Meet the Fellows
Bhavna Prasad
I received my BS-MS dual degree in Physics from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal, India. During my master’s thesis, I studied thermodynamics of Domain Wall Fermions with the aim of understanding Heavy-ion collisions and the Quark-Gluon Plasma phase of the Early Universe. Being drawn to both theory and numerics, study of Lattice QCD was thus the perfect avenue to work further on and led me to apply for ENGAGE project.
I joined the Computation-based Science and Technology Research Centre (CaSToRC) of the Cyprus Institute as a PhD student in October 2022. In my project, I am testing sampling methods based on machine-learned generative models, starting from the simpler U(1) case, to gain insights on approaches efficient for Quantum Chromodynamics. In my free time, I love painting, walking, and stargazing.
Luis Alberto Rodriguez Chacon
I joined the Computation-based Science and Technology Research Center (CaSToRC) of The Cyprus Institute as a PhD student in October 2022. I received a BSc in Physics from the Universidad Veracruzana(UV) and an MSc in Physics from Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo (UMSNH). My bachelor thesis was titled “Búsqueda de Campos Stealth en Espacios-tiempo Cargados” (Searching for Stealth Fields in Charged Space-times). My MSc thesis was titled “Light by light scattering at one-loop order in scalar QED”.
Takis Angelides
I am a PhD student at DESY Zeuthen and Humboldt University of Berlin working with tensor networks and quantum computing mainly for lattice gauge theories. Before starting my PhD, I studied at Cambridge University for my Bachelors in Natural Sciences and Masters in Physics. Beyond work, I enjoy sports and frequently take cycling trips to Brandenburg.
Saverio Monaco
I am a Ph.D. student at DESY-Hamburg, Germany, focusing on Quantum Computing for High Energy Physics, particularly in the areas of Detector Simulations and Jet Clustering. My academic journey began with a BSc in Physics from the University of Catania, Italy, where I developed a strong interest in the computational aspects of research. Pursuing this interest, I obtained an MSc in Computational Physics from the University of Padua, during which I delved for the first time into Quantum Computing through an internship at CERN and my Master’s thesis.
I do enjoy coding a lot, even in my spare time for personal projects. Other than that I also enjoy bouldering and making stained glass works.
Pranay Naredi
I am a PhD student at DESY-Zeuthen in Germany working on quantum computing. I completed my bachelor’s and master’s studies in physics from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune, India.
Apart from work I play sports, enjoy biking and like to play chess.
Peter Majcen
I am a PhD student at the University of Padova, Italy. Before that, I received my Bachelor and Master degree in physics at the University of Vienna. The master thesis was about simulating doubling double-soft gluon emission in parton showers. The research for the PhD is focused on how to use tensor network for high dimensional lattice gauge theories. In my free time I enjoy cooking, biking and spending time with my friends.
Jiahua Zhao
I am a PhD student at the Cyprus Institute, focusing on the applications of high-performance computing and artificial intelligence technologies in the field of Geosciences. As part of the ENGAGE program, I am currently working on improving the efficiency and quality of 3-D seismic imaging processing using high-performance computing methods. Prior to joining the ENGAGE program, I earned my bachelor’s degree in Oceanography from the Southern University of Science and Technology in China and obtained a master’s degree in Geophysics from the University of Padua in Italy. My professional journey has also taken me to Columbia University, Harvard University, the University of Edinburgh, and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Apart from academic research, I am passionate about traveling, hiking, and extreme sports.
Mohammad Safari
I am currently pursuing my Ph.D. at the Delft University of Technology, where I am working on Improving the efficiency and quality of 3D seismic imaging by applying ML algorithms to make the JMI method physically more realistic and still affordable to make the method available for a broader range of acoustic imaging applications, such as seismic imaging for subsurface storage (e.g., CO2 or H2) and near-surface analysis. Before starting my Ph.D., I hold a Master’s degree in Geophysics and a Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering, both of which were obtained from the University of Tehran. In my free time, I’m always up for traveling and exploring new places whenever the opportunity arises.
Naveen Kumar Subramanian
I am a Ph.D. student at the Cyprus Institute, specializing in the study of wetting on soft surfaces using computational approaches. I have a background in engineering, including a Master’s degree in Computational Engineering from TU Munich and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from India. Aside from my academics, I love to travel, go on hikes and Latin dancing.
Georgios Sakellion
I received a Bachelor-Integrated MSc degree in Chemical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens. My master thesis was titled “Molecular simulations of discotic molecules in the crystalline phase”, where I gained insight into multiscale simulations of materials (Atomistic and Coarse Grained representations). I am currently delving into Polymer Physics, in the European Doctorate Program Enabling the next generation of computational physicists and engineers (ENGAGE), supervised by Prof. Harmandaris. My Ph.D. subject bears the title: “Multi-scale simulation methodologies of organic semiconductors for morphology control”.
