David A
- Research Program Mentor

PhD at University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC)

Expertise

Data science & visualization, digital media (audio/visual), web/application development

Bio

My research explores the intersection of graphics, data visualization, and interaction design. I have experience working in biotech, aerospace, and entertainment industries. My thesis project, CosmoVis, is a web application that I built in collaboration with a team of astronomers for visualizing and analyzing large-scale cosmological simulations to predict the evolution of galaxies and the structure of the universe. Outside of work I enjoy spending my free time on more creative pursuits. I mentally recharge by listening to and recording music, reading, painting, gardening, biking, skateboarding, and hanging out with my cats.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

What does a galaxy sound like?

[Data Sonification] How can galactic properties (e.g. mass, temperature, composition) be turned into meaningful sound bites for quick comparisons?

Coding skills

Arduino, C/C++, HTML, CSS, Conda, Docker, Javascript, Jupyter Notebook, Kubernetes, Matlab, Processing, Python, R, Raspberry Pi, SQL

Languages I know

Russian, conversational. Spanish, conversational.

Teaching experience

At UC Santa Cruz I have been a teaching assistant in the Computational Media department for courses such as Creating Digital Audio, Musical Data, Game Graphics, and Game Engine Development. I have mentored undergraduate students in the Creative Coding Lab on various data visualization projects.

Credentials

Work experience

NASA / Caltech / ArtsCenter (2019 - 2019)

CS Lead - Spacecraft Simulation Data Visualization

Tempus Labs (2017 - 2018)

Clinical Data Analyst

UC Santa Cruz (2018 - Current)

Graduate Student Researcher, Teaching Assistant

Shattered Globe Theatre Company (2013 - Current)

Artistic Associate

Education

DePaul University

BS Bachelor of Science (2017)

Biology & Physics (double major)

University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC)

PhD Doctor of Philosophy

Computational Media

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David A - Research Program Mentor