S5E7 - Computational Scientists Discuss 2024 Nobel Prizes
Science in Parallel
Wrapping up our discussion of the 2024 Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry, computer scientist Mansi Sakarvadia and computational structural biologist Josh Vermaas talk about the recent prizes and what they mean for science. You'll hear about how the prizes both break down research barriers and introduce concerns about misinformation and public trust. The research honored with the chemistry prize has already changed how researchers study questions that involve understanding proteins' structures. For more on the 2024 Nobel Prizes, check out . You'll meet: is a Ph.D. student in the and...
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S5E6 - Anil Ananthaswamy: AI's Nobel Moment
Science in Parallel
2024 was artificial intelligence’s Nobel Prize year with the physics and chemistry prizes recognizing the underpinnings and application of these algorithms. Science journalist and author Anil Ananthaswamy spent years writing a popular book, Why Machines Learn: The Elegant Math Behind Modern AI, that explores the equations and historical context for this technology. In this conversation, Anil and host Sarah Webb explore that math and history, the significance of these Nobel Prizes for both AI and science, and the challenges that come with this powerful and fast-moving technology. You’ll...
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S5E5 - Sadie Bartholomew: Patterns in Computing and Art
Science in Parallel
The annual convenes November 17-22 in Atlanta with the theme of HPC creates, and Science in Parallel previews a special display at the meeting: . Host Sarah Webb interviews Sadie Bartholomew of the United Kingdom's and the about her work as a research software engineer and her passion for creative coding. She submitted several pieces of digital art that will be displayed at SC24. Sadie discussed the many patterns in her work—within weather and climate, in coding and in digital art. She makes her pieces using matplotlib, a visualization tool in Python. She talks about the synergy and...
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S5E4 - Paulina Rodriguez: Building Credibility and Authenticity
Science in Parallel
Early in her applied math journey, Paulina Rodriguez was a little skeptical of calculators and computers. But her desire to really understand what’s going on under the hood has ultimately led to satisfying research. During her Ph.D., she’s explored the credibility of computational models for medical device applications, making sure that researchers understand the accuracy, validity and uncertainty of simulated results. Paulina shares how she honed her problem-solving skills and creativity as she navigated her education. Her enthusiasm and determination are infectious, and she describes her...
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S5E3 - Paul Sutter the Spaceman: Adventures in Science and Outreach
Science in Parallel
Science communication often attracts people with diverse interests, who thrive in multiple roles. Paul Sutter is no exception: he’s an astrophysicist, host, author and more. He’s also a visiting professor at Barnard College, Columbia University. Paul’s roots are in computational science, and he shares how his many projects continue to build on that foundation. We also discuss his most recent book: Rescuing Science: Restoring Trust in an Age of Doubt, which critiques today’s scientific enterprise and and offers ideas for supporting a better future. You'll meet: is a theoretical...
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S5E2 - Rogelio Cardona-Rivera Plays Games for Science
Science in Parallel
Video games are everywhere, but the fundamental elements that generate human reactions such as suspense or surprise aren’t understood. Instead, game designers start from scratch each time they want to build a new experience for players. Rogelio Cardona-Rivera of the University of Utah wants to understand games and the fundamental elements that make people respond as they do—as a science of games. The research is important for more than just gaming—Rogelio is working on a variety of projects, including artificial intelligence research, technology for Indigenous storytelling and virtual...
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S5E1 - Lois Curfman McInnes: Building Software Sustainability and Workforce Diversity
Science in Parallel
The field of high-performance computing (HPC) currently faces dual challenges: important technical problems that require a skilled workforce and the need to recruit more computational researchers, especially those from underrepresented communities. This conversation with Lois Curfman McInnes of Argonne National Laboratory examines both the complexity in building scientific software and the work needed to build the HPC workforce of the future. You'll meet: is a senior computational scientist in the mathematics and computer science division at . She served as deputy director for the software...
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S4E4 - Anubhav Jain: Hacking Materials
Science in Parallel
Artificial intelligence is reshaping research to discover new materials for a range of important applications. In this episode, meet of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a researcher who has been at the forefront of this transition. He uses machine learning and other computational tools as a materials scientist to discover compounds that could store and convert energy and solve other societal problems. Anubhav’s current research path started in graduate school at MIT, where he was supported by a . We discuss how computational tools including AI have moved from a novel idea to a central...
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Season 4, Episode 3 -- Danilo Pérez: Embracing Versatility
Science in Parallel
Sometimes extraordinary circumstances like the pandemic offer researchers unexpected opportunities to serve others. Danilo Pérez, now a Ph.D. student in computational neuroscience at New York University, found himself in this situation in Puerto Rico in 2020. He contributed his mathematical modeling expertise as part of a team that built and maintained Puerto Rico’s public health data during that intense period. Later he contributed to AI-based modeling of coronavirus variants that won major honors in the computing community: the 2022 Gordon Bell Special Prize for HPC-Based COVID-19...
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Season 4, Episode 2 -- Casey Berger: Choose Your Own Multidimensional Career
Science in Parallel
Traditional science career advice often urges people to specialize and become the best at one activity. But that perspective can undervalue interdisciplinary researchers and other polymaths who can see connections between and beyond science and engineering fields. This episode’s guest, Casey Berger, describes how she has navigated this second approach, embracing her many interests, such as science, computing, teaching and storytelling, to make her mark as a physicist and data scientist and as a fiction author. In the second episode of our podcast series on creativity in computing, Casey...
info_outlineAlicia Magann got her start in control systems engineering research, exploring tools for controlling large-scale chemical processes. As a Ph.D. student, she turned the dials of quantum chemistry in Herschel Rabitz’s research group at Princeton University with support from the DOE CSGF. She talks about her work on quantum algorithms, her cross-country road trip from New Jersey to her practicum in California and how her dad is her scientific hero.
Read more about Alicia and her work in the 2021 issue of DEIXIS.