Samuel Thomson
B spth@roe.ac.uk
Í www.roe.ac.uk/~spth
spthm
Education
2012 – present PhD, University of Edinburgh.
"Computational radiative transfer". Using graphics processing units to accelerate
simulations in astrophysics. The simulations model the radiation emitted by galaxies
when the Universe was between 500 million and one billion years old.
2008 – 2012 MPhys. (Hons.) Theoretical Physics, 1st class, University of Durham.
"Freak waves and solitons in Bose-Einstein Condensates in a Ring Trap". Designing
and analysing simulations to investigate the properties of matter when cooled to
extremely low temperatures, guiding the design of laboratory experiments.
2001 – 2008 Secondary Education, Tadcaster Grammar School.
A-Levels in Further Mathematics (A), Mathematics (A), Physics (A), Chemistry (A).
AS-Level Psychology (B). 11 GCSEs at A* – B.
Relevant Experience
2012 – present Developer, Exoplanet Virtual Observatory Android App, Royal Observatory
Edinburgh.
Part of a small team designing and implementing an app for astronomy outreach. The
app interactively explains methods of exoplanet detection, showing the data astronomers
measure and an OpenGL visualization of the exoplanet system. I designed the OpenGL
component, which initially required a substantial learning effort. The team as a whole has
focused on an efficient collaborative workflow, including version control, issue tracking and
a team wiki (via GitHub); and regular, weekly meetings.
2014 – present Lecturer, Office of Lifelong Learning, University of Edinburgh.
The Office of Lifelong Learning provides a (paid) series of lectures to the public. A team of
three, we wrote from scratch a new astronomy course focusing on the Solar System. The
initial planning phase was a substantial team effort, and followed by significant individual
responsibility when writing our chosen lectures. The course ran for the first time in
2014–2015 and was well received, being scheduled to run again in 2015–2016.
2013 – 2014 Instructor Training, Software Carpentry Foundation.
Software Carpentry teaches basic programming best practices to scientists. I am a badged
instructor, the training for which included:
{ Developing a short screencast teaching viewers how to use a simple computational tool;
{ Presenting a short lesson of new teaching material — covering Python’s enumerate —
which was was integrated into the foundation’s lessons after review;
{ Running a Software Carpentry workshop in tandem with another instructor (ETH Zurich,
28th Feb. – 1st Mar 2014).
There is a strong emphasis on appraisal and criticism between instructors, applying learning
theory to the workshops, and adapting workshops to the specific needs of the target
institution.
2012 – present Teaching Assistant, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh.
Providing individual help with tutorial and general course questions in large groups of
students. Subjects covered Java programming, linear algebra and calculus. The larger
groups also necessitate an active role, ensuring all students receive the help they require.
Actively encouraging discussion and teamwork in small group tutorials, involving a series of
astronomy problem-solving exercises.
2011 – 2012 GCSE Maths Tutoring, Student Community Action, University of Durham.
Part of a student volunteer programme; the student ultimately attained a high grade.
2007 – 2008 A-Level Maths Tutoring.
One-on-one tutoring of AS-Level maths student. Student attained A grades in both core
and statistics modules.
Technical Skills
Basic Bash, Fortran, HTML5/CSS3, Java, Matlab, PHP
Intermediate C/C++, OpenGL ES 2.0, working in a *nix environment
Advanced CUDA, LATEX, Python (inc. NumPy for numerical analysis and matplotlib for
publication-quality plotting)
Activities and Awards
Member of the Edinburgh University Wind Band (2012 – present); mountain biking;
karting; photography; web design.
Tadcaster Grammar School Class of 2008 Ian Farnsworth Award For Academic
Achievement
2011 – 2012 President of the Van Mildert Big Band, University of Durham.
Leader of a group of 25+ musicians. Duties included day-to-day running of the band
and organization of events, such as the necessary health and safety prerequisites, pricing,
equipment and transport hire, and assessing venue suitability.
References
References are available upon request.