Curriculum Vitae

Jeffrey Utley

PhD Candidate | Statistical Modeling, Inverse Problems & Imaging

Purdue University — Department of Mathematics | West Lafayette, IN

U.S. Citizen | SECRET eligibility through Aug 2026 (inactive)

Research & Technical Summary

PhD candidate developing statistically validated modeling and estimation algorithms and reproducible scientific software for turbulence-driven imaging and simulation.
Targeting national laboratory Research Scientist / Staff Research roles and R&D industry roles. Focus areas: modeling/estimation/simulation; computational imaging; signal processing; scientific software.
Validated algorithms on measured wind-tunnel datasets; collaborated with AFRL/AFIT staff and briefed technical progress.
Production-minded research software: modular, versioned, installable packages with reproducible results and publishable outcomes.

METHODS: inverse problems and parameter estimation (distribution matching for synthetic data); spectral analysis (FFT, PSD, PCA); numerical optimization (first-order methods; Mirror Descent); Bayesian inference (coursework).
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES: Python, C/C++, MATLAB, Julia.
SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING & DATA (COURSEWORK/RESEARCH/PROJECTS): NumPy (FFT), SciPy, pandas, Matplotlib, Jupyter; seaborn (coursework); OpenCV (research/projects).
ML FRAMEWORKS (COURSEWORK/TOOLS): PyTorch, JAX.
COMPUTATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS (COURSEWORK/RESEARCH/PROJECTS): Linux/UNIX; bash/shell scripting; SSH; Slurm (HPC job scheduling on Purdue clusters); Make (coursework).
DEVELOPMENT & REPRODUCIBILITY TOOLS (COURSEWORK/RESEARCH/PROJECTS): pip; conda; Git/GitHub; setuptools/pyproject (research/projects); LaTeX; Vim, PyCharm, Visual Studio.

PhD, Purdue University - Mathematics Expected May 2027

GPA: 4.00 | Concentration: Computational Science

BS, Mathematics (Honors) - University of Tennessee May 2022

GPA: 3.98 | Minor: Computer Science

Graduate Research Assistant — Purdue University Jan 2023 – Present

Advisors: Prof. Gregery Buzzard & Prof. Charles Bouman

Develop and validate synthetic phase-screen generation algorithms from measured turbulence data; coordinate results and software deliverables with AFRL/AFIT collaborators.
- Fourier-based method (BoilingFlow implementation): parameter estimation validated on measured + simulated turbulence; spatial-anisotropy extension validated on measured data.
- Data-driven method: validated on measured wind-tunnel datasets via temporal/spatial statistics matching.
Deliver reproducible research software and technical results: modular, version-controlled code; first-author SPIE proceedings; coordination with AFRL/AFIT collaborators.

Doctoral Research Fellow (ORISE) — AFIT (virtual) May 2025 – Aug 2025

Mentor: Prof. Matthew Kemnetz

Contributed to the Purdue–AFRL/AFIT collaboration with a focus on the Fourier-based method; delivered weekly virtual technical briefings to AFIT staff; supported a SPIE conference-paper deliverable.

AFRL Scholars Program (USRA) — AFRL May 2024 – Aug 2024

Mentor: Prof. Matthew Kemnetz

Contributed to the Purdue–AFRL collaboration by developing and evaluating the data-driven method; delivered an end-of-summer technical briefing to AFRL staff; supported a separate SPIE conference-paper deliverable.

Fourier-based method (existing): developed an automated calibration/parameter-estimation method to match measured spatiotemporal statistics (distribution matching) and implemented a spatial-anisotropy extension.
Data-driven method (new): developed a novel synthesis algorithm that improves match to measured spatiotemporal statistics relative to Fourier-based baselines.

BoilingFlow — installable Python package (Anaconda; NumPy/SciPy; FFT/PSD matching) implementing the Fourier-based phase-screen generation method; validated on two wind-tunnel datasets (worst-case NRMSE = 12% for temporal power spectrum match). Includes package installation scripts. https://github.com/jeffreyutley/boiling_flow
MirrorDescent (coursework) — Python package implementing Mirror Descent with reproducible demos and install scripts; demonstrates algorithm implementation and packaging discipline. https://github.com/jeffreyutley/MirrorDescent

Utley, J., Buzzard, G., Bouman, C., & Kemnetz, R. (2025). Boiling flow parameter estimation from boundary layer data. SPIE. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3063655 Preprint: arXiv:2602.10394. https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.10394
Utley, J., Buzzard, G., Bouman, C., & Kemnetz, R. (2024). Data-driven synthetic wavefront generation for boundary layer data. SPIE. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3027740 Preprint: arXiv:2409.04873. https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.04873.

Utley, J., Buzzard, G., Bouman, C., & Kemnetz, R. Boiling flow estimation for aero-optic phase screen generation. Under review. arXiv:2601.12171. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2601.12171

Stochastic modeling of beetle infestations (Midwest REG, University of Michigan, Aug 2023).
Undergraduate research in complex analysis resulting in a peer-reviewed journal article: Lind, J. & Utley, J. (2022). Involve, 15(3), 447–474. https://doi.org/10.2140/involve.2022.15.447 Preprint: arXiv:2106.14940. https://arxiv.org/abs/2106.14940
Companion software (undergraduate): ModifiedBleatAlgorithm — MATLAB implementation of the algorithm from the above journal article. https://github.com/jeffreyutley/Modified-BLEAT-Algorithm

SPIE Optics + Photonics 2025 — “Boiling flow parameter estimation from boundary layer data.”
Electronic Imaging 2025 — “Synthetic wavefront generation for aero-induced turbulence using boundary layer data.”
SPIE Optics + Photonics 2024 — “Data-driven synthetic wavefront generation for boundary layer data.”
Directed Energy S&T Symposium 2024 — “Synthetic Wavefront Generation for Aero-Optics Correction.”

TEACHING: Instructor (University of Michigan, Wolverine Pathways, 2022–2023); Graduate TA (Purdue, 2022); Undergraduate TA (University of Tennessee, 2020–2022).
LEADERSHIP: Vice President, SIAM Student Chapter (Purdue), 2024–Present; Co-organizer, CCAM Lunch Seminar (Purdue Mathematics), 2025-Present.
SERVICE: Reviewer, Optical Engineering (SPIE), 2025–Present (2 manuscripts).
AWARDS: SPIE Student Conference Support Award (2024); Purdue College of Science Travel Award (2024); John H. Barrett Prize (2022).