Joshua A. Vita

Josh Vita is a fifth-year Ph.D. student in materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign (UIUC). His work focuses on the development of efficient, interpretable models for describing atomic interactions, and the design of algorithms and databases for fitting those models. Josh graduated with bachelors degrees in materials science and mathematics from the University of Arizona in 2017 and has significant experience in software development and machine learning. He has interned at Sandia National Laboratories (2016) developing image analysis software, worked with the OpenKIM/ColabFit team designing a framework for archiving materials data (2021), and developed multiple software packages for fitting interatomic potentials during his graduate research. His other interests include guitar, volleyball, chess, and reading sci-fi/fantasy books.

Josh's expected graduation date is May 2023.