Kai Staats

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Kai Staats
Central Namibia game preserve, 2015
Born (1970-07-16) July 16, 1970 (age 53)
Spearfish, South Dakota
NationalityAmerican
Websitehttps://www.kaistaats.com

Kai Kruse Staats is a filmmaker, science researcher, writer, innovator, and entrepreneur. His research includes evolutionary computation applied to noise mitigation, improved instrumentation, and transient detection in multimessenger astronomy.[1]

At the Arizona State University School of Earth & Space Exploration, Staats is contributing to the design of off-world human habitats as project lead for an Interplanetary Initiative Pilot Project.[2]

Staats is Principal Manager and Producer at Over the Sun, LLC, where the focus is science outreach and education. His last film series, funded in part by the NSF, chronicled the first direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015 by LIGO,[3][4][5] at which he is a Visiting Scientist.[6]

Previous work of note is his development of Yellow Dog Linux for the POWER architecture including Apple and IBM computers and the Sony PS3, and creation of the digital pictographic language iConji.

Early life

Staats was born in Spearfish, South Dakota, the eldest son of Richard and Linda Staats and brother to Jae Staats. His childhood environment was principally small-town, with access to a family farm in Iowa and summer vacations exploring the Black Hills of South Dakota, Colorado Rockies, and Pacific Northwest. Staats holds a lifelong interest in nature, astronomy and the sciences engendered by a view of Saturn at the Griffith Observatory at age 6, and subsequent encouragement by his parents to read and explore.

In primary and secondary school he joined astronomy clubs, built his own telescope, and participated in sidewalk astronomy. From 1988-92 he served as President of the Phoenix Astronomical Society.[7]

Education

Staats attended high school at Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix. He completed his BSc in Industrial Design at Arizona State University, College of Architecture and Environmental Design, School of Design in 1993.

He earned his MSc in Applied Mathematics at the University of Capetown (UCT), South Africa in 2016. His thesis topic was: The Application of Genetic Programming to the Mitigation of RFI in Radio Astronomy.[8]

In 2017 he attended International Space University, Space Studies Program, Cork, Ireland. This program, now in its third decade, provides a 10-week curriculum incorporating more than 200 guest lecturers, experiential learning, and a team project to provide students a broad introduction to the space sciences.

Development of programming skills was an ongoing endeavor. Staats learned computer programming in grade school working with a Tandy mainframe, TRS-80, and Commodore 64. As of 2014, much of his work employed Python for applied machine learning and modeling.[9]

As an avid outdoors explorer, Staats maintains his certification as a Wilderness First Responder.

Career

Staats funded his BSc education with the design and construction of children's' playgrounds in Phoenix, Arizona, and his work at a woodworking manufacturing company where he designed and built manufacturing jigs, and worked in the production line.

In 1995 he founded Terra Firma Design (TFD) and continued as its sole proprietor until 2000. TFD provided website development and marketing consulting principally for companies located in Northern Colorado, including a corporate identity package for Western Telecommunications, Inc. (WTCI), website design and maintenance for New Belgium Brewing Company, and the re-design of the RB5X, an educational and hobbyist robot then produced by General Robotics Corporation.[10]

In 1999 Staats co-founded, and for ten years served as CEO of, Terra Soft Solutions, Inc. (TSS). TSS developed a Linux operating system (OS) for the POWER architecture with support for embedded, desktop, and server chipsets by IBM and Freescale, and computer products by Apple,[11][12] IBM,[13] Sony,[14] and others.[15][16] Terra Soft delivered the desktop OS “Yellow Dog Linux” (YDL) and turn-key high performance computing (HPC) solutions for DoE, DoD, NASA, and higher education customers.[17][18] Notable is the development of YellowDog Update (yup) which lead to the development of the defacto RPM package manager, YellowDog Update Modified (yum) as deployed by Red Hat Linux for more than a decade. Used in image processing, flight simulation, bioinformatics, and wafer inspection, YDL remains available from several distribution sites.

In 2008 Terra Soft was acquired by the Japanese company Fixstars of Tokyo which established the US corporation Fixstars Solutions, Inc. Staats served briefly as their first COO.

In 2009 Staats founded Over the Sun, LLC, where he produces films primarily focused on science outreach and education.

Innovations and research

Staats’ early innovations include architectural bird feeders, backpacking equipment and clothing, collaboration on a flying car, musical exhibits for interactive science centers, a patented ergonomic keyboard and mouse combination,[19] and a patented tablet and keyboard system.[20][21] More recent work includes the iConji digital pictographic language and Karoo GP,[1] a Python-based Genetic Programming application for Machine Learning.

From 2014–2016, while at the University of Capetown, Staats developed Karoo GP for the analysis of radio frequency data from the Square Kilometre Array – South Africa (SKA-SA).[8]

In 2016, at The Ohio State University, Staats co-organized and -lead a prototypal workshop for the application of evolutionary computation to astroparticle physics (CHEAPR).[22] Since 2017, he is assisting Professor Amy Connolly and her colleagues at OSU and Cal Poly with a student project to develop evolutionary algorithms that evolve antenna designs for improved neutrino detection.[23]

Staats is currently serving as a Visiting Scientist at Northwestern University for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) on the application of machine learning in detector characterization, noise mitigation, and transient (supernova) detection.[6] He collaborates principally with Dr. Marco Cavaglia, a professor at the University of Mississippi.

