CV

My curriculum vitae

Basics

Name
Daniel Gaytán-Villarreal
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Website

Education

2023 - PRESENT
Doctor of Philosophy, Physics
Carnegie Mellon University
  • Relevant Coursework: 10-701 Introduction to Machine Learning, 33-765 Statistical Mechanics
  • Activities: STEM Teaching Assistant, Mentoring Undergrads for Research Projects
2017 - 2021
Bachelor of Science, Physics
University of Sonora
  • Relevant Coursework: Machine Learning, Probability and Statistics, Computational Physics

Research & Professional Experience

AUGUST 2023 - PRESENT
Graduate Research Assistant
CMU Experimental Particle Physics Group
  • Development of Graph Neural Networks (GNN) for the reconstruction of particles in the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment High Granularity Calorimeter (HGCal) at CERN.
  • Design and training of Machine Learning (ML) models for Dark Matter (DM) searches at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
JULY 2024
Research Assistant
CERN
  • Collaborated with an international research team on a physics analysis to measure the top quark mass using the latest data from CERN's LHC, resulting in a field-leading precision result.
  • Awarded 1st place out of 12 teams for the Best Physics Analysis Project.
MAY 2024 - AUGUST 2024
Research Assistant
Fermi National Laboratory
  • Directed the development of physical metrics through data analysis & data science applied with Python & C++ to measure the effectiveness of a GNN to simulate a particle detector.
  • Led training efforts of a GNN that resulted in an energy resolution performance increase of 25%.
APRIL 2022 - JULY 2023
Artificial Intelligence & Data Consultant
Deloitte
  • Provided insights to stakeholders through data analysis and data science that led to an improvement in understanding of consumer behavior.
  • Migrated SQL queries from Google Cloud to Azure that led to an improvement of 31% in performance.
  • Designed & trained ML models for classification problems that resulted in better understanding of consumer patterns.

Selected Projects & Publications

Search for DM Particles through ML — CERN
In Process of Publication
  • Applied ML and statistical methods for DM signal detection.
GNN for Particle Reconstruction — Fermi National Laboratory
In Process of Publication
  • Design and training of a GNN for particle reconstruction at CERN's HGCal.
  • Developed physics metrics for algorithm performance evaluation and benchmarking.

Scholarships, Grants & Awards

MAY - AUGUST 2024
Summer 2024 LHC Physics Center Guests & Visitors Program
Fermi National Laboratory
Monetary research grant for CMS scientists that collaborate with other LHC Physics Center users on projects that advance, enrich, & impact the interests of the CMS experiment from a hardware and/or software perspective.
MAY 2022
XVII Read Science for All 2020/2021
Economic Culture Fund
Honorable Mention granted in the essay category for the work titled "The ambivalent ignorance in the arts and sciences"; national writing competition to promote the vocation for science and technology among Mexico's youth.
JULY - DECEMBER 2021
CONACyT Research Grant
National Commission for Science and Technology
Monetary research grant for collaborating in the research project "Study of heavy quark production in high multiplicity pp and pPb collisions in the CMS experiment at the LHC", led by Phd Lizardo Valencia at the University of Sonora.
AUGUST 2017 - DECEMBER 2021
Telmex-Telcel Foundation Scholarship
Telmex-Telcel Foundation
Financial and equipment aid for outstanding Mexican undergraduate students.

Schools, Workshops & Certifications

JULY 2024
CMS Machine Learning Hackathon
Fermi National Laboratory
Machine Learning Hackathon held by Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment scientists aimed to design robust and interpretable machine learning algorithms for anomaly detection, as well as provide fast, resource efficient & highly automated tools for data monitoring and validation.
JUNE 2024
CMS Data Analysis School
European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
Data Analysis School held by Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) scientists designed to help CMS physicists from across the collaboration to learn about CMS data analysis and enable them to participate in significant ways in any physics analysis, including cutting-edge measurements and future discoveries; awarded Best Analysis for Best Student-led Analysis.

Leadership & Scientific Outreach

OCTOBER 2022
Scientific Childhood Day 2022
Department of Physics, University of Sonora
Scientific outreach event aimed to promote and inspire scientific curiosity on children; presented and explained a variety of physics experiments to elementary school children.
MAY 2022
Data Science Applications in Particle Physics
IX Sonora State Congress of Natural and Exact Sciences
Scientific outreach presentation about the various data science applications in experimental HEP to undergrads of the University of Sonora and the general public.

Skills & Interests

Programming
Python, R, SQL, C++, Apache Spark, Octave, Mathematica, FORTRAN90
Frameworks
Pandas, NumPy, PyTorch, Scikit-learn, TensorFlow, Git, Bash, Apptainer, Singularity
Visualization
Jupyter Notebooks, Google Colab, Microsoft Power BI, Tableau
Cloud
AWS, Databricks, Snowflake, Google Cloud
Languages
Spanish, French
Interests
Literature, creative writing, boxing, weight lifting