Benjamin Sturm, Ph.D. Email & Phone Number

Worked as an Engineer with SwiftMotion, a technology startup which develops tools for businesses to help prevent injuries in their workforce. I created a web-based data analytics reporting dashboard for the company's SpineTrack product. Tools used: dash, plotlyConsulting LabYakk, a Life Sciences company developing an online platform for scientific research and discovery. Applying natural language processing and topic modeling to a large collection of scientific journal articles. Tools used: pandas, scikit-learn, LDA topic modeling

New York, Ny, Us

The Metis Data Science Bootcamp is a selective, 12-week immersive program that provides instruction and training in all facets of data science and machine learning. A few of the projects I worked on are listed here:• Personalized Movie RecommenderBuilt a movie recommender system using the MovieLens 20 million ratings dataset based on a collaborative filtering technique. I developed a novel approach to recommend movies to groups of two users watching together. Tools used: pandas, NumPy, SciPy, SVD, sparse matrices• Principal Component Analysis and Topic Modeling of RecipesExamined recipe data from ~12,500 recipes representing 25 different cuisine types and conducted PCA and LDA topic modeling. I created insightful visuals that demonstrated how the different cuisine types were related. Tools used: Yummly API, Requests, pandas, NumPy, matplotlib, scikit-learn, nltk, PCA, LDA, K-means clustering• Classifying Poisonous and Edible MushroomsPerformed classification of a mushroom dataset containing 8000 total samples. Achieved perfect classification accuracy of 1.0 to predict poisonous and non-poisonous mushrooms. Tools used: pandas, NumPy, matplotlib, seaborn, scikit-learn, logistic regression, KNN, decision trees• Linear Regression to Predict House PricesScraped home listing data of 500 recently sold homes located in Pleasanton, CA from Zillow.com. Performed linear regression analysis to accurately predict with a test set R2 score of 0.87 the home sale price based on 7 different input features. Tools used: pandas, Beautiful Soup, Selenium, Regular Expressions, matplotlib, seaborn, scikit-learn

Albuquerque, Nm, Us

At Sandia, I worked on a diverse array of projects within the Radiation and Nuclear Detection Systems department. These projects allowed me to develop my coding, problem solving, and communication skills. • Time-Encoded Neutron ImagerAs team member of this project, I ran experiments to characterize the performance at large distances for a fast neutron imager. I also helped develop a Graphical User Interface to control the instrument and display results. Tools I used: Python, PyQt• Radiation Portal Monitor Alarm StudyFor this data science project, I investigated 2 years' worth of radiation portal monitor alarm data and produced an official summary report which was submitted to sponsors at DHS. Tools I used: Python, pandas, matplotlib• Source Injection WorkshopAs head organizer of this workshop, I led over 40 subject matter experts from around the country on the topic of radiological source injection. My responsibilities included planning the workshop content, researching invitees, developing an agenda, and delivering a workshop report to the sponsoring agency with the aim of summarizing the key takeaways from the workshop.

Albuquerque, Nm, Us

Berkeley, Ca, Us

In this role, I was part of the Applied Nuclear Physics group at LBL, where I engaged in a number of high-level projects:• Mapping Cesium Contamination in Fukushima, JapanFollowing the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster, I managed a diverse research team to redesign a lab prototype gamma-ray imaging instrument into a ruggedized, field-deployable system which was flown on board a drone helicopter in Fukushima, Japan. Our team successfully demonstrated this technology for use in the cleanup efforts, which led to follow-on work in Japan.• An Improved Coplanar Grid Gamma-Ray SpectrometerAs Principal Investigator, I led the first year efforts to develop an improved gamma-ray spectrometer based on advanced coplanar grid CdZnTe technology. I presented our progress to the funding agency at mid-year review, leading to continued funding of the project of ~$430K/year.• ASIC Readout of a Double-Sided Strip High-Purity Germanium DetectorFor this project, I spearheaded experimental tests of an ASIC for reading out double-sided strip HPGe detectors, which led to significant performance improvements from the previous work.

Livermore, Ca, Us

At LLNL, I was part of the National Security Engineering Division and I supported a number of cutting-edge projects. I also served as mentor for 3 different undergraduate students, which I found very rewarding. A select list of projects I worked on include:• Strontium Iodide Scintillator DetectorI led experimental efforts to characterize SrI2(Eu) scintillators used for gamma-ray detection and developed new techniques to achieve best in class performance, ultimately leading to R&D 100 award, 7 publications, and 1 patent.• High Atomic Number Polymer ScintillatorI evaluated the spectroscopic performance of Bi-loaded plastic scintillators for development of plastic scintillator detectors with higher gamma-ray stopping power, resulting in 1 publication and 1 patent.• Aluminum Antimodide Semiconductor DetectorI investigated the spectroscopic performance of AlSb semiconductor gamma-ray detectors, leading to 1 publication and 1 patent.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, Us

I did my Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences under the support and guidance of Prof. Zhong He. My research work was a continuation of the work that Prof. He pioneered in the late-90s involving a novel technology called coplanar-grid cadmium zinc telluride for gamma-ray spectroscopy. This technology has the advantage of achieving high resolution performance with relatively simple electronics and without the need for cooling. At the end of my Ph.D. I was able to achieve, at the time, world record performance for this particular readout methodology. Applications for this research include nuclear materials detection for homeland security purposes in addition to planetary science. A few of the tasks I worked on include:• Designed and modeled electrode layouts for semiconductor gamma-ray detectors using electrostatic finite element analysis software.• Constructed highly specialized circuitry to read out signals from detector.• Improved and modified LabVIEW virtual instrument for signal post-processing and analysis.• Simulated detector physics using Geant4 Monte Carlo package and Matlab.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, Us

I taught two semesters of the nuclear measurements laboratory course, both at the graduate and undergraduate level. Responsibilities included setting up new lab experiments on a weekly basis, providing assistance to students during the lab session, and administering and grading lab reports.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Nuclear Engineering And Radiological Sciences

Bachelor Of Science In Engineering (Bse), Engineering Physics