Astro Seminar Series - Gus Evrard - HYBRID

Prof. August E. (Gus) Evrard is a first generation computational cosmologist and educational innovator at the University of Michigan. Author of the first computational algorithm to enable multi-fluid cosmological simulations of galaxy formation, Prof. Evrard's astrophysical research aims to understand clusters of galaxies, the rarest and largest gravitationally bound systems in the universe.  Named a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2012, his research is documented in over 250 refereed papers. Evrard is also a two-time awardee of the University of Michigan's Provost Teaching Innovation Prize.  Within Michigan’s Center for Academic Innovation he leads two service-oriented projects used by thousands of students each year; Atlas offers academic pathways services on the Ann Arbor campus while Problem Roulette is a stress-free study zone providing students with equitable access to locally authored problems from past exams. 

Title: From Cluster Cosmology to Computing Education

Abstract: Cosmological studies using galaxy clusters have a deep history but are beset by complications rooted in the inherently non-linear nature of the massive halo population.  In the first part of the talk I will put forward ideas for statistical representations of the cluster population aimed at improving interpretability, computational speed, and discovery potential.  A dual-quadratic halo mass function (DQ-HMF) with eight free parameters plays a central role.  In the second (shorter) part of the talk I will highlight a new effort underway at Michigan, the Program in Computing for the Arts and Sciences, that aims to provide a broad education in computing/digital studies to liberal arts students through lenses of justice, expression, and discovery.