At the Arizona State University, Interplanetary Initiative, Staats is funded from 2017-19 to lead the development of SIMOC, an agent-based model of a scalable, interactive, off-world community.[2] Built on NASA ecological and closed-ecosystem research, SIMOC is a platform for both research and education.

Publications

Academic

  • Mobile robotic platform deployment as part of a Martian mission simulation, Reid, E.; Iles, P.; Cristello, N.; Labrie, M.; Musilova, M.; Staats, K. (2014). Proceedings of 12th International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Automation in Space.[24]
  • Genetic programming applied to RFI mitigation in radio astronomy, Staats, Kai (2016). MSc dissertation, University of Cape Town.[8]
  • TensorFlow enabled genetic programming, Staats, Kai; Pantridge, Edward; Cavaglia, Marco; Milovanov, Iurii; Aniyan, Arun (2017). Proceedings of the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference Companion, ACM , pp. 1872-1879.[25]
  • LIGO detector characterization with genetic programming, Cavaglia, Marco, Staats, Kai; Errico, Luciano; Mogushi, Kentaro; Gabbard, Hunter (2017), APS April Meeting Abstracts.[26]
  • Finding the origin of noise transients in LIGO data with machine learning, Cavaglia, Marco; Staats, Kai; Gill, Teerth (2018),Communications in Computational Physics 25, pp. 963-987.[27]

Print and online articles

  • Periodic column for TechNewWorld (formerly MacNewWorld) from 2004 covering various topics related to technology and society.[28]
  • Periodic column for BizWest of Boulder, Colorado (formerly the Northern Colorado Business Report) from 2010-14 covering various topics related to technology and society.[29]
  • The Minds Behind the Film, Space.com, April 2014, written to accompany the film LIGO, A Passion for Understanding.[30]
  • When Black Holes Cross Paths, Space.com, August 2014, by Kai Staats and Gaurav Khanna, Ph.D. at UMass Dartmouth.[31]
  • Swamps, Simulations and Mad Drone Skills, Space.com, January 2015, written to accompany the film LIGO Generations.[32]
  • Detecting Ripples in Space-Time, with a Little Help from Einstein, Space.com, August 2015, co-authored with astrophysicist Marco Cavaglia, University of Mississippi.[33]
  • To catch a Wave: A detection story, LIGO Magazine, March 2017 Issue 10, pages 18-21.[34]
  • Exoplanets will become a reality, Article for WIRED magazine’s “The Wired World in 2018”, December 2017, British Edition, pages 41-42.[35]

Filmography

Staats engaged in filmmaking at an early age. His first production was a LEGO-mation shot on 8mm film with 6th grade classmate Doug Weaver. He continued experimenting with digital films in collaboration with brother Jae Staats, co-founder of the Almost Famous Film Festival (A3F) which ran from 2005-2010.[36] His work in independent and later professional filmmaking began in 2011 at Holden Village, an isolated retreat center in the Washington Cascades.

From 2012-14 he produced Monitor Gray, a short science fiction film based on three short stories he wrote in high school and college.[37]

In 2013, Staats filmed and produced Chasing Asteroid 1998 QE2 for the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), documenting their observations of this near-Earth interloper.[38] In 2017, Staats returned to SAAO, producing a short film about the first detection of merging binary neutron stars as a fully multi-messenger event.[39]

In the fall of 2013 he was awarded his first contract with LIGO, the gravitational-wave observatory. LIGO, A Passion for Understanding is a 20 minute documentary film completed in April 2014.[3] Subsequent NSF and university funding was provided for LIGO Generations in 2015,[4] and LIGO Detection in 2017.[5] LIGO Detection is distributed by the National Science Foundation's educational content library Science360, and related films are available at the LIGO multimedia archive.[40]

Produced in 2015-16, I am Palestine is a short documentary that shares the stories of Palestinians who once lived side-by-side with Israeli neighbors in what is now a place with an uncertain, conflicted future. The film enjoyed screening at eight film festivals, winning awards at the NYC Indie Film Awards,[41] Best Shorts Competition,[42] and Best Short Documentary at the 2016 Cabo Verde International Film Festival.[43]

In collaboration with Dr. Paul M. Sutter, Staats produced Song of the Stars, a film of the one-time live performance of a modern dance that tells the story of the first stars in the universe.[44] The film won the Best Director category at the Escape Velocity Film Festival in 2017.

Educational outreach

Staats is a frequent lecturer at science centers, astronomy clubs, and scientific conferences. His work in this area includes both formal and informal multimedia presentations designed to bring scientific insights to untrained but curious minds. A sampling of these activities follows.