Sharon Volpe
I received my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Physics Department at the University of Pisa in 2019 and 2021, respectively. My final thesis focused on studying the mechanical properties of a model porous glassy system through molecular dynamics simulations.
I joined the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in May 2022 as a Ph.D. student in the European Doctorate Program “Enabling the next generation of computational physicists and engineers” (ENGAGE). I am currently performing my research on multi-scale modelling of macromolecular systems at interfaces. In my spare time, I enjoy hiking, cooking, and reading.
Sisem Ektirici
After graduating from Hacettepe University, Department of Chemistry, I did my master’s degree in biochemistry on chromatographic techniques and quantum chemical calculations of biomolecules. Right now I am a Research Assistant at the Cyprus Institute Computational Sciences Department with the European Doctorate Program Enabling the next generation of computational physicists and engineers (ENGAGE). I am working on molecular dynamics simulations of biomolecules for my doctoral thesis. In this context, I especially focus on computational drug design. Additionally, I am the student representative of the ENGAGE project.
Raza Kawsar
I am currently pursuing of a Ph.D. at the Institute for Theoretical Physics, Georg-August Universität in Göttingen, Germany, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Marcus Müller. My research revolves around Single-Chain and Collective Dynamics of Polymer Materials, to investigate the fundamental principles that govern these intricate systems. Prior to embarking on the doctoral journey, I attained a Master’s degree in Theoretical Physics, specializing in condensed matter, working under the supervision of Prof. Andreas Honecker at Cergy Cy Paris University in France, fostering a deep understanding and expertise in their chosen domain.
Beyond academia, I enjoy swimming and taking long walks along the river.
Syed Muhammad Haider Shah
I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Peshawar, Pakistan, and subsequently completed my Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics, specializing in Artificial Intelligence (Robotics), from the University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, Pakistan. In October 2024, I joined the Computation-based Science and Technology Research Center (CaSToRC) at The Cyprus Institute as a PhD student. I am currently pursuing my PhD under the ENGAGE program, with a research focus on “Deep Learning for 3D Synchrotron X-ray Tomography Data”. Part of my research will be based at CaSToRC and part at SESAME in Jordan.
Rodion Shishkov
Education: Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, New Mexico State University (USA), Concentration: Digital Signals Processing. 2017-2022
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, New Mexico State University (USA), Concentration: Wireless Communications. 2020-2022
Current occupation: PhD student at ESRF, ID16A beamline.
PhD project: Potential of artificial intelligence for the automation of coherent X-ray imaging procedures.
Interested in: Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Data Science, Optimization, Signal Processing, and Wireless Communications, Automation, X-ray Imaging.
Hobbies: Tennis, Alpine skiing, Electronic Music, DJing.
Federico Zecchi
I did my Bachelor and Master of Science studies at Politecnico di Milano (Milano, Italy) in Engineering Physics, and currently I’m a PhD student at university of Grenoble Alpes, working at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France. My PhD project is about developing Machine Learning (ML) models for real-time analysis of spectroscopic data. The recent EBS upgrade which took place at ESRF has enabled ever-increasing data acquisition rates, and as a consequence, the current analysis workflows, which heavily relies on manual processing, will gradually become unpractical. In this framework, ML tools will bring much-needed automation of the data analysis workflows deployed on spectroscopy beamlines, which will hopefully make them accessible to an even larger scientific community and especially industry.
In my free time, I enjoy spending time outdoors biking, hiking and skiing on the French alps.
Abderrahmane Benhadjira
Hello, I am Abderrahmane from Algeria. I hold a master’s degree in Radiation Physics, where my research focused on predicting optical properties of amorphous materials using machine learning models. Currently, I am a PhD student at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). My research involves automating the analysis of Dark Field X-ray Microscopy (DFXM) data using machine learning techniques. This work aims to enhance the study of engineering materials’ microstructure and texture, pivotal for managing the vast and complex experimental data and making DFXM more accessible to non-experts. In my free time, I enjoy playing video games and reading.
Matteo Masto
Hello everyone!
I’m Matteo from Italy and, a part from mountain sports, I also love physics and that’s why I’m doing a PhD at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble. I did my studies at the faculty of Engineering Physics of Politecnico di Milano and I moved to France in September 2022 for the beginning of the PhD.
The goal of the thesis is to explore and develop Machine Learning algorithms to analyze Coherent Diffraction data produced by synchrotron x-ray sources. More precisely the Phase Problem and data preprocessing (denoising, inpainting, sorting) are the main issues to be tackled. Beside this, if not coding, you’ll find me climbing a crag or playing my guitar!
