About

As a computer scientist I investigate ways to use networks of small, cheap, resource-limited computers to improve our understanding of the world around us. Over the last century improvements in scientific instrumentation advanced our understanding of the world on small scales. Now, furthering scientific understanding requires marshaling technology to provide larger views, allowing scientists to observe entire systems with planetary-scale high-resolution sensing. Some have termed this new instrument the macroscope. Sensor networks, my primary interest, are an important part of this effort, which will eventually require connecting many different types of devices, as well as collaboration between computer and domain scientists. My project has involved instrumenting active volcanos using sensor networks. Using small, light, cheap devices allows us to quickly achieve a scale and resolution difficult to achieve with more traditional volcano monitoring instrumentation. However, the resource-limited nature of our nodes makes providing high-quality output suitable for scientific analysis challenging, particularly given the high data rates and complex signal processing required by this application. To date we have fielded three sensor networks on active Ecuadorean volcanos, each yielding valuable insights and furthering our scientific goals.

Education

Harvard University

Ph.D. , Computer Science

Class of 2010

Awards & Publications