I’m a data scientist and astrophysicist.
It all started when I got my first book on astronomy as a kid (thanks mum and dad!). More books, magazines and telescopes would follow, forming first a passion that would evolve into a science career path. I have vivid memories of the discovery of the first exoplanet around another star in 1995, the wait for years for the solar eclipse in Aug 11, 1999 and the historic opposition of Mars in the summer of 2003 (the closest approach to Earth in 59,619 years), which I observed with my first telescope!
My research
I received my education in physics and astrophysics at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. During my Ph.D., at the Institute of Space Sciences, I developed numerical cosmological simulations, which serve as a laboratory to make theoretical predictions and to test methodologies under clean and known conditions.
Ph.D. Dissertation: Producing simulated catalogues for next generation galaxy surveys
I continued my work on high-performance computing solutions and big data analysis as a postdoctoral researcher in cosmology at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology / University of California Riverside. I then became a Research Fellow in Cosmology at the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, in the University of Portsmouth.
My contributions focused on improving numerical cosmological simulations on the following aspects: data efficiency, computational costs, ability to model different gravity models and modelling of statistical and systematic errors.
Learn more about numerical cosmological simulations and international experiments in the Astronomy section.
Data science
Data, algorithms and optimizing stuff are things that make me happy. I find statistics and machine learning very empowering. I like to apply these skills to everyday life, from identifying the optimal sequence of daily chores to comprehending electoral results, infectious diseases and urban traffic.
I joined Moloco, an adtech startup, as a data scientist. Mobile advertising is a very complex and rich ecosystem, were algorithms thrive and data analysis are fundamental for success. Real-time auctions take place in a matter of seconds to determine advertisers and the costs of ad opportunities. To achieve the best ad campaign performance one needs to optimally use the available signals to price and bid optimally. I enjoy working with diverse teams to deliver new and better products, from improving new ad formats through experimentation to optimizing supply sources to buy ad inventory.
Check out my Blog for articles on machine learning and statistics as I keep learning new stuff!