Related Work

Below is an archive of past academic projects I have worked on, which shows, to some extent, a selection of my technical abilities.  Please feel free to read through any of the links below.

Mathematics

Below are selected writing samples that highlight my past work in mathematics.  All of these samples were final deliverables in math courses at Westfield State University.

  • Cryptography Paper – This is an expository essay written for my number theory course.  I find cryptography quite interesting, especially today’s modern uses, such as the RSA Encryption System.  This system and more is described in this essay.
  • Middlefield Mail Problem – This was a term project that I collaborated on with a few of my peers.  This was for my Operations Research & Modeling class.
    • The Research Question:  Is there an optimal mail route for the town of Middlefield, MA that would minimize time and cost for the USPS as well as maximize convenience for the citizens of the town?  Given these initial constraints as well as other feasible constraints (e.g., condition of roads, number of mail trucks, etc.) what will the mail route look like?  Our results are outlined in this paper.
    • Note: With my experience with GIS, I am aware  that an accurate approximation for a solution (we cannot get an exact solution; it is a traveling salesman problem) can be found using network analyst operations in GIS.
  • Heat Equation Approximation & Spreadsheet – This is an approximation to the differential equation known as the Heat Equation that I completed as an assignment for my numerical analysis course.

 

Geospatial Information Sciences

I began working with geographic information systems (GIS) around 2014.  In essence, geographic information systems are software which analyze, manipulate, interpret, and visualize data in meaningful and aesthetically pleasing ways, oftentimes but not necessarily in the form of maps.

Selected Graduate Work

  • Cellular Tower Site Selection – This project conducts a viewshed analysis of current cellular towers within range of Longmeadow, MA.  Utilizing LiDAR data to determine cellular interference and elevation (i.e., elevation and tree canopy/building height), results propose potential new tower locations to improve overall town cellular reception.  This work was completed in Advanced GIS (GISC 6384), Spring 2017 at UT Dallas.
  • Mt. Rainier Glacial System Ablation Rate – This project utilizes historical remotely-sensed imagery of the Mt. Rainier glacial system to estimate the amount of glacial recession, or ablation, over a period of years.  This project was completed in Remote Sensing Fundamentals (GISC 6325), Fall 2016 at UT Dallas.
  • Other graduate work I wish to highlight is present under the programming section, which include crossover projects between GIS and computer programming.

Selected Undergraduate Work

  • Response Time Analysis – This is a response time analysis for the three fire stations located in Westfield, MA, utilizing the network analyst extension of ArcGIS Online.
  • Response Time Analysis II – A more detailed version of the above assignment, completed in the desktop version of ArcMap.
  • Web/Mobile Mapping Tutorial – A tutorial on creating web map apps via ArcGIS Online and the utilization of GeoApps on mobile devices (c. 2015).
  • Geoprocessing of Mass Pike – A map displaying the land use within a 1/4 mile a portion of the Massachusetts Turnpike that lies within the city of Westfield, MA.
  • Viewshed Analysis of Mount Tom – This report discusses the visibility of a potential wind turbine on the summit of Mount Tom located in Holyoke, MA.

GIS-Related Websites

  • Nick’s Maps – This is my website for Advanced GIS (GARP 0344) while I was enrolled in during the Fall 2015 semester.  I posted all of my assignments and projects here.  By no means is everything on this site perfect – many of these assignments were geared to have us explore the concepts being taught.
  • Python Scripting for GIS Analysis –  This was the website for the independent study, “GARP 0399: IS Python,” taught by Dr. Carsten Braun.  This course was designed to self-learn the Python programming language, and apply it to programming for GIS.

 

Programming & Scripting

I have been programming since 2014, mostly focusing on programming and scripting for GIS analysis applications.  That said, I have other interests related to programming and enjoy writing scripts that are fun and/or potentially beneficial in terms of personal productivity.

In the programming section, you will find sample code and other information about most of the languages that I can program in:

  • Python 2.7 and 3.x
    • ArcPy, bs4 (i.e., Beautiful Soup), NumPy, and SciPy
  • R (Microsoft R Open)
    • General and geospatial statistical analysis, data visualization
  • SAS (Statistical Analysis Software)
    • Data manipulation and creation, statistical analysis
  • LaTeX2e
    • Compiling notes, slideshow presentations, papers, etc.
  • Wolfram Mathematica 11
    • Graphical visualization, generation of planar graphs
  • HTML & CSS
    • Basic webpage manipulation and creation
  • Markdown
    • Basic web-based notation
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