On July 13, David Nguyen successfully defended the thesis, “The Simons Observatory: Data Monitoring, Alarm System, and Half-wave Plate Study from First Light Data” (Advisor: Laura Newburgh).
Nguyen explained, “The Simons Observatory (SO) is a ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiment that aims to take precise measurements of the CMB to search for possible gravitational waves in the early Universe, among other science goals. My thesis work focuses on the software tools and analysis required for effective and efficient observatory operations in order to produce accurate science results. Through my developments of the alarm system and data quality monitoring tools, this work emphasizes the importance of robust software systems to maximize the time we spend observing to CMB, allowing us to achieve high sensitivity measurements.”
Nguyen will next be a postdoc at Argonne National Laboratory, leading the effort in developing machine learning algorithms for both detector data quality assurance and experiment operations. Nguyen will primarily work with South Pole Telescope (SPT) data, but will aim to generalize for all CMB experiments. Nguyen will also continue working with SO.
Thesis Abstract
The Simons Observatory (SO) is a ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiment that aims to take precise measurements of the temperature and polarization anisotropies of the CMB. SO will search for possible gravitational waves in the early Universe generated during inflation and produce improved parameters of the standard model of cosmology. Effective and efficient observatory operations and data quality assurance are required before we can produce accurate science results. In this dissertation, I discuss the development of software tools in support of the operations and data analysis of SO. I highlight my contributions to the development of data acquisition & control software, the alarm system, and the automated data processing pipeline. I also describe my analysis of systematics related to the half-wave plate instrument and its capability for detector calibration.
Thesis Committee: Laura Newburgh (advisor), Daisuke Nagai, Reina Maruyama, Sarah Demers, Katie Harrington (Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago)
This story is a duplicate of the Wright Lab news story of July 14, 2026. Please see below for a link to the original article.