Alan Calder

Alan Calder is a Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Stony Brook University and a core faculty member of the Institute for Advanced Computational Science. His research focuses on nuclear astrophysics, particularly simulating explosive astrophysical phenomena such as Type Ia supernovae, which are critical for understanding galactic chemical evolution and cosmology.

His primary research interests include nuclear astrophysics, computational modeling of stellar explosions, and high-performance computing. He investigates how factors such as the age and composition of progenitor stars affect the brightness of Type Ia supernovae, aiming to reduce uncertainties in cosmological distance measurements through detailed simulations of convective processes and nuclear burning in white dwarfs.

Analysis of his recent publications reveals a consistent focus on simulating convective Urca processes in white dwarfs, Type Ia supernova progenitors, and optimizing computational tools like the FLASH code on advanced architectures including A64FX. His work bridges nuclear physics, astrophysics, and high-performance computing to address systematic effects in supernova light curves.

Dr. Calder has held research appointments at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications and the University of Chicago's Center for Astrophysical Thermonuclear Flashes. He also served as an instructor at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago.

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Labs and Teams: He is affiliated with the Astronomy Group within the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Institute for Advanced Computational Science, where he leverages large-scale computing resources including the Ookami supercomputer for astrophysical simulations.