Chase Shimmin, PhD

Physicist | ML Researcher | SoCal ⇄ Connecticut |   hire@chase.sh

I am a Research Scientist in the Physics department at Yale University. I like building things, and figuring things out. Since completing my Ph.D in experimental High Energy Physics, my research has focused on advanced Machine Learning modeling based on physical and mathematical structures, and their applications to analysis on diverse datasets from particle colliders to cellular microscopy and everything in between. I'm also veteran when it comes to software engineering, interested in best practices and with applied expertise ranging from robotics to UI design, and from FPGA development to cloud computing.

Experience

Associate Research Scientist

Yale University

Research faculty in the Physics Department. I work on the ATLAS experiment at CERN, in Geneva, Switzerland, and contribute to many areas of the collaboration. Most recently my work has focused on the application of geometric deep learning, uncertainty quantification and robustness, and generative methods to the very complex, yet mathematically structured data in physics. I also work on hardware projects and QA, building the next-generation inner detector of the upcoming HL-LHC machine. One of my greatest joys in this role is mentoring our very talented and highly motivated graduate students.

November 2016 - Present

CTO & Cofounder

Stealth-mode startup -- Sports Data

A small (4 employees), lean startup focused on analytics products for elite atheletes and organizations in a specific market. Partnering with a domain-expert, I am developing novel and start-of-the-art algorithms and models to bring our product vision to reality. In particular, I have been working on advanced computer vision techniques for 3-dimensional event reconstruction, as well as unsupervised methods for data mining, analytics, and transfer learning. In addition, I am the architect of our cloud platform built on AWS, which is designed to handle both our in-house training and research needs, as well as highly scalable customer-facing services for intensive video processing/ML inference. We are currently operating in stealth-mode during a private beta, but I am happy to talk more about this in person!

March 2023 - Present

PhD Candidate / Graduate Student Researcher

UC Irvine / CERN

My PhD research focused on experimental searches for exotic phenomena, with an emphasis on dark matter searches with the ATLAS experiment. I particuarly contributed to statistical analysis and modelling of systematic uncertainties in both real data and monte carlo simulations. I also collaborated closely with theorists to help tailor novel phenomenological models to unique search channels at the Large Hadron Collider. I also co-developed the CRAYFIS experiment to detect Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays with startphones (sadly now defunct). In addition to coordinating the physics aspects of the collaboration, including hardware calibration and statistical modelling, I also led the development of an android app and cloud-based data-acquisition system.

September 2011 - November 2016

Technical Cofounder

Speedpunch

My first startup, along with 1 technical and 1 nontechnical cofounders. The idea was "Github for construction superintendents". I led the early development of an iOS application for navigating blueprints and "punch lists" -- akin to software issue trackers. I left the company early to attend graduate school.

May - October 2010

Research Assistant / Undergraduate Researcher

Speedpunch

I helped develop, test, and deploy the PolarBear experiment, a ground-based telescope designed to make measurements of the CMB polarization at fine angular scales. My major contributions included the development of hard-realtime data-acquisition and telescope control software, data monitoring and analysis software, and readout and timing electronics.

May - October 2010

Backend Developer

Pinacol, Inc.

My first software gig, I worked on a proprietary PHP backend/content management system for a boutique web development company. I learned about database and linux server administration, as well as software design patterns, and many other things from our excellent lead engineer.

2006 - 2008

Education

University of California, Irvine

Doctor of Philosophy: High Energy Physics

Thesis Advisor: Prof. Daniel Whiteson

September 2010 - November 2016

University of California, Berkeley

Bachelor of Arts: Pure Mathematics & Physics

Undergraduate Research Advisors: Stuart Freedman, Adrian Lee

August 2006 - December 2010

Research Works

Selected Publications

todo

Interests

todo

Awards & Certifications

  • CIRTL Associate - Yale University 2023
  • Art in Research Prize - Yale University 2019
  • Faculty Endowed Fellowship - UC Irvine 2016
  • Webby Award - Crayfis Experiment 2015
  • 1 st Place - UC Berkeley CS Hackathon - 2009