“Ben is an extremely capable data scientist and machine learning engineer. As a project manager, I have led multiple projects with Ben as a team member while employed at CVS Health. Ben was my go-to person when I needed to resolve urgent breakthrough requests from senior leaders. As one example, I called in Ben to resolve a $11M client liability by end of the contract (74 days). Ben used Bayesian optimization to simulate a series of moves using a custom optimization algorithm that would reduce this client liability to $0. Within a week he delivered a series of adjustments that put the client on this path. Ben is a rare example of a data scientist who is just as fluent in Python as he is communicating with senior leaders; his adjustments were accepted by leadership and have already reduced client liability by over $7M so far. His strong ML background, fast pace, and his ability to innovate will make him an incredible asset to whatever team he joins.”
Ben Rhodeland
Los Angeles, California, United States
979 followers
500+ connections
About
I’m a machine learning data scientist and biophysicist who is passionate about AI and…
Activity
-
What a day for the quantum industry. 🌟 Google Quantum AI has just proven, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing is…
What a day for the quantum industry. 🌟 Google Quantum AI has just proven, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing is…
Liked by Ben Rhodeland
-
🏅 American Made Excellence! As the 2024 Olympics close, we congratulate Team USA on representing our nation with precision and excellence. We are…
🏅 American Made Excellence! As the 2024 Olympics close, we congratulate Team USA on representing our nation with precision and excellence. We are…
Liked by Ben Rhodeland
-
A blog post on one of the most interesting educational experiments I've tried -- having students self-segregate into "active" and "inactive" sections…
A blog post on one of the most interesting educational experiments I've tried -- having students self-segregate into "active" and "inactive" sections…
Liked by Ben Rhodeland
Experience
Education
-
University of Oregon
-
Studied material transport within and dynamics of bacterial swarms, as well as developed theoretical models of mixing and built a complementary suite of simulation and analysis software.
-
-
Established and set up new biophysics lab, computationally modeled swarming bacterial dynamics and material transport within these colonies.
-
-
Activities and Societies: President of SEDS (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space), Volunteer educator through SEES After School Elementary Science Outreach Program
Astrophysics, researched methods of constraining characteristics of white dwarf binary systems including orbital periods and radial velocities, and computed/published limb-darkening profiles with most accurate-to-date atmospheric models of white dwarfs with Dr. Alexandros Gianninas and advisor Dr. Mukremin Kilic.
Also computed sample weak gauge boson decay/production cross-sections and simulated events at the LHC using ISAJET with Dr. Howard Baer. -
-
-
-
Publications
-
Bacterial surface motility is modulated by colony-scale flow and granular jamming
Journal of The Royal Society Interface
We show that (i) water availability is a sensitive control parameter modulating an abiotic jamming-like transition that determines whether the group remains fluidized and therefore collectively motile, (ii) groups self-organize into discrete layers as they travel, (iii) group motility does not require proliferation, rather groups are pulled from the front, and (iv) flow within expanding groups is capable of moving material from the parent colony into the expanding tip of a cellular dendrite…
We show that (i) water availability is a sensitive control parameter modulating an abiotic jamming-like transition that determines whether the group remains fluidized and therefore collectively motile, (ii) groups self-organize into discrete layers as they travel, (iii) group motility does not require proliferation, rather groups are pulled from the front, and (iv) flow within expanding groups is capable of moving material from the parent colony into the expanding tip of a cellular dendrite with implications for expansion into regions of varying nutrient content.
Cells move in large groups inside thin, surface-bound water layers, often achieving speeds of 30 µm/s within this environment, where viscous forces dominate over inertial forces (low Reynolds number). The canonical Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis is a model organism for the study of collective migration over surfaces with groups exhibiting motility on length-scales three orders of magnitude larger than themselves within a few doubling times.Other authorsSee publication -
Rapid and directed group motility in B. subtilis does not rely on individual motility or chemotaxis
bioRxiv (in review elsewhere)
Microbes routinely face the challenge of acquiring territory and resources on wet surfaces. Cells move in large groups inside thin, surface bound water layers, often achieving speeds of 30 μm/s within this environment, where viscous forces dominate over inertial forces (low Reynolds number). The canonical Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis is a model organism for the study of directed, collective migration over surfaces with groups exhibiting motility on length scales three orders of…
Microbes routinely face the challenge of acquiring territory and resources on wet surfaces. Cells move in large groups inside thin, surface bound water layers, often achieving speeds of 30 μm/s within this environment, where viscous forces dominate over inertial forces (low Reynolds number). The canonical Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis is a model organism for the study of directed, collective migration over surfaces with groups exhibiting motility on length scales three orders of magnitude larger than themselves within a few doubling times. Genetic and chemical studies clearly show that the secretion of endogenous surfactants and availability of free surface water are required for this ultrafast group motility. However, the relative importance of individual motility, chemosensing, and the presence of exogenous nutrient gradients in precipitating group surface motility are largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that, contrary to models, simulations and observations of surface motility in other bacterial species, (i) B. subtilis does not rely on chemotaxis to determine group motility direction, that (ii) the rate of dendritic expansion has only a weak dependence on motility and that rapid dendritic group motility is possible even with non-motile cells, and that (iii) water availability is likely a sensitive control parameter modulating an abiotic jamming transition that determines whether the group remains fluidized and therefore collectively motile. These data suggest that rapid surface motility does not result from individual motility and chemotaxis properties of the bacteria, but rather that a combination of biologically generated surface tension gradients and abiotic granular jamming regulate this ubiquitous ecological process.
-
Limb-darkening Coefficients for Eclipsing White Dwarfs
The Astrophysical Journal
We present extensive calculations of linear and non-linear limb-darkening coefficients as well as complete intensity profiles appropriate for modeling the light-curves of eclipsing white dwarfs. We compute limb-darkening coefficients in the Johnson-Kron-Cousins UBVRI photometric system as well as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) ugrizy system using the most up-to-date model atmospheres available. In all, we provide the coefficients for seven different limb-darkening laws. We describe…
We present extensive calculations of linear and non-linear limb-darkening coefficients as well as complete intensity profiles appropriate for modeling the light-curves of eclipsing white dwarfs. We compute limb-darkening coefficients in the Johnson-Kron-Cousins UBVRI photometric system as well as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) ugrizy system using the most up-to-date model atmospheres available. In all, we provide the coefficients for seven different limb-darkening laws. We describe the variations of these coefficients as a function of the atmospheric parameters, including the effects of convection at low effective temperatures. Finally, we discuss the importance of having readily available limb-darkening coefficients in the context of present and future photometric surveys like the LSST, Palomar Transient Factory (PTF), and the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS). The LSST, for example, may find ~10^5 eclipsing white dwarfs. The limb-darkening calculations presented here will be an essential part of the detailed analysis of all of these systems.
Other authors -
Recommendations received
1 person has recommended Ben
Join now to viewOther similar profiles
Explore collaborative articles
We’re unlocking community knowledge in a new way. Experts add insights directly into each article, started with the help of AI.
Explore More