Principal Investigator
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Gourab GhoshalAssistant Professor of Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science Gourab Ghoshal is Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy with joint appointments at the departments of Computer Science and Mathematics. Prior to joining Rochester, he was at Harvard University at the department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and a member of Harvard’s multidisciplinary Origins of Life initiative. Hailing from New Delhi, India, Professor Ghoshal got his bachelor’s and master’s degree at the University of London, UK (BS and MSc in theoretical Physics, 2004). He did his doctoral-thesis work at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (PhD in Physics, 2009) during which he attended the prestigious Complex Systems summer school at the Santa Fe Institute, NM and the Theoretical Physics school at Les Houches near Chamonix in France. Following his PhD, he was a postdoctoral scientist jointly at Northeastern University and Harvard Medical School as well as a visiting scientist at the Media Lab, MIT. Professor Ghoshal is trained as a Statistical Physicist and works in the field of Complex Systems. His research interests are in the theory and applications of Complex Networks as well as Non-equilibrium Statistical Physics, Computational Social Science, Econophysics, Dynamical Systems and the Origins of Life. |
Post-Doctoral Researchers
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Hugo S. BarbosaOffice: Bausch & Lomb Hall 468 Hugo has a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Computer Engineering at the Polytechnic School of Pernambuco, Brazil. He got his Ph.D. in Computer Science at Florida Institute of Technology in 2016. His research interests are mainly centered around understanding the fundamental mechanisms underlying complex human dynamics such as human mobility and online behaviors. Apart from his research activities, he has a strong interest in Philosophy, Politics and cinema. His worldview has been shaped by a convolution of Albert Camus, Rollo May and Karl Marx with orthogonal influences of Pedro Almodóvar, Gaspar Noé and Lars von Trier. |
doctorate students
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Mike VerostekOffice: Bausch & Lomb Hall 468 Mike received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hamilton College in 2016, graduating with a concentration in Physics and minors in Mathematics and Government. His undergraduate research focused on studying the behavior of scalar fields in extra dimensional models of spacetime. Mike is interested in a wide variety of academic disciplines, and frequently reads nonfiction books and political science blogs. In his spare time, Mike is an avid photographer; he also spends most mornings in his office doing the New York Times crossword puzzle. |
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Surendra A. HazarieOffice: Bausch & Lomb Hall 474 Surendra is a second year graduate student working towards a PhD in physics. He completed his undergraduate studies at Rochester, earning a B.S. in physics with a minor in mathematics. He has done research in astronomy, surface / condensed matter physics, as well as quantum optics. In his spare time, he enjoys video games and board games. |
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Sayat MimarOffice: Bausch & Lomb Hall 373 Sayat received his Bachelor’s degree in Physics and Mathematics from Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey. He entered University of Rochester Physics Ph.D. program in 2016. During his undergraduate studies, he attended DESY Summer School Program in Hamburg also made a short scientific visit to Institut Non Linéaire de Nice in France where he had research experience in condensed matter physics also in optics. |
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Kristen BushEmail: kristen_bush at urmc.rochester.edu Kristen has a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science for Health Professions from the University of Houston and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from Texas A&M University. She is currently a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Rochester Medical Center in the Translational Biomedical Science PhD Program. Her primary advisors are Martin Zand, MD, PhD of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute and Gourab Ghoshal, PhD of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Kristen’s dissertation research uses network science to model and predict the occurrence of nosocomial Clostridium difficile infection at Strong Memorial Hospital. |
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Brian DickinsonEmail: bdicken3 at cs.rochester.edu Brian is a third year PhD student from the Computer Science department. As an undergrad he studied Computer Science and Business Administration at Houghton College. His research focuses on data science analysis and applications for social issues. |
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MARIAMO MUSSA JUANEEmail: mariamomussa at hotmail.com Mariamo studied their degree and master in physics and fundamental physics respectively in Santiago de Compostela. Now, at the same university, they are doing a PhD on Modelization of social phenomena through emergent network properties of interconnected communities. Though they were expected to study fine arts since childhood, in their late adolescence, they started being keen on maths and physics, thanks to the encourage of great teachers from inside and outside the academy. After ending the degree, they found complexity, chaos and non-linear physics the fittest fields for their never ending curiosity. They enjoy the most cinema, music, stories in general, dancing, drawing and reading. Discovering, trying new things, learning. And, last but not least, sharing thoughts and feelings with their friends. |
Undergraduate
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Shiva LakshmananEmail: sl2336 at cornell.edu Shiva is a senior at Cornell University studying Physics with a concentration in Computer Science. His summer research involves studying website mobility and how humans browse the web. In his spare time, Shiva loves to play badminton, dance, and watch movies and tv. |
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Connor LuckettEmail: cluckett15 at austincollege.edu Connor is a Senior Mathematics student at Austin College in Sherman, Texas, where he resides. He is a concert percussionist and an occasional drummer. He enjoys road cycling and tinkering with his Raspberry Pi. |
Alumni
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Gul Seda UnalData Science Fellow at Insight Data Science |
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Alec KirkleyGraduate Student at the University of Michigan |