Richard Darst
=============

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   <a rel="me" hidden href="https://fosstodon.org/@rkdarst"></a>


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   :caption: Links

   Github <https://github.com/rkdarst/>


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   :caption: Affiliations

   Aalto Scientific Computing <https://scicomp.aalto.fi>
   CodeRefinery <https://coderefinery.org>
   Nordic-RSE <https://nordic-rse.org>
   Wild Eagles <https://www.wildeagles.fi/>


Basics
------

* Former student of chemical engineering, chemistry, and physics,
  networks, and data scientist.
* Current research [software] engineer.


About
-----

As of 2022, I'm leading the `Research Software Engineering team at
Aalto University <https://scicomp.aalto.fi/rse/>`__ and doing a lot of
other work in teaching and research support.  I'm especially
interested in how all of our services come together to make everything
possible, and thus am looking at some of the more systematic barriers
to research for everyone.  I'm also heavily involved in `CodeRefinery
<https://coderefinery.org>`__ and `Nordic-RSE
<https://nordic-rse.org>`__.  And the rest of this site is very out of
date, maybe I should do something about that.

As of 2020, I'm currently a staff scientist at Aalto University,
serving within the Aalto Scientific Computing (Science-IT), Computer
Science-IT, and Research Services (Data Agent) teams.  Our teams do
everything, but our best description is the *scientific computing
special forces*: we do whatever is needed, that no one else can do.
Overall, it is still similar to what you see in the paragraph below,
but more focus on good infrastructure, usability, teaching, and
hands-on support as necessary parts of advanced computing.

Previously, I was a researcher in the Complex Systems group (`Department of Computer
Science`__), part of the `Science-IT`__ team, and in research data
management support at the University level.  I continue
as a researcher in networks, data science, and human
behavior.  As part of Science-IT, I help to maintain the Aalto's Triton HPC
cluster, in particular supporting data-intensive use cases.  At
the university level, I am developing researcher support for data
management and data-intensive research.  Currently, I am particularly
interested in practical training, security, confidential/personal
data, privacy, and changes caused by our new data-driven society.

__ http://cs.aalto.fi/en/
__ http://science-it.aalto.fi/

Previously, I was a postdoc in the same `Complex Networks`__ group in
the Department of Computer Science (originally in the `Department of
Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science`__), `Aalto
University`__, Finland.  I took this job to expand my skills from the
theory of my previous physics work to more applied fields.  My
specialty was networks, Community Detection (the understanding and
search of structure within networks), and data science.

__ https://www.aalto.fi/en/department-of-computer-science/complex-systems
__ http://becs.aalto.fi/en/
__ http://www.aalto.fi/en/

Previously, I was a graduate student (Ph.D., Chemical Physics) at Columbia
University, in the `group of David Reichman`__, in the general field
of chemical physics.  In particular, I studied the theoretical basis
of the glass transition.  During this time, I got interested in
applying community detection to my glass problems, eventually leading
to my transition to a network scientist.

__ http://www.columbia.edu/cu/chemistry/groups/reichman/index.html

Before that, I was an undergraduate at the University of Texas at
Austin (B.S., Chemistry) where I researched solvation and statistical mechanics under
`Peter Rossky`__, a theoretical chemist.  I began my undergraduate studies as a
chemical engineer, but switched to chemistry to be able to focus on
more theory and advanced math and physics.

__ http://rossky.cm.utexas.edu/


Contact
-------

``echo rk`echo "q@mtvo.a" | tr "n-za-m" "a-mn-z"`et``