Resume

Education

Yale University, New Haven, CT
Ph.D. (2018), M.Phil. (2015), M.S. (2013)
Advisor: Prof. Karsten Heeger

Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
B.A. cum laude with High Honors in Physics (2012)

Benjamin N. Cardozo High School, Bayside, NY
Valedictorian

Technical Skills

Software and programming: Expertise and 10 years of robotics and scientific computing experience with C++, C, and Python. Proficient with Mathematica and MATLAB. Familiar with Java, PHP, SQL, and Ruby.

Robotics: Mapping, localization, state estimation, sensor fusion, simulation, lidar data analysis, linear algebra.

Other Engineering: Multiple years of experience with electrical, vacuum, and cryogenic engineering; oscilloscopes, and waveform generators; machining and metalworking (CNC mills, lathes, band saws, drills); CAD software; and prototyping tools including 3D printing, laser cutting, and waterjet cutting.

Experience

Optimus Ride, Boston, MA

Director of Engineering (November 2019 – Present)
Software Engineering Tech Lead and Manager (May 2019 – November 2019)
Software Engineer (January 2018 – May 2019)

• Director of the Estimation & Optimization Group, leading a team of 12 engineers, responsible for mapping and localization, sensor calibration and fusion, and simulation and autonomy infrastructure for autonomous vehicle software.
• Architected a new representation format for street maps in C++, personally implementing the fundamental framework and overseeing the full development effort, enabling the mapping of complex road geometries and intersections.
• Developed real-time monitoring frameworks in C++ for the vehicle software and hardware systems, unlocking the ability for our vehicle to respond safely to system faults.
• Designed a novel framework for vehicle software simulation testing in Python, allowing vehicle software to be exercised in simulation in hundreds of dynamic scenarios.
• Led the development, integration, and deployment of enhancements to our mapping, localization, and state estimation algorithms in C++, used to accurately determine the position of the autonomous vehicle on the road using multiple sensor modalities.

Yale University, New Haven, CT

Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant (September 2012 – December 2017)

• Designed, constructed, and commissioned the robotic calibration system electronics for a large international physics experiment, capable of precision deployment of radioactive sources into an extremely sensitive experimental apparatus. Analyzed the data derived from the calibration system using C++.
• Validated the performance of the calibration system and the interaction of the electronics, control software, and calibration hardware in a series of test operations spanning two years.
• Collaborated with 150 scientists to set world-leading limit on a rare decay of tellurium through a search for signals in extremely large datasets, writing and using C++ analysis software.
• Presented and authored scientific publications, talks, and posters on behalf of CUORE at multiple national and international physics conferences.
• Managed a team of 10 teaching fellows as Head Teaching Fellow for a 170-student lecture course, with 100% positive feedback from students in course evaluations.

Physics Research

CUORE, 2013–2017: Neutrino physics research with Professor Karsten Heeger and CUORE, an experiment to detect and measure neutrinoless double beta decay in ¹³⁰Te

Superfluid He excimer detection, 2013: Condensed matter physics research with Professor Dan McKinsey, working on an experiment to detect quantum vortices in superfluid helium with transition edge sensors.

ACME, 2011: Atomic physics research with Professor John Doyle and the ACME collaboration, working to measure the permanent electric dipole moment of the electron using the heavy polar molecule ThO.

ATLAS, 2010–2011: Worked at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland and at Harvard analyzing the first data obtained by the ATLAS Experiment at the Large Hadron Collider with Professors Masahiro Morii and Joao Guimaraes da Costa and the ATLAS Group at the Harvard University Laboratory for Particle Physics and Cosmology.

WorldWide Telescope, 2010: Research assistant for Professor Alyssa Goodman, developing applications for WorldWide Telescope (WWT), a virtual telescope that brings together astronomical images in a unified, easily accessible format, and teaching weekly sessions at the local middle school.

NuSTAR, 2009: Helped to develop the optical calibration facility for NuSTAR, a high-energy X-ray telescope array launched in 2012, with Professor Charles Hailey.

Teaching

Physics 181: University Physics – A broad introduction to electromagnetism, optics, special relativity, and quantum physics (Head Teaching Fellow, Yale, Spring 2014)

Physics 180: University Physics – A broad introduction to Newtonian mechanics, gravitation, waves, and thermodynamics (Teaching Fellow, Yale, Fall 2012 and Fall 2013)

Physics 166: General Physics Laboratory – A laboratory course accompanying the introductory physics sequence (Teaching Fellow, Yale, Spring 2013)

Computer Science 50: Introduction to Computer Science – An intensive introduction to computer science and computer programming (Teaching Fellow, Harvard, Fall 2010)

Selected publications

J. S. Cushman et al. The detector calibration system for the CUORE cryogenic bolometer array. Nucl. Instr. Meth. A 844, 32–44 (2017).

C. Alduino et al. (CUORE Collaboration). CUORE-0 detector: design, construction and operation. J. Instr. 11, P07009 (2016).

C. Alduino et al. (CUORE Collaboration). Analysis Techniques for the Evaluation of the Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay Lifetime in ¹³⁰Te with CUORE-0. Phys. Rev. C 93, 045503 (2016).

K. Alfonso et al. (CUORE Collaboration). Search for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay of ¹³⁰Te with CUORE-0. Physical Review Letters 115, 102502 (2015).

N. F. Brejnholt et al. The Rainwater Memorial Calibration Facility for X-Ray Optics. X-ray Optics and Instrumentation 2011 (2011).

Conferences

Initial performance of the CUORE detector. Poster. TAUP 2017: 15th International Conference on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics. Sudbury, Ontario. July 25, 2017 [PDF].

Improving the energy calibration of CUORE-0 and CUORE. Contributed talk. 2016 Fall Meeting of the APS Division of Nuclear Physics. Vancouver, British Columbia. October 16, 2016 [PDF].

Calibration of CUORE-0 and CUORE. Contributed talk. 2015 Fall Meeting of the APS Division of Nuclear Physics. Santa Fe, New Mexico. October 29, 2015 [PDF].

Commissioning and calibrating the CUORE neutrinoless double beta decay experiment. Contributed talk. APS April Meeting 2015. Baltimore, Maryland. April 13, 2015 [PDF].

Cryogenic verification of the CUORE Detector Calibration System. Poster. Neutrino 2014: XXVI International Conference on Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics. Boston, Massachusetts. June 6, 2014 [PDF].

Other Public Talks

Designing and Building CUORE, a Search for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay. Weak Interaction Discussion Group Seminar, Yale University, February 24, 2015 [PDF].