Lawrence L
- Research Program Mentor
PhD candidate at Cornell University
Expertise
Observational cosmology. Computational modeling of dynamical systems. Programming for autonomous robots. Quantum computing. Computer vision.
Bio
Hey there! I am currently a physics PhD student at Cornell University. I would love to use my research experience to help you with yours. In undergrad I conducted computational modeling research with a senior physics faculty member and obtained results which will be published in two papers. Currently I am working on an observational cosmology project building land based telescopes. My dream is to take us all one step closer to making the stuff you read in Sci-Fi a reality. I like to race FPV drones that I build myself in my free time. In undergrad I was active in the engineering team where we built and coded autonomous drones. This is where my experience in computer vision comes from. I also like to play ultimate frisbee and weight lift.Project ideas
Computationally modeling dynamical systems
Take a real life dynamical system and computationally model it using Python. We first pick a system that has interesting behaviors and applications. The system will then have to be reduced down to ordinary differential equations or partial differential equations. Then we will take these equations and using Python or Mathematica, computationally model the system. Finally we will compare our model with data taken from the real life system to see how accurate our model is.
The effects of noise in measurements
This project will deal with a very real variable in experimental sciences, noise. How does adding noise effect the results we get, and how can we develop algorithms to reduce the amount of noise in a system. First there is reducing the amount of noise measured, then there is post signal processing. Both of these methods needs to be used in tandem to tackle the problem of noisy, stochastic systems.
Computer vision in autonomous drones
We will use OpenCV as a computer vision tool to aid in developing an autonomous drone. One of the biggest problems in developing autonomous drones is localization. The drone needs to know where it is relative to everything else. OpenCV is used in localization to identify nearby landmarks in order to accurately predict where it is currently located. This project will use computer vision to identify landmarks, and use this data to predict where the drone is located.
Origami folding in micro-robotics
Origami is heavily used in the field of micro-robotics. We will come up with an objective (usually a simple movement) for the micro robot to do. Then we will use software (e.g. https://origamisimulator.org/) to design an origami fold that will actualize the objective of the robot. Then we will use CAD software to computationally model the origami design.