Who Am I?

I live in Ithaca, NY, about 230 miles from New York City, where I work.

I grew up outside Chicago, in the small village of South Elgin, IL. We lived on the boundary between "urban" and "cornfield," but the area has now completed the transformation into a flavorless but properly-outfitted and pleasant northwest suburb. The childhood move across town wasn't enough, so I attended a residential high school about 15 miles away called the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, otherwise known simply as "the school without walls" since interior remodeling had never quite finished. It was there that I learned the rules of coin laundry, witnessed the power of a Fresnel lens, memorized the definition of "multiple causation", and made some of my longest-lasting friends. I look back now, from time to time, sigh deeply, and wonder whatever happened to all that snow we left in C-wing, 1505.

As an undergraduate at Caltech, I met my future wife Janis, learned the true secrets of discipline, pain, and success (not from physics, but from running), and got suck(er)ed into the field of high-energy physics. It was also the first significant separation from my twin brother, who headed to the other coast to earn his letters.

As a graduate student in physics at Cornell, I learned about perseverance, especially when it comes to enduring endless meetings, and the merits of doing things right the first time, from coding to soldering. And about frigid, sunless upstate New York winters.

My wife and I were married in Ithaca a few years ago.

My brother Tim now works in Washington, DC for the National Research Council, part of the The National Academies (of Sciences).

Tom at work on his Ph.D. analysis

Work

Quantitative Finance

I currently work as a quantitative analyst at an emerging markets hedge fund in New York City.

Experimental Particle Physics

I graduated in Jan 2005 from Cornell University with a Ph.D in physics. My thesis focused on improving our understanding of some of the unquantifiable uncertainties implicit in previous (inclusive) measurements of a physical constant of nature called V_ub, one number in the so-called Standard Model of particle physics that describes the behavior and interactions of all elementary particles.

The completed analysis was published as Phys.Rev.Lett.96:121801,2006.

Outside of Work

I enjoy running on trails and roads, especially so in the varied terrain of upstate New York. I enjoy both training and competitive racing, from shorter distances such as the 5 K up to and including marathons.

I used to maintain the website for the Finger Lakes Runners Club and serve on its Board of Directors; I still actively run with the High Noon crowd in Ithaca and participate in as many of the local trail races as I can.

I use RunningAhead.com to record my training.

I really like Ozymandias by Shelley.