Juan Barrera Lopez
Please provide a brief summary of your research.
I researched the behavior of infection through the Contact Process, a model of infection that allows physicists to study systems which particles interact and affect the state of their immediate neighbors.
What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I was interested by the ability of complex systems to create descriptions and predictions for a wide range of phenomena. The calculations we are working on should be independent of the particular system we study, describing the behavior of the universality class through simple simulations.
What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
Physics has applications in many fields. When I first approached my PI, Dr. Kovacs, I was impressed by the wide variety of topics his lab researches through complex systems. Some projects different than my own, studied in the same lab, include studying the network dynamics of the brain, as well as the structural formation of proteins.
Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
I found that one of the most challenging parts of doing computational research is time management. Some days are more straightforward than others, especially at the begining when most of the work is laying down the foundational code for the simulations. Learning how to stay engaged and active in research, while also waiting for up to a week while the simulations produce results, was a challenging skill to develop.
Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
If you are planning on doing research in the sciences, it is important to find a project that engages you outside the purely academic. Something that was helpful for me was finding how my project had meaning beyond the ‘Contact Process and Infinite Randomness’ literature.
What would you name a boat if you had one?
La Hojarasca
What was your favorite childhood story (written, spoken, or film)?
Rin Rin Renacuajo