Hello All,
? In response to Robert's request, I'll say a little about myself.
Educational background: ?I have a PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Maryland. ?My field of study was General Relativity with an emphasis on numerical modeling and the ADM decomposition. ?In my dissertation, I worked on how to model extended fluid objects, such as a white dwarf, in motion about massive and super-massive black holes and determined possible finite-size corrections to the orbital motion of these systems as potential gravitational wave sources.?
Work background: ?For the last 21 years or so (even while I earned my PhD), I've worked at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Flight Dynamics. ?I was the lead trajectory designer on the ACE, WMAP, and JWST missions, and contributed significantly to the trajectories of the Clementine and GPM missions. ?I am currently the Flight Dynamics lead for the Magnetospheric MultiScale mission. Much of this work has centered on the development of analytical and numerical models of the motion of spacecraft and the maneuvers needed to achieve their desired orbits. ?Along the way, I've picked up a deal of experience working on large scale scientific pieces of software.
Interests: ?Gravity, orbital mechanics, and general relativity; scientific software, automation, & artificial intelligence; dynamical systems and chaos; physics education and mentoring
I hope that this helps and I hope ?might be able to contribute to Maxima.
Thanks,
Conrad
________________________________
From: Robert Dodier <robert.dodier at gmail.com>
To: Conrad Schiff <gravmath at yahoo.com>
Cc: Maxima Mailing List <maxima at math.utexas.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, November 8, 2011 1:17 PM
Subject: Re: Helping out with Maxima
Hi Conrad, thanks for offering to help out.
I've taken the liberty of forwarding your message to the Maxima
mailing list. If anyone would like to help Conrad figure out some
things to work on, that would be terrific.
There are two general directions that come to mind. One is that
Maxima needs continuous maintenance to ensure that its
multitude of pieces, assembled over many years and touched
by many hands, continues to function as a whole. The other is
that you may have some particular experience to work on a
particular topic. Perhaps you can tell us a little bit about your
background.
Lisp is not too terribly different from other programming languages
so if you have experience in programming, I think you'll be able
to grasp Lisp as well.
All the best,
Robert Dodier
On 11/5/11, Conrad Schiff <gravmath at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Robert,
>
>? Hello my name is Conrad Schiff.? I very much appreciate the effort that
> all of you put into Maxima as an open source CAS.? I was wondering if there
> was any way that I might be able to help.? I've got a great deal of
> experience with the development of scientific software and while I'm only a
> beginner at Lisp but I might be able to help with documentation and testing.
>
>
> Thanks,
> Conrad