astrobarker.github.io ~ ls
astrobarker.github.io ~ cat about.md

Brandon L. Barker, PhD

Welcome to homepage of Brandon L. Barker, PhD – the best stop on the information superhighway! My current state:

Here you can find out more about me and my research, resources I have produced, code I have worked on, and more.

About Me

I am a computational (astro)physicist focused on multi-physics, multi-scale modeling of high energy density plasmas. As an astrophysicist my work centers around understanding the origins of high-energy astrophysical transients – primarily supernovae and kilonovae. I am greatly interested in the development and implementation of high-order accurate numerical methods in these contexts.

Currently, I am a Metropolis computational physics postdoctoral fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the Computational Physics and Methods group. My work now focuses on the development of novel multiphysics algorithms to support a wide range of applications from high energy astrophysics to terrestrial experimental design. Broadly, I am interested in numerical relativity, numerical methods, multi-physics problems, and the development of open-source scientific software.

Previously I was a NSF Graduate Research Fellow at Michigan State University working with Sean Couch. My work PhD involved high-fidelity modeling of core-collapse supernovae and connecting neutrino-driven models to observations.

Outside of work, I enjoy backpacking, kayaking, nature photography, cooking, perfecting my coffee brew, and writing less useful software.

Research

As a computational physicist, my professional time is spent developing, implementing, and deploying numerical methods focusing on multiscale problems in physics and astronomy. I strive to create computational models that are more accurate, efficent, and portable.

In astrophysics, my interests center around nucleosynthesis sites – especially core-collapse supernovae – to understand the origins of the periodic table. Core-collapse supernovae are some of the most interesting events in the universe (though I may be biased on this!). They contain a wealth of fundamental physics and allow us to probe environments far grander than those accessible to Terrestrial labs in order to understand how matter behaves in the most extreme environments. They are responsible for the synthesis of many of the elements and drive the evolution of galaxies. Understanding these phenomena requires a partnership of observational, theoretical, and numerical efforts. My work lies in the theoretical study of these events using the most advanced computers available and the exploration of how to use modern theory to understand observations. I develop open source scientific software to model the central engines of these phenomena and explore how, through modern numerical methods and software design, we can improve these models.

Code

Software is a key piece of the scientific infrastructure. By open sourcing software, it may become a tool for the community. My primary passion is the development of open-source community codes to drive science forward. The software listed here is a sample of the codes that I have developed. Also see my GitHub.

Resources

My success, however defined, has only been possible because of the support provided to me. Whenever possible, I try to share my resources for others to benefit from.

Outreach

Throughout my career I have worked to maintain an involvement in my community. This has made for some of the most enriching moments of my education. Find out about the outreach initiatives I have been involved in!

Elsewhere

A few other corners of the Internet where you can find me include:

Contact

brandon’s website | Personal webpage for Brandon L. Barker, PhD (astrobarker).