Engineer Engineering

Location:

Wheat Ridge, CO

Posted:

July 01, 2014

Contact this candidate

Resume:

PAUL LARSON acetft@r.postjobfree.com

**** *. **** ***., #***, Edgewater, CO 80214 http://www.iident.com/paullarson/index.php

573-***-**** http://www.linkedin.com/pub/paul-larson/76/679/822

COMPUTATIONAL SCIENTIST

Applied & Basic Research ~ Software Engineering & Development ~ Data Analysis

Laboratory Management ~ Technical Writing ~ IT Design & Development ~ Design Engineering

Mathematics ~Physics ~ Strategic / T actical Planning ~ Tutoring ~ T echnical Leadership

A highly accomplished professional in the field of computational science who harnesses intellectual and

creative resources to investigate new lines of research, successfully generate important ideas and

concepts, and chart ground-breaking courses of action.

A resourceful, results-oriented researcher with a proven track record of hands-on expertise in

computational science-related endeavors in sophisticated laboratory environments.

Hallmark of success is the ability to use leadership, critical thinking and a high degree of professionalism

to analyze problems, address challenges, craft solutions and allocate resources.

Expertise in communicating directly with all levels of researchers, professors and students. Exceptional

problem-solving, coordination, process-development and organizational effectiveness skills.

Proven ability to lead and manage individuals in a team setting, bringing out the collaborative best in

peers to achieve and exceed goals, objectives and expectations.

A skilled, prolific and respected technical writer who has published more than 35 peer-reviewed articles in

his field and referee given the Outstanding Referee Award (2013) by the American Physical Society

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

Uncovered the fact that the number of water molecules that can stay contained in a

carbon atom cage, or “fullerene,” is directly proportional to the volume inside.

Compiling the results of that research for publication.

Established and programmed a new LDA+U addition to linear muffin tin orbitals (LMTO)

code routines, which could include the proper band splitting for all rare-earth elements.

Successfully determined -- using newly developed routines for a certain class of

materials -- that replacing atoms didn’t negatively impact the magnetic anisotropy of

rare-earth magnets.

Showed that a particular thermoelectric material could be improved by applying

pressure in one direction but not for uniform pressure (“Effects of uniaxial and

hydrostatic pressure on the valence band maximum in S b2Te3: An electronic structure

study.” P. Larson, Physical Review B 74, 205113 (2006). Electronic structure calculations show

stress applied in one direction (uniaxial) has a transition in the electronic properties that enhance the

thermoelectric properties, which aren’t seen when stress is applied in all directions (hydrostatic).)

Authored a program called the disordered local moment (DLM) method, and inserted it

in existing LMTO code, which confirmed that the calculation’s magnetic properties at

finite temperatures agreed with experimental results.

Co-authored several theoretical/experimental papers to find a screening process to

determine which thermoelectric materials would be best used for various applications .

PAUL Page 2

Showed that doping magnetic atoms at a metal/insulator interface produces a two-

dimensional electron gas where the magnetism of the doped magnetic atoms are

enhanced. ( “Density functional study of magnetism in Mn at GaN/AlxGa1-xN

interfaces.” P. Larson, Z.S. Popovic and S. Satpathy, Physical Review B 78, 113308

(2008). The interface between GaN and AlxGa1-xN acts as a two-dimensional electron gas where the

magnetism of the Mn atoms is enhanced.)

Discovered that uninvestigated plasmon-pole approximations -- commonly used in GW

calculations – can lead to varying results, depending on the common materials being

studied. (“Role of plasmon-pole model in GW calculations”, P. Larson, M. Dvorak, and

Z. Wu, Physical Review B 88, 125205 (2013). Band gaps and badge-edge energy levels show that

the Hybertsen-Louie plasmon-pole model reproduces the numerical integration better than more

complicated plasmon-pole models).

Discovered that Pd undergoes a magnetic transition at 0 K due to quantum effects

(“Magnetism, critical fluctuations and susceptibility renormalization in Pd”, P. Larson,

I.I. Mazin, and D.J. Singh, Physical Review B 69, 064429 (2004). Density functional theory

calculations show that critical fluctuations exist in Pd which give a magnetic transition at 0K.)

EDUCATION

B.A., Physics/Mathematics, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN

Ph.D., Physics, Michigan State University, E. Lansing, MI

CAREER SUMMARY

Tutor.com

Calculus Tutor

Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO