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The Interview:

Karen: Tell me about your current research. 

Ryan:  I’m currently in two research groups. I've been working with Prof. Mike Zingale for a little over a year now to study double detonation Type Ia supernovae using the AMReX and Castro stellar hydrodynamics simulation codes. I've also recently joined Professor Simon Birrer's group, and we study quasars, which are very, very distant galaxies. Specifically, we study quasars that are gravitationally lensed. 

How did you first become involved in research at Stony Brook?

I started to work with Professor Tom Weinacht and his Ultrafast Spectroscopy group during spring semester of my sophomore year. That fall, I had taken “Waves and Optics” with Prof. Weinacht and I ended up really enjoying the class. I developed kind of a rapport with him, going to office hours and asking questions and such. And so, after that course was over, I went to ask him about potentially joining his research group and to see what projects were open. And he was very receptive. We came up with a project idea together, and then I started working with him the following spring, a project I then carried through the summer as a part of URECA. That same spring semester, I also took a computational course with Prof. Zingale, and I’d engage in class and ask questions. So…when Prof. Zingale invited me to join his research group, I started working with him in my junior year because I was very interested in the research he was doing. I had the chance to work on the project with him through the URECA summer program, this past summer.

How difficult was it for you to start doing research? Did you have much preparation from previous experiences or coursework?

With my initial project, it was a completely new experience for me. I was learning a completely new programming language and a completely new area of physics. But later on — when I started working on a computational astrophysics project with Prof. Zingale — I felt like I already had a good foundation from my previous coursework that helped me to transition into the project and that provided me with some transposable skills. Most recently, when I started working with Prof. Birrer, I already had some experience working with observational data sets, and I had a robust background on coding from working with Prof. Zingale, so that made for a smooth transition to a new research group. … Now, I’m taking a course on “Stars and Radiation”—a course that is offered every other year. And so it's kind of cool to see the things that I've been learning and applying to research come back on the course level. I think that having more experience in research has helped me in this class to understand the material on a deeper level.

When you first came to SBU, did you already have any background in coding? Or was as this something you needed to learn in order to be able to do the research? 

I had absolutely no programming experience, and it was something that haunted me throughout my freshman year before I took my first coding class in the fall semester of my sophomore year. I knew that coding is an integral piece of modern science, and I was intimidated by the fact that I had absolutely no experience whatsoever. When I took physics 277, I failed the first exam, which was a turning point between: 1) am I just going to accept that I don't know this? Or 2) am I going to dedicate myself to learning what I know is a real important piece of modern science?... I chose to do the latter. And I dedicated time to studying for hours outside of class and getting input from more experienced classmates, with the result that I ended up doing very well for the rest of the course, and turned an F to an A-. That gives you some sense of how hard I worked that second half of the semester. That experience with coding was certainly a memorable part of my research journey. But it's one that I look back on fondly because I know that what I learned will definitely help me in the future: learning to code has helped me move forward throughout my research journey and I expect will continue to be very important.

I wanted to ask you about some of your presentation/conference experiences. I remember you presented at SURC last spring. Was that your first off campus meeting/presentation?

It was. And it was a truly great experience. It was exciting to be able to present my project. And then, just last week, I had the privilege of attending the American Physical Society Division of Nuclear Physics Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts and present a poster there.

The APS meeting was the first big conference I attended where you had experts in the field, graduates, undergraduates, all mingling together. And as I went through the conference, meeting more people and chatting with more people, I felt a growing confidence in my ability to contribute to astronomy and science as a whole. It was really great to meet other undergrads involved in similar research areas, and to get exposure to people from other graduate programs. And Stony Brook seems to have a very strong reputation. Almost 9 times out of 10, when I said “I'm from Stony Brook” I’d get a response along the lines of: “Wow. That's a really great school. You must be really smart!” Almost everybody had something really positive to say about Stony Brook. And people seemed really engaged when I was talking with them. It was just cool to hear about the breadth of physics and astronomy research. Dr. Zingale was also there, presenting a talk.

How have your mentors helped you to develop as a scientist?

Dr. Zingale has definitely helped to show me what kind of scientist I would like to be—someone who is passionate about his work while at the same time having some fun. He's an extremely hardworking individual. He always has a million things going on, and he handles it very, very well but also maintains a good balance.  It's certainly something that I look up to about him. And I’ve gotten some good advice from him, as well as Profs. Birrer and other faculty. I also have been lucky in making some friends with graduate students who have given me a lot of insight about what it’s going to be like being a graduate student.  

What do you enjoy most about doing research?

Research is exciting. There are always new questions that need to be solved. And new things to analyze, new insights to discover. And so it really helps keep me motivated through some of the rougher days where a code keeps crashing …. I’m motivated by the fact that there's always a new frontier ahead to discover something new. 

What advice would you give to other students regarding research?

To paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr., you don't need to climb the whole staircase. You just need to take the first step. My goal coming in was to join a research group as soon as possible, and that can be a little difficult as a freshman, because you don't have much class knowledge or experience. So I would say, just remember that you’re here for four years. Sometimes you need to put it in perspective and set realistic goals. You have to go through the mud of the initial coursework and just stay motivated. Stay grinding. It's part of the experience, and if you want to do research, give yourself some time to make it happen.

How valuable was it for you to have immersive summer research experiences?

Participating in the URECA summer program was a really great experience because it gives you that time you need to be able to dip your toes into what a career in research really involves, what research entails.  Doing research during the semester is a very different experience because you have coursework and you can't allocate as much time to your work. But when you're here over the summer, your sole job is doing research. And that's what helped me to figure out that it’s what I intend to do for the rest of my life. The experience helped me understand what a long-term career as a research scientist would look like, and to come to the conclusion that yes, this is what I want to do with my life.

Is it hard for you to balance all the activities that you do AND do research AND keep up with classes?

Oh, well, I'd be lying if I said no. What I love about all the things that I do is that they're all kind of distinctly different from each other, but they also all blend. With the a cappella choir, each of us contributes uniquely to a harmony. With the Wolfiethon team, we're all individuals united by the common goal of raising money for childhood cancer support. And in doing research, there's certainly that reflection on how we're all groups of individuals working together for a certain research project or a certain goal. Modern science thrives on collaboration… You see it so clearly going to these conferences. One mind alone will never achieve what many minds working together will.

I'm trying to find a good work-life balance. I obviously love astronomy, love it to death. But I also really love being with my a cappella group and singing with the guys. It's a really nice break, even though I'm president and it takes up time. I also love being involved with the B+ Foundation. From that, I ‘d say I’ve learned how to better communicate, which certainly is applicable in my research and presenting at conferences and effectively communicating ideas. It's shown me the potential for community action to improve society just as science can. And so I have made it a priority to do my best to keep up with all these involvements and get the most out of my time here as an undergraduate.