Welcome! I am an American scientist who uses theory and computation to help solve pressing problems in quantum materials and nuclear security. As a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Theoretical Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory, my work spans (1) quantum materials theory, (2) nuclear forensics, and (3) computational physics. More details about each of these thrusts can be found under Research.
Although I am housed in the Quantum and Condensed Matter Physics (T-4) Group of LANL’s Theoretical Division, I collaborate closely with the Nuclear Threat Assessment Group of the X-Theoretical Division. This is reminiscent of my academic background, which amounts to a formal training in quantum materials and chemistry, enveloped in the context of national security. As a PhD student at Brown University working under Brenda Rubenstein, I was supported by the DOE Office of Science as I pursued theoretical and computational studies of key microelectronic and spintronic materials based on quantum magnets. Prior to this, I had visiting internships at Lawrence Livermore and Oak Ridge National Laboratories, where I worked with Caleb Mattoon and Ashley Shields to build new computational tools that helped advance the nuclear forensics and stockpile stewardship missions of the Department of Energy.
I hope this website helps translate my wide variety of research output into a unified, digestible story about my scientific journey. Additionally, I have provided resources ranging from technical presentations on niche subjects to practice problems in chemistry and physics, in the hope that they might be more broadly helpful.
Kind regards,
Daniel J. Staros 