Robert G. C. Smith

Mathematical Physics PhD | Machine Learning | Quantitative Research

RGCS_profile.jpg

PhD

I am a theoretical physicist by training, with expertise at the intersection of fundamental physics, foundational mathematics, and computation. A central theme of my research is the search for new and hidden mathematical structures. My PhD explored deep connections between string theory, perturbative quantum field theory, analytic number theory, and algebraic geometry, while drawing more broadly on ideas from across mathematics and physics. My thesis, “At the edges of infinity and the finite: Charting a path to UV completion from number theory to quantum fields and strings”, provides a sample of this work.

During my PhD, I also developed growing interest in mathematical modelling, particularly the modelling of complex and stochastic systems, with a focus on combining machine learning and computational methods to uncover and formalise hidden structure. This interest later broadened to encompass the application of advanced mathematical techniques in combination with data-driven analysis.

Quantitative research and machine learning

I am now applying this background as a machine learning scientist, with a focus in quantitative research and on developing new algorithms and methods for solving complex scientific and real-world problems. Of particular interest is the use of modern AI methods in combination of data-driven research, rigorous mathematics, computation, and sophisticated modelling techniques.

I am also interested in mathematical and computational biology. This interest started with developing reaction-diffusion models of morphogenesis, and later evolved into a broader interest in machine learning applications and in the use of fundamental physics concepts in evolutionary biology, including genotype-phenotype mapping, mutational robustness, phylogenetics, gene regulation, and epigenetics. I am especially interested in applying computational and machine learning methods to research problems in bioenergetics and structural biology.

My blogs