{"681155":{"#nid":"681155","#data":{"type":"news","title":"IMS Initiative Lead Q and A: Florian Sch\u00e4fer","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/matter-systems.gatech.edu\/people\/florian-schafer\u0022\u003EFlorian Sch\u00e4fer\u003C\/a\u003E leads the \u201cMatter and Information\u201d research initiative for the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/matter-systems.research.gatech.edu\/research-initiatives\u0022\u003EInstitute for Matter and Systems\u003C\/a\u003E at Georgia Tech. In this role, his research focuses on numerical analysis, computational statistics, multi-agent optimization, and game-theoretic approaches in deep learning. Sch\u00e4fer is an assistant professor in the School of Computational Science and Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn this brief Q\u0026amp;A, Sch\u00e4fer discusses his research focus, how it relates to Matter and Systems\u2019 core research focuses, and the national impact of this initiative.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your field of expertise and at what point in your life did you first become interested in this area?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EI work on using statistical insights for designing algorithms to design physical systems. I can trace my interest in the interplay between physical systems and information processes all the way to high school times, when I was fascinated by the question of what it is that makes us think of some complex physical systems as \u0022computers,\u0022 but not of others.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat questions or challenges sparked your current research?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ESimulating physics is in many ways like statistical analysis with data produced by computation. My aim is to understand the implications of this perspective for algorithm design in scientific computing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMatter and systems refer to the transformational technological and societal systems that arise from the convergence of innovative materials, devices, and processes. Why is your initiative important to the development of the IMS research strategy?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EAn exciting current development is the two-fold convergence of physical and information sciences: The use of statistical \/machine learning approaches for physical simulation and of new physical processes for computation. IMS is the perfect environment pursuing this goal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are the broader global and social benefits of the research you and your team conduct?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EThe main societal contribution of my research is the efficient and reliable simulation of complex engineering system to aid the development of improved designs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are your plans for engaging a wider Georgia Tech faculty pool with the Institute for Matter and Systems research?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003EI\u0026nbsp;plan to engage researchers across GT through reading groups and seminars, with the goal of converging on a sufficiently concrete idea for an externally funded project. I hope that this will serve as a nucleus for exploring the use of novel physical processes for computation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESch\u00e4fer leads the \u201cMatter and Information\u201d research initiative for the Institute for Matter and Systems at Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Sch\u00e4fer leads the \u201cMatter and Information\u201d research initiative for the Institute for Matter and Systems at Georgia Tech. "}],"uid":"35272","created_gmt":"2025-03-13 20:31:31","changed_gmt":"2025-03-14 16:09:54","author":"aneumeister3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-03-13T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-03-13T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"676546":{"id":"676546","type":"image","title":"matter_information.png","body":null,"created":"1741900908","gmt_created":"2025-03-13 21:21:48","changed":"1741900908","gmt_changed":"2025-03-13 21:21:48","alt":"The statistically motivated algorithms developed by Prof.  Sch\u00e4fer and collaborators enable the efficient simulation of physical processes for scientific computing and computer graphics (image taken from Chen et al. 2024)","file":{"fid":"260349","name":"matter_information.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/03\/13\/matter_information.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/03\/13\/matter_information.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1651053,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/03\/13\/matter_information.png?itok=A52CdF9N"}}},"media_ids":["676546"],"groups":[{"id":"660369","name":"Matter and Systems"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193652","name":"Matter and Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.neumeister@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Neumeister \u003C\/a\u003E| Research Communications Program Manager\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["amelia.neumeister@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}