Ammar Hakim

About Ammar Hakim

Physicist, applied mathematician, algorithm alchemist, code wizard and Socratic gadfly. I like equations and code, and believe in the Greek ideal that one can figure out how the universe works just by thinking. One only needs a supply of paper, pencils, Emacs, gcc and perhaps a few supercomputers and a couple of cups of tea. In short: those who can, think. Those who can\'t, data.Besides theoretical and computational physics, I am interested in applied mathematics, fundamental principles of machine intelligence, programming language theory, economics, philosophy, history of apocalyptic movements, Sufi poetry, Islamic and Catholic mysticism, classical literature and poetry, and the intersection of science and society.(Obviously, I never sleep). My goal is to achieve excellence in everything I do, and inspiring excellence in students, postdocs, collaborators and coworkers.

Experience

1. Deputy Head and Group Leader, Algorithms and Applied Mathematics, Computational Sciences Division

   Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL)

   Apr 2021 — Present

   I lead the effort in development of new algorithms and methods for the solution of complex multi-physics, multi-scale problems in fusion and plasma physics. In addition, I lead the group effort in raising new funding for innovative research. A significant part of my role involves mentoring and supervision of junior scientists in the laboratory. I am somewhat unique in that I not only lead a large research group, setting the group direction and supervising all algorithmic and physics work, but also write a lot of code myself, leading by example by producing excellent software, physics and applied mathematics research.

Education

• University of Washington

  Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Plasma Physics

  2001 — 2006

Skills

• Parallel Computing
• Software Development
• Python
• Latex
• Numerical Simulation
• Mpi
• Computational Physics
• Simulations
• Fluid Dynamics
• Mathematica
• Electromagnetics
• Parallel Programming
• Software Engineering
• Mathematical Modeling
• Computer Programming
• Science
• High Performance Computing (Hpc)
• Algorithms
• Openmp
• Numerical Analysis
• Scientific Computing
• Programming
• C++
• Fortran
• High Performance Computing
• Finite Element Analysis
• Supercomputing
• Product Management
• Plasma Physics
• Physics
• Applied Mathematics
• Thermal Physics
• Idl