CDT Student Interviews - Spotlight on Ryan Thomson
Why are you interested in Physics?
"That's a hard question for me, I'm from more of a machine learning, maths and statistics background, but physics is interesting because of the way you can use it to understand things."
How did you end up in Liverpool?
"I grew up here, I went to University here, and so I decided to stay here."
Which contribution to your field do you consider to be the most significant?
"It depends which field, but for me personally I'd have to say the Random Forrest by Leo Breiman."
What do you hope to contribute to your field?
"I'd like to find ways to apply machine learning to astrophysics, and find the common ground between the two fields."
Where do you hope to end up after your PhD?
"I'll say industry for now, but I'll see how I feel after I've done more of my PhD."
Why do you think Big Data is important?
"Technology keeps growing, it's inevitable that data will keep growing, so we need techniques to manage and use that data effectively."