I am a full-time undergraduate student at the University of Vermont majoring in mathematics and physics. From July 2007 to January 2008 I studied at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile (pictures here).
Sometimes I play ultimate frisbee for Team Chill at UVM.
Chaotic convection: I am working with Chris Danforth, Darren Hitt, and El Hassan Ridouane to build and analyze a physical analog of the 1963 Lorenz system, the first example of deterministic chaos. It's called a thermosyphon and is a type of non-mechanical heat pump or convection loop. We use a combination of data assimilation and ensemble forecasting methods to predict the occurance of flow reversals we call regime chnages. I've uploaded a cool video that shows one measure of the system's stability on the attractor. This is a recent presentation outlining our research given at the UVM Student Research Conference. Read my thesis, if you dare.
Leaf vascular networks: Also known as venation patterns, a number of mathematical models have been proposed to explain the branching structures of leaves. Qinglan Xia proposed a model in 2007 which grows each leaf while simultaneously minimizing a cost function. This approach produces both the vascular network and boundary of the leaf. Varying the parameters of the model can produce many of the shapes observed in nature, including that of the maple leaf (left). I began this as a project in two of Peter Dodds' classes.
Vermont's Non-Timber Forest Products - a website I made with Claire McKown for ethnobotany class, HCOL 195
Assorted things I've written
My parents also have sites: Dad, Mom (I maintain this)
Current address:
37 Greene St. Apt. 2My permanent address:
16 Orchard Ln.You can write me email at two addresses, school-related and personal
If you'd like an email to be private and secure, please use my GPG public key
