This may seem scattered, if not scatter-brained, but it's all related to scaling and dynamics of complicated (complex, if you must) nonlinear systems. While I don't believe every technological problem has a technological solution, I'm interested in helping solve ones that do. In the absence of a general framework for understanding really complex behavior, I think the best approach is to study actual systems. With luck, I'll learn how to use resources efficiently in complex systems such as transportation networks, power grids, and communications networks.
It has indeed been a long, strange trip for someone from the small town of (I can't believe they're online) Summerville, SC, featuring stops along the way at:
- Phillips Academy (aka Andover)
- Swarthmore College, class of '79
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University of Texas at Austin, Ph.D. Physics, '86
The prototypical approach to complicated systems - statistical mechanics (in the guise of gauge-invariant quantum field theory in discrete space-time) -
the (late, lamented?) La Jolla Institute,
The prototypical complicated system - fluid turbulence. -
Los Alamos National Laboratory's:
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Center for Nonlinear Studies and
Theory Division
Modeling and predicting chaotic experimental time series -
TRANSIMS
Building transportation network simulations for urban planners, from individuals' daily trips to urban evolution
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Center for Nonlinear Studies and
Theory Division
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Santa Fe Institute
Where better to be complex? -
Prediction Company,
a founder, along with Joe Breeden, Tom Meyer, Tony Begg, John Gibson, Doyne Farmer, and Norman Packard.
Predicting financial markets - complicated, yes; deterministic, no. -
Space Biosphere Ventures,
Complex deterministic dynamics of C02 and light in Biosphere 2, a sealed environment.
Hard to find on the web - try Columbia University. You can see opinions from the founders on the biospherics page. -
Advanced Telecommunications Research, in Kyoto.
natural language - the most meaningful thing around?
Along the way, I've become handy at scientific programming, and a firm believer in the importance of design, testing, and scalability in software, even experimental research software. I'm more interested in science than in coding but for the most part I've been in places where, if I needed something done right, I did it myself. So what insights do I have for software design from the world of complex systems? KISS - keep it simple, stupid. Eons ago I programmed for the Macintosh (remember the "phone book" edition of Inside Mac?). I use a Mac at home, where my wife, Helen, a graphic designer, struggles to teach me principles of good visual design, while I try to teach her how to use Adobe Photoshop and Quark Express.
In general, though, I'd rather be unplugged and outdoors than staring at the terminal. My favorite activities are swimming, sailing (not a lot of that in New Mexico, though), cross-country skiing, and hiking. I enjoy brewing beer, gardening and in general puttering around the house in Santa Fe.
