Nico Rowland (2026) | Physics
Nico’s project, “Developing Tools To Study Fields Within High Energy Plasmas,” uses proton radiography—tracking how protons deflect through plasma—to visualize the electromagnetic fields inside these extreme environments. By applying convolutional neural networks and other nonlinear analysis methods, he’s building tools that uncover hidden field dynamics, supporting efforts in fusion energy and improving how we understand the creation and behavior of magnetic fields in hard-to-study plasma systems.
How did your research question or process change over the course of the summer?
Over the course of the summer, the scope of the project certainly shifted. I was initially curious about the ability for machine learning algorithms to reconstruct electromagnetic fields from data, but the question pivoted as I began looking at the image processing and recognition tools that have made huge leaps recently! Training a model to take advantage and make more big picture inferences became the focus.
What challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them?
A pretty interesting challenge happened when I was trying to implement GPU acceleration on my PC. I was fairly new at trying these strategies, so some slip-ups caused me to corrupt the drivers in my laptop and I had to reboot my whole computer! However, rebuilding it all was a great experience that led me to re-examine my strategy and build a more cohesive, faster model from the ground up!
What was one of the most exciting aspects of your research project that you were able to pursue?
One of the most exciting aspects was when I began simulating plasmas in 3 dimensions for the first time. Simulating a radiograph image of these plasmas was a huge challenge and took a lot of troubleshooting, but when I started to recreate shapes seen in real radiographs, from real physics, I knew I was onto something!
Did your research entail any travel? Fieldwork? Use of new technology, novel equipment or methodologies?
This research was the first time I explored neural networks. As a physics major, most of my computing experience is in data analysis so getting to learn these techniques and architectures for the first time and carving my own path for its application in this field was challenging but exciting. Working on novel methodology like this was scary but an opportunity I would have never had to expand my horizons.
What skills did you develop that you didn’t have before?
I certainly honed many technical skills in relation to working with high energy physics and machine learning software at the same time, but some of the most important skills I gained included how to tackle a project that has never been done before, reading papers, reaching out to collaborators, knowing when and where to ask for help, and communicating my research effectively to my peers!
Have you had any opportunities emerge for you as a result of your summer research?
From my summer research, I was selected by UC & LLNL to visit Livermore Labs and learn from real researchers studying high-energy density physics! Getting to meet and learn from staff scientists working on some of the most exciting science around was really inspiring.
Are you thinking about or currently applying to graduate school or scholarships to support future research?
I am! I am currently applying to graduate schools to continue in the field of my research project. Getting to dive deep in this sub-field allowed me to gain a true passion and find my calling!
How did participating in SURF (specifically the programming–the research cluster meetings and workshops) support your research process or feelings of preparedness?
Participating in SURF taught me many valuable strategies I use in my research to this day. Being a part of this program exposed me to a real research environment, taught me the importance of communicating your work, collaborating with others, and allowed me to develop valuable soft and hard skills useful in all areas of my work!
What was it like working with your faculty mentor/ research advisor?
My faculty mentor was so welcoming and collaborative. Getting to work alongside a professor over the summer meant that I could chat and collaborate much more than I could in the school year. Having the expert in your field just down the hall allowed me to learn and excel in my research faster than I could have imagined.
What resources or opportunities provided by the program were most valuable to you?
Some of the most valuable opportunities were the workshops. These allowed me to look at my work at a higher level and understand the deeper meaning behind what I’m working towards!