Katherine "Kaylea" Nelson
Yale Center for Research Computing, Yale University
160 St Ronan Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Current Position
2015-present
- Yale Center for Research Computing
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Team Lead of Computational Research Support
Education
Ph.D. 2015
- Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Advisor: Daisuke Nagai
Thesis: "Effects of Mergers and Dynamical State on Galaxy Clusters in Cosmological Simulations"
M.Phil. 2012
- Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
M.S. 2011
- Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
B.A. 2009
- Colby College, Waterville, Maine
Physics and Astronomy, Mathematical Sciences
Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, S.S. & I.M.F Marsden Prize in Earth Sciences
Diploma 2004
- Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts
Research Interests
High performance computing, data analysis and interpretation, dynamical state of galaxy clusters, large-scale structure, cosmological simulations, hydrodynamic simulations, Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect, high-energy astrophysics, X-ray observations, galaxy formation and evolution, gravitational lensing
Research Experience
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2009 - 2015
Astrophysics Ph.D. Graduate Student, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Prof. Daisuke Nagai
Utilizing cosmological, hydrodynamic simulations to study the effects of dynamical state on galaxy cluster properties and our ability to accurately measure them. Research responsibilities include the design, execution and management of large-scale simulations on high performance computers at Yale (>10 million CPU hours, ~petabyte data generated). Development of Python, SQLite and C data analysis pipelines used throughout extended research group. Extensive experience in written and oral communication through research publications, teaching, and conferences. Additional responsibilities include project development/management and mentoring of undergraduate and junior graduate students.
Developer for and user of astrophysics software CART and yt.
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2008 - 2009
Senior Scholars Program, Colby College, Waterville, Maine
Prof. Murray Campbell
Participated in Colby College Senior Scholars Program, in which half of the participating senior’s course load is devoted a major research project. The first part of this project comprised of independent study of star formation theory, for both high and low mass stars. In addition, the project consisted of extensive modeling of an HMPO using the Whitney Monte Carlo radiative transfer modeling code. The project culminated in a thesis containing the research and an explanation of the theory and modeling directed at a sophomore level reader preparing to do similar research. An hour-long lecture was also required for completion of the program.
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Summer 2008
REU Intern, Smithsonian Astronomical Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Dr. Ewan O’Sullivan
Researching as intern for 10-weeks during the summer. The project was the construction of a statistically complete catalog of 26 normal elliptical galaxies. Main responsibilities included data reduction and data analysis for 5 of the systems as well as researching published data for the rest of the catalog. Internship culminated in a 13-page Astrophysical Journal style research paper and at a15-minute presentation at an end of the summer colloquium. The results were also presented as a poster at the January 2009 AAS Meeting.
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2007 – 2008
Research Assistant, Colby College Physics Department, Waterville, Maine
Prof. Murray Campbell
Studied mid-infrared photometry and built models using IDL to describe the gas and dust surrounding high mass protostellar candidates using the Whitney Monte Carlo radiative transfer modeling code.
Publications
Primary Author Publications
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The Influence of Mergers on Scatter and Evolution in Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Scaling Relations
Liang Yu,
Kaylea Nelson,
Daisuke Nagai,
2015, The Astrophysical Journal,
807:12-20.
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Hydrodynamic Simulation of Non-thermal Pressure Profiles of Galaxy Clusters
Kaylea Nelson,
Erwin T. Lau,
Daisuke Nagai,
2014, The Astrophysical Journal,
792:25-32.
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Weighing Galaxy Clusters with Gas. II. On the Origin of Hydrostatic Mass Bias in LCDM Galaxy Clusters
Kaylea Nelson,
Erwin T. Lau,
Daisuke Nagai,
Douglas H. Rudd,
Liang Yu,
2014, The Astrophysical Journal,
782:107-115.
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Evolution of the Merger-induced Hydrostatic Mass Bias in Galaxy Clusters
Kaylea Nelson,
Douglas H. Rudd,
Laurie Shaw,
Daisuke Nagai,
2012, The Astrophysical Journal,
751:121-130.
Contributing Author Publications
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AutoMorph: Accelerating Morphometrics with Automated 2D and 3D Image Processing and Shape Extraction
Allison Y. Hsiang,
Kaylea Nelson,
Leanne E. Elder,
Elizabeth C. Sibert,
Sara S. Kahanamoku,
Janet E. Burke,
Abigail Kelly,
Yusu Liu,
Pincelli M. Hull,
Robert Freckleton,
2017, Methods in Ecology and Evolution,
9:605-612.
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nIFTy Galaxy Cluster Simulations - I. Dark Matter and Non-radiative Models
Federico Sembolini,
Gustavo Yepes,
Frazer R. Pearce,
Alexander Knebe,
Scott T. Kay,
Chris Power,
Weiguang Cui,
Alexander M. Beck,
Stefano Borgani,
Claudio Dalla Vecchia,
Romeel Dave,
Pascal Jahan Elahi,
Sean February,
Shuiyao Huang,
Alex Hobbs,
Neal Katz,
Erwin Lau,
Ian G. McCarthy,
Giuseppe Murante,
Daisuke Nagai,
Kaylea Nelson,
Richard D. A. Newton,
Valentin Perret,
Ewald Puchwein,
Justin I. Read,
Alexandro Saro,
Joop Schaye,
Romain Teyssier,
Robert J. Thacker,
2016, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
457:4063-4080.
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Non-equilibrium Electrons in the Outskirts of Galaxy Clusters
Camille Avestruz,
Daisuke Nagai,
Erwin T. Lau,
Kaylea Nelson,
2015, The Astrophysical Journal,
808:176-183.
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Mass Accretion and its Effects on the Self-similarity of Gas Profiles in the Outskirts of Galaxy Clusters
Erwin T. Lau,
Daisuke Nagai,
Camille Avestruz,
Kaylea Nelson,
Alexey Vikhlinin,
2015, The Astrophysical Journal,
806:68-79.
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Analytical Model for Non-thermal Pressure in Galaxy Clusters - II. Comparison with Cosmological Hydrodynamic Simulation
Xun Shi,
Eiichiro Komatsu,
Kaylea Nelson,
Daisuke Nagai,
2015, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
448:1020-1029.
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Temperature Structure of the Intracluster Medium from Smoothed-particle Hydrodynamics and Adaptive-mesh Refinement Simulations
Elena Rasia,
Erwin T. Lau,
Stefano Borgani,
Daisuke Nagai,
Klaus Dolag,
Camille Avestruz,
Gian Luigi Granato,
Pasquale Mazzotta,
Giuseppe Murante,
Kaylea Nelson,
Cinthia Ragone-Figueroa,
2014, The Astrophysical Journal,
791:96-108.
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The Relation Between Gas Density and Velocity Power Spectra in Galaxy Clusters: Qualitative Treatment and Cosmological Simulations
Irina Zhuravleva,
Eugene Churazov,
Alexander A. Schekochihin,
Erwin T. Lau,
Daisuke Nagai,
Massimo Gaspari,
Steven W. Allen,
Kaylea Nelson,
Ian J. Parrish,
2014, ArXiv e-prints,
1404.5306.
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Weighing Galaxy Clusters with Gas. I. On the Methods of Computing Hydrostatic Mass Bias
Erwin T. Lau,
Daisuke Nagai,
Kaylea Nelson,
2013, The Astrophysical Journal,
777:151-156.
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Predicting Merger-induced Gas Motions in LCDM Galaxy Clusters
Daisuke Nagai,
Erwin T. Lau,
Camille Avestruz,
Kaylea Nelson,
Douglas H. Rudd,
2013, The Astrophysical Journal,
777:137-144.
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Sunyaev-Zeldovich Signal Processing and Temperature-Velocity Moment Method for Individual Clusters
J. Chluba,
E. Switzer,
Kaylea Nelson,
Daisuke Nagai,
2013, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
430:3054-3069.
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A Fast and Accurate Method for Computing the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Signal of Hot Galaxy Clusters
Jens Chluba,
Daisuke Nagai,
Sergey Sazonov,
Kaylea Nelson,
2012, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
426:510-530.
Technical Skills
- Computation: high performance computers and parallel programming
- Astrophysics Software: developer for and user of ART II and yt
- Programming Languages: Python, C, Perl, IDL, Fortran, R
- Web Development: HTML, CSS/LESS, JavaScript, Flask, PHP, SQL
Professional Activities
- Program Manager of NSF CAREERS Cyberteam Program, 2020-present
- Co-Chair of Women in HPC: North East Chapter, 2022-present
- CCaRC Decadal Survey Interest Group, 2021-present
- Member of the Technical Program Committee for PEARC Conference, PEARC22, PEARC21, PEARC20
- Member of the Technical Program Committee for SuperComputing Conference, SC20
- Mentor to YCRC Summer Interns, Summer 2018, Summer 2019
- Yale Representative to the Campus Research Computing Consortium (CCaRC), 2017-present
- CCaRC People Network Committee, 2017-2018
- Yale Research Data Consultation Group, 2017-2019
- Campus Champion, 2015-present
Conferences and Talks
- Birds of a Feather, Northeast and CAREERS Cyberteams: Supporting Research at Small and Mid-sized Institutions with Student Research Computing Facilitators, SC21,
St Louis, MO, November 2021
Workshops
- ACI-REF Virtual Residency, Norman, OK, Summer 2016 & Summer 2017
- .Astronomy 5, Cambridge, MA, Sep 2013
Mentoring
- Sarah Benjamin, PhD Student, Yale, 2014-2015
Impact of Minor Mergers on Non-thermal Pressure in Galaxy Clusters
- Tonima Tasnim Ananna, PhD Student, Yale, 2014
Effects of Mass and Peak Height on Non-thermal Pressure in Galaxy Clusters
- Liang Yu, Undergraduate, Yale '14, 2012-2015
Senior Thesis: Evolution of SZ Scaling Relations of Galaxy Clusters
- Frank Thompson, Undergraduate, Yale '11, 2010-2011
Senior Thesis: Evolution of Hydrostatic Mass Bias in Galaxy Groups
Teaching
- Git for Version Control, Yale University, 2017-2020 (Workshop Instructor)
- Introduction to HPC, Yale University, 2015-2020 (Workshop Instructor)
- Data Analysis Tools for Python, Yale University, 2018-2020 (Workshop Instructor)