AAAR 37th Annual Conference October 14 - October 18, 2019 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
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Patricio Piedra, Postdoctoral Physicist Seeking Permanent or Permanent-prospective Job as Researcher/Data-Analyst
PATRICIO PIEDRA, U.S Army Research Laboratory
Abstract Number: 712 Working Group: Meet the Job Seekers
Abstract In the broadest sense, I am interested in electromagnetic waves interacting with matter and retrieving information that can be used to characterize such matter remotely. Some examples of applications include aerosol remote sensing, characterization, and classification. In recent years, I have experimented with optical tweezers for trapping single aerosols and characterizing them using elastic and/or inelastic (i.e., Raman and Fluorescence) spectroscopy. I have recently treated electromagnetic scattering as a computational, big-data, machine-learning problem, and I have successfully demonstrated that Machine Learning can be used to classify the morphologies of aerosols from scattering datasets with great accuracy. I am currently researching the mechanisms of how Machine Learning finds patterns in such electromagnetic scattering datasets. These findings should pave the way to improved capabilities to detect and characterize trace aerosol. During my dissertation, I studied how particles scatter electromagnetic waves in the forward or backward direction and how this dependence affects the efficiency of solar modules deposited by particles. The papers I wrote during this period have been of strong interest to DOE audiences that study solar panel efficiency. Furthermore, during my M.S. in Physics education, I studied how we can model and classify aerosol by the degree of linear polarization of electromagnetic scattering. My dream position would be an academic research position in the West Coast, particularly California due to family; however, for the correct opportunity, I am willing to move anywhere in the U.S. Please note that I am looking for a permanent position, but I would accept a temporary/postdoctoral position provided that there are good avenues of reaching permanence. I have a skillset that includes large-dataset statistical/numerical modeling, laboratory skills for spectroscopy and optical table laser-spectroscopy, and academic writing and presentation.