Liam White
Coffee and Conversation with Liam White and Honorine Rouiller | English | Digital Narratives | April 6, 2021
Why FSU?
I wanted to pursue a degree where I was immersed in interdisciplinary research, and the Department of Scientific Computing at FSU offered me that!
Motivation to pursue a graduate degree
After graduating with a BS in computer science with a minor in physics, I wanted to learn all I could about the marriage of these two scientific domains, and pursuing a graduate degree in computational science was the best way to accomplish that!
Importance and impact of research
My research is within the field of computational fire dynamics and focuses on simulating fire propagation and plume dynamics. It’s important that we understand these systems so that we can better implement prescribed burns to reduce the number and severity of catastrophic wildfires.
Advice for prospective graduate students
Be sure you’re pursuing a graduate education for the right reasons. If you’re considering graduate school for “the money” or the “clout,” then you’ll be swimming against the current the entire way and really struggle to find joy in what you’re doing. If you’re pursuing a graduate degree for the simple joy of learning, you’ll be floating with the current on a warm summer day, and you’ll have a blast!
Accomplishments during graduate career
I’m proud to belong to such a vibrant educational community where I am able to learn from a wide variety of disciplines!
Career aspirations
Once I graduate, I would like to find a career with NASA where I can study the dynamics of fire in microgravity.