Arya Farahi

Assistant Professor, Statistics and Data Science, University of Texas, Austin

Data Science Fellow Alum, MIDAS

My research is focused on cosmology and its intersection with fundamental physics. To study the constituents of our universe and demystify the small-scale astrophysics, I develop novel inference models and computational algorithms. As an astronomer, I employ the most massive gravitationally bound objects in the Universe, i.e. galaxy clusters, to study the nature of dark matter and dark energy. I am also an advocate for applications of data science for problems with societal impact. When I am not doing astronomy, I engage with policy- and decision-makers and enable them with data-informed decision making by providing novel data-driven tools. 

I am an active member of several international projects and collaborations, including the Dark Energy Survey(DES), the COsmostatistics INitiative (COIN), XMM-XXL Consortium, among others. I was a McWilliams Postdoctoral Fellow at CMU, recipient of the best student paper award in KDD’18, an awardee of the Michigan Institute for Computational Discovery and Engineering (MICDE) fellowship, and recipient >$50k grants. 

Undergraduate/graduate students: I am continually looking for dedicated undergraduate and graduate students (you) who want to expand their portfolio and take part in data science with social impact or astronomy projects. These projects involve a balance of theoretical, methodological, and data analysis work. If you are looking for a project feel free to email me.

World Economic Forum Report: I contributed to a report from the World Economic Forum featuring a data science project co-funded by MIDAS, U-M Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), U-M College of Engineering and The Knight Foundation. The project is part of a larger Seamless Integrated Mobility effort that aims to transform mobility systems in Detroit, Ann Arbor and Windsor.  The project is one example of how data science can make a significant impact on policy making. 

COntact

aryaf@umich.edu