Email: kathryndrake@u.boisestate.edu
Education
Graduated Fall 2020 with an emphasis in Computational Math Science and Engineering
M.S. Mathematics with emphases in Applied Mathematics, Statistics
B.S. Mathematics
Advisor: Grady Wright
Post-graduation employment: Senior Software Engineer at Apple
Biography
My research interests are encapsulated in my drive to utilize mathematics and computer science to find data-driven solutions to the most pressing problems facing the scientific community. For example, in my thesis work for my M.S. degree (BSU), I collaborated with Professor Grady Wright to develop a new algorithm for reconstructing vector fields on the surface of the sphere using only scattered samples of the field using radial basis function interpolation. These problems arise in a number of disciplines, but are most prevalent in the atmospheric and oceanic sciences.
Before starting my PhD in Computing at BSU, I became interested in a problem in the field of cosmology: analysis of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). The CMBR is a sphere of “relic radiation” that offers the strongest evidence for the Big Bang to date. In my doctoral research, I have also worked with Professor Wright to develop innovative methods that mine massive CMBR datasets with a fraction of the computational cost of current processes. With this research idea, I was awarded one of four NASA Idaho Space Grant Consortium Graduate Fellowships for the academic year 2017-2018. Since 2018, I have been funded by the Department of Defense under the SMART scholarship for service program.