Stefano Meschiari education W. J. McDonald Fellow, University of Texas at Austin 2012 Doctor of Philosophy Astronomy & Astrophysics UT Austin, Department of Astronomy University of California, Santa Cruz H +1 (512) 471-3574 B [email protected] 2006 Master of Science (with highest honors) m http://stefano-meschiari.github.io Astronomy m http://www.save-point.io University of Bologna, Italy 2004 Bachelor of Science (with highest honors) research interests Astronomy • Extra-solar planet detection and dynamical modeling University of Bologna, Italy of radial velocity and transit data • N-body and hydrodynamical simulations applied to publications 17 refereed papers, 8 1st-author, h=12 proto-planetary disk evolution and planetary forma- Meschiari, S., Circumbinary Planet Formation in the Kepler- tion 16 System. II. A Toy Model for In-situ Planet Formation within • Data analysis through high-performance algorithms a Debris Belt, 2014, ApJ and citizen science Meschiari, S., Planet Formation in Circumbinary Configu- • Education and outreach through online engagement. rations: Turbulence Inhibits Planetesimal Accretion, 2012, ApJL work & research experience Meschiari, S., Circumbinary planet formation in the Kepler- 16 system. I. N-Body simulations, 2012, ApJ 2012-Present W. J. McDonald Postdoctoral Fellow Meschiari, S., et al., The Lick-Carnegie Survey: Four New University of Texas at Austin Exoplanet Candidates, 2011, ApJ Conduct research on planet formation in disturbed Meschiari, S. & Laughlin, G., Systemic: a testbed for charac- environments through numerical simulations, lead the terizing the detection of extrasolar planets. II. Full solutions development of the Systemic software for use in the data to the Transit Timing inverse problem, 2010, ApJ analysis pipeline of the Automated Planet Finder telescope Meschiari, S., Wolf, A. S., Rivera, E., Laughlin, G., Vogt, and other surveys, collaborate in the discovery of several S., Butler, P., Systemic: a testbed for characterizing the new exoplanets, develop a new Monte-Carlo code for detection of extrasolar planets. I. The Systemic Console tracking the evolution of the size distribution of solids in Package, 2009, PASP proto-planetary disks, develop online apps and games for astronomy education. Awards: Longhorn Innovation Fund Meschiari, S. & Laughlin, G., The Potential Impact of Groove for Technology. Modes on Type II Planetary Migration, 2008, ApJL All publications: m http://www.stefanom.org/pubs/ 2010-2011 Research Analyst VN7 Dynamic LP computing experience Led the development of a sophisticated desktop applica- My developer portfolio and open-source projects are avail- tion to monitor the real-time performance of strategies able at m http://stefano-meschiari.github.io. on high-frequency stock trading. The package was used • Extensive experience in R, C, Java, Lua, and Matlab to aggregate statistics, steer strategies, and summarize programming, with an emphasis on numerical simula- high-frequency messages by a backend component. tions, data analysis and graphical user interface (GUI) design. 2006-2012 Graduate Research Assistant • Extensive experience in Web and web app develop- University of California at Santa Cruz ment (see portfolio), including HTML5, CSS/LESS, JavaScript, PHP, Node.js, MySQL & SQLite, and the Published 6 first-author papers on gravitational instabilities Backbone, JQuery, Bootstrap, Paper.js and High- in proto-planetary disks, exoplanet detection through charts libraries. radial velocities and transit timing, and circumbinary planet formation. Awards: Regent’s Fellow, Whitford Prize, Award • Basic knowledge of Python, Fortran, Objective-C, and for Excellence in Teaching. Clojure. honors and awards recent scientific talks • 2014, Meschiari, S. (PI), Ludwig, R., Green, J., “Inter- • Apps and Games for Astronomy Education, .Astron- active Education Tools in the Public Square” (Award: omy 6, December 2014 $2,800) • Let It Collide: a Story of Star Wars Planets, Plan- • 2014, Meschiari, S. (PI), Green, J., Ludwig, R., “Bring- etesimals, and Super Planet Crashes, University of ing the Tools of Research Direct to the UT Class- Delaware, May 2014 room: Systemic, a Virtual Lab for Students” (Award: • Systemic: One Software Package to Rule Them All, $87,710) Bay Area Exoplanet Meeting, March 2014 • 2010, Award for Excellence in Teaching (UCSC) • Assembling Kepler 16-B, UT Austin, April 2013 • 2008, Whitford Prize (UCSC) • Planetary Assembly in Binary Systems, DPS meeting • 2006, University of California, Regents’ Fellow 2012 • Two Can’t Play That Game: The Perils of Planet For- outreach mation, UT Austin, September 2012 Popular articles and guest blog posts: teaching • Telescope apps help amateurs hunt for exoplan- • Excellence in Teaching Award ets, The Conversation, UK, republished on Scientific • Spring 2009, Astronomy 18: Planets and Planetary American, Apr. 2014 Systems [Claire Max, UCSC] • Star Wars planets migrate into position around stel- • Spring 2007, Astronomy 18: Planets and Planetary lar pairs, The Conversation, UK, republished on Sci- Systems [Claire Max, UCSC] entific American, Ars Technica, and The New States- • Winter 2007, Astronomy 4: The Stars [Jean Brodie, man, Feb. 2014 UCSC] • Growing planets around binary stars, Guest post on Planet Hunters blog, Nov. 2012 professional service Popular software: • Article for AstroBetter: Creating Online Apps for Out- • Systemic is an application for exploring and analyz- reach and Education, July 2014 ing exoplanetary data. It is used around the world • Referee for MNRAS, 2012-present by research groups to analyze radial velocity datasets • NASA Origins of Solar Systems Program, external re- and derive the orbital properties of putative plane- viewer, 2012, 2013, 2014 tary systems. It is used for undergraduate and gradu- • Bash Symposium proceedings, co-editor, 2013 ate classes at Caltech, UF, MIT, SJSU, Yale, Columbia, • DPS meeting volunteer, 2012 UCSC, and Delaware (among others). m http://www.stefanom.org/systemic references Please contact me for a list of references. • Super Planet Crash is an edu-tainment online ap- plication, a game that teaches players about gravity and exoplanetary dynamics. It has been played more than 9,000,000 times since its launch in April 2014 thanks to widespread press, viral sharing and acco- lades for its entertainment value, educational content and game design. It has been featured, among others, on Huffington Post, The Daily Texan, Space.com, Sci- entific American, The Verge. m http://www.stefanom.org/spc Recent talks: • Assembling Oddball Worlds: Planet Formation in the Kepler Era, McDonald Board of Visitors Meeting, February 2014 • Our Solar System vs. a Thousand Exoplanets: The New Normal, Westcave Preserve, January 2014 Press releases, media and interviews: • See m http://www.stefanom.org/outreach.