What is your position or role in the DESI project?
I am currently co-chair of one of the working groups in DESI (alongside Rossana Ruggeri) and our job is to oversee projects that are joint between DESI and other experiments of, for example, the cosmic microwave background (CMB, i.e., the oldest light in the Universe) and weak lensing (i.e., the bending of light due to gravity, which induces an apparent change to the shapes of galaxies).
Where were you born?
I was born in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Where do you live now?
I live in Berkeley, California.
What do you do as part of DESI?
I make sure that our main science goals are reached by overseeing the so-called key projects of the collaboration; I analyze data jointly with CMB probes to study the gas distribution and inform weak lensing analysis; I apply galaxy-halo models to the small-scale clustering analysis; I also develop simulation tools on the AbacusSummit suite.
What is the most interesting or exciting thing about your job?
The excitement of new discoveries (be it small or big); working towards a common goal with a bunch of great people.
Any advice for an aspiring scientist?
Figure out what makes you the happiest work-wise and really try your best to do that.
What do you do for fun?
Play the guitar, sing, listen to audiobooks, bike a lot.
If you weren’t a scientist, what would be your dream job?
I might work at an NPO, or be a linguist. Something with lots of people-to-people communication.
What excites/interests you most about DESI?
The discovery space on small scales; doing things that no one else has done yet (I know this is vague, but this could include new probes, or higher sensitivity that allows us to learn new things about the Universe)
