Science, Technology, and Real Estate

I’m doing my PhD research in the Telescope Array Physics group at the University of Utah.

One of the great mysteries of High Energy physics is the origin of the highest energy cosmic rays; the Pierre Auger experiment has given weak evidence that active galactic nuclei are a potential source, but this analysis is far from conclusive. One area of interest which I’m pursuing (and an area which will probably make its way into my thesis) involves confirming these results through improved modeling of the data processing for the Telescope Array experiment and its predecessor, HiRes, by correcting what is potentially a serious analysis error that eliminates the ability to confirm Auger’s result.

The essence of this error lies in the method used to find and remove events triggered from lasers from the Telescope Array and HiRes data sets. Without publicly revealing too many details until the analysis is complete, it is plausible that correcting this error will lead to a reevaluation of the origins of Cosmic Rays which could be compatible with the Auger collaboration’s results.

I regularly use 5 computers a week — one at my office at the University of Utah, one at my office at Solera Networks, one at my home office, a laptop as a research terminal, and a laptop for Solera work. This presents a serious challenge, inasmuch as there is data which I’d like to be present and modifiable in each place without worrying about copying files to-and-fro over and over again.

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