主要研究 今天

史蒂文·阿里亚斯，16岁, 物理学和天文学的博士候选人, has become the first 主要研究 student to receive an award from the Department of Energy’s Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program.

SCGSR的目标是为研究生做好科学准备, 技术, engineering or mathematics careers that are critically important to the DOE Office of Science mission by providing graduate thesis research opportunities through extended residency at DOE national laboratories.

“The award is a good fit for what I want to do later on in my career,阿里亚斯说。. “I’ve expressed interest in looking for jobs at a national lab setting, so this will be a good experience to see if this is a career path I would enjoy.”

作为项目的一部分, Arias will work at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, 从11月开始在纽约待一年. The award provides support for inbound and outbound travel to the laboratory, 每月津贴高达3美元,000 for general living expenses while at the host DOE laboratory during the award period.

Arias’s interest in working at Brookhaven was hatched by his desire to simplify research that utilizes scanning probe techniques to better understand surface chemistry – it can take days for even expert users to optimize parameters before useful data can be mined. Arias hopes to utilize machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to automate the image optimization process for these microscopes.

“Automating complex optimization procedures using machine learning would save users time and effort, 阿里亚斯说, 谁会和珀西·扎尔合作, 布鲁克海文的高级科学助理.  “This would also make these techniques a lot easier to use and allow a non-expert user to get high quality data.”

在中, Arias has worked under assistant professor Shawna Hollen and associate professor Jiadong Zang. He first studied  how molecules attach to surfaces using advanced microscopy techniques that reveal atomic-scale details, specifically focusing on reactions that remove sulfur from petroleum products for ultra-clean fuels.

“Steven found an opportunity to make a significant difference for the whole imaging community,霍伦说。. “He will bring his independent computational pursuits and experimental expertise to the project at Brookhaven.”

阿里亚斯预计将完成他的博士学位.D. in December of 2022, also completed his bachelor’s degree in physics at 主要研究 in 2016. He says the best part of his academic experience is the support he’s received from the people at 主要研究.

“My advisors and all the faculty and staff members in the physics department provide constant support,阿里亚斯说。, 谁的家人住在哥伦比亚. “有时候离家这么远真的很难受, but all the friends I’ve made in the department act like a second family and provide constant support.”