textbook reading has given me a detailed view of advanced quantum mechanics, (some) quantum field theory, elementary particle physics, Bohm–de Broglie hidden variable theories, the role of abstract algebra in physics, and general relativity (with the associated mathematical methods).
- I have a qualitative grasp of the subjects of category theory, quantum information and computability theory, classical Hamiltonian/Lagrangian mechanics, canonical quantum gravity, some of the geometrical foundations of loop quantum gravity, and the causal sets program. I feel that I can at least follow talks and other somewhat-quantitative arguments in these areas.
Skills
- Languages: written extensively in C, C++, C#, XML, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, ASP.NET, PHP, Unix Shell, LaTeX; six years of high-school Spanish
- Software Experience: Mathematica, Reduce, Linux, Windows, LDAP, MySQL, Apache, Visual Studio
- General Programming: both as a job (see below) and for fun, I have spent a lot of time programming complex applications of many different types; I feel confident in being able to take on any programming assignment.
- Simulation and Modeling: for both fun projects and for research or exploration purposes, I have written several numerical simulations of physical systems, usually with Mathematica but sometimes with C#.
- Hobbies: giving talks on higher-level topics to high-school students; tutoring; mathematics contests; website development; miscellaneous programming projects; serving as Dungeon Master for Dungeons & Dragons games
Research Experience
For more details, see my more extensive summary of research experience.
-
Undergraduate Researcher at the Perimeter Institute, June–August 2007
- Worked with Samuel Colin and Ward Struyve in the area of de Broglie–Bohm hidden variable theory.
- Specifically, worked on several models for fermionic quantum field theories, based on both the work of Colin and Ward and the work of Peter Holland.
- Acquired an in-depth working knowledge of quantum mechanics and de Broglie–Bohm hidden variable theories (including quantum field theories), and learned some amount of quantum field theory as necessary.
Work Experience
-
Webraska (webraska.com), June–September 2002; 30 hours/week
- Redesigned and recoded external web site (although the current incarnation does not reflect my work at all).
- Maintained and updated internal website.
- Reference: Jim Salter (manager)
-
Proofpoint (proofpoint.com), June 2003–present; 40 hours/week (summer), 1–8 hours/week (school year)
- Performed quality assurance on flagship product, the Proofpoint Protection Server.
- Architected, coded, and maintained internal website, LDAP directory, and other infrastructure features.
- Designed an inventory database and wrote a web-based interface for it.
- Wrote a program to synchronize the company LDAP directory with an internal Microsoft SQL Server-based tool.
- Implemented visitor statistics tracking for external and internal websites.
- Unified multiple patch-management structures into one cohesive database and interface.
- Generally, performed miscellaneous coding jobs.
- References: Jim Salter (manager), Craig Hirst (manager), Lisa Erikson (coworker in Quality Assurance).
- At both companies, worked extensively with and on multiple teams across departments, both on projects that required collaboration and projects that required synthesizing the requirements of multiple groups. In general, I enjoy working in a team to create and maintain software.
