About me
I am a third-year PhD student at Carnegie Mellon University. When I'm not doing research, I play the cello, I run a homebrew Dungeons and Dragons campaign, and I stay active by running, swimming, and weight lifting.
My piano quintet, May 2024.
Recommendations
Authors: Ken Liu, Kim Stanley Robinson, Carmen Maria Machado.
Music: Caravan Palace, the Nier: Automata video game soundtrack, and Jason Robert Brown.
Baking: these chocolate chip cookies and this castella recipe.
Financial advice: most everyone who lives and works in the United States should open a Roth IRA, a traditional IRA, or a 401k. Invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) like $SPYG or $SCHX, and don’t touch the money until you retire. (Note: I am not a broker or a CPA, and this is not official financial advice. Everyone should invest money according to their risk tolerance.)
Writing
I strongly believe that scientists and scholars should have strong communication skills, and that these skills should be reflected in their research papers and presentations. I am an advocate for using the active voice over the passive voice, using simple language over jargon, and providing context enthusiastically but lazily. My formal writing philosophy largely agrees with Stephen Pinker’s.
I also engage in creative writing. In the future, I might put links to my writing here.
Chess
I was one of the millions of people that got swept up into the COVID-19 chess craze. I don’t play much anymore, but I like to play a game from time to time. My online profiles can be found at chess.com (314ctech) and lichess.org (crcodel).