  • A telescope opens the mind to a larger world, TEDx 2014, Loveland, Colorado, May 2014.[45]
  • Open discussion forum, Science Cafe, Capetown, SA, Oct 2015.[46]
  • From Pinocchio to the Terminator, What A.I. Teaches us About Ourselves, Arizona Science Center, Phoenix, AZ, Oct 2016.[47]
  • Making Movies about Making History: A Non-linear Journey from LEGO to LIGO, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Urbana-Champaign, IL , Apr 2017.[48]
  • LIGO Detection: An exploration of complex data, South African Astronomical Observatory, Capetown, SA, Sep 2017.[49]
  • Machine Learning in the LIGO-Virgo Era, American Physical Society meeting, April 2018.[50]
  • Living on Mars (From Biosphere 2 to "The Martian"), OMSI, Portland, OR, Nov 2018.[51]

References

  1. ^ a b "Karoo gp by kstaats". kstaats.github.io. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  2. ^ a b "What balance of mechanical and biological systems will be required to sustain human life in a growing, off-world habitat? | Interplanetary Initiative". interplanetary.asu.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  3. ^ a b "LIGO, A Passion for Understanding". LIGO Multimedia Library. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  4. ^ a b "LIGO Generations". LIGO Multimedia Library. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  5. ^ a b "LIGO Detection". New Scientist. Retrieved 2019-01-18. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  6. ^ a b https://roster.ligo.org/roster.php?do=roster&search=name&target=staats
  7. ^ http://www.pasaz.org/archive/presidents.txt
  8. ^ a b c https://open.uct.ac.za/bitstream/handle/11427/23703/thesis_sci_2016_staats_kai.pdf?sequence=1
  9. ^ "kstaats - Overview". GitHub. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  10. ^ "Terra Firma sees solid base for digital video technology". BizWest. 1998-10-01. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  11. ^ "The Eye: Apple fan takes bite out of NT". BizWest. 1998-11-01. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  12. ^ "Yellow Dog Linux on the iMac | Linux Journal". www.linuxjournal.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  13. ^ "Linux and IBM PowerPCs | Linux Journal". www.linuxjournal.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  14. ^ Panton, Matthew. "Hands-on experience: Linux on the PS3". CNET. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  15. ^ "New Yellow Dog Linux supports dual-core G5s, more". Macworld. 2006-01-06. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  16. ^ "The Best Game in Town | Linux Journal". www.linuxjournal.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  17. ^ Fried, Ina. "Navy to draft Linux-powered Macs". CNET. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  18. ^ "Linux in Government: Navy Sonar Opens New Opportunities for Linux Clusters and IBM G5 servers | Linux Journal". www.linuxjournal.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  19. ^ https://patents.google.com/patent/USD373999S/
  20. ^ https://patents.google.com/patent/US8749963/
  21. ^ https://patents.google.com/patent/US8208245B2/
  22. ^ "Computing in High-Energy AstroParticle Research Workshop (CHEAPR2016) | Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics (CCAPP)". ccapp.osu.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  23. ^ "GENETIS | Connolly's Group". u.osu.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  24. ^ "Google Scholar". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  25. ^ Staats, Kai; Pantridge, Edward; Cavaglia, Marco; Milovanov, Iurii; Aniyan, Arun (2017-08-10). "TensorFlow Enabled Genetic Programming". arXiv:1708.03157 [cs].
  26. ^ Cavaglia, Marco; Staats, Kai; Errico, Luciano; Mogushi, Kentaro; Gabbard, Hunter (2017-01-01). "LIGO detector characterization with genetic programming": X6.008. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  27. ^ Cavaglia, Marco; Staats, Kai; Gill, Teerth (2018-12-12). "Finding the origin of noise transients in LIGO data with machine learning". arXiv:1812.05225 [astro-ph, physics:physics]. doi:10.4208/cicp.OA-2018-0092.
  28. ^ "You searched for "kai staats"". BizWest. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  29. ^ "Search". www.technewsworld.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  30. ^ Staats, Kai; Filmmaker; April 16, MarsCrew134 member |; ET, 2014 12:50pm. "'LIGO: A Passion for Understanding' — The Minds Behind the Film". Space.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  31. ^ August 25, Kai Staats |; ET, 2014 09:12pm. "When Black Holes Cross Paths". Space.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  32. ^ February 17, Kai Staats |; ET, 2015 03:00pm. "Swamps, Simulations and Mad Drone Skills: Filming 'LIGO: Generations'". Space.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  33. ^ Staats, Kai; Cavaglia, University of Cape Town; Marco; K, Shivaraj; hasamy; August 8, University of Mississippi |; ET, 2015 08:44am. "Detecting Ripples in Space-Time, with a Little Help from Einstein". Space.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  34. ^ http://www.ligo.org/magazine/LIGO-magazine-issue-10.pdf#page=18
  35. ^ Staats, Kai (2018-01-21). "Nasa's new telescope will give our hunt for alien life a major boost". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Retrieved 2019-01-22.
  36. ^ http://www.thea3f.net/about.html
  37. ^ http://www.monitorgray.com/
  38. ^ "Chasing Asteroid 1998 QE2". SAAO. 2013-06-05. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  39. ^ "SALT and SAAO telescopes investigate the origin of the first detection of gravitational waves produced by two colliding neutron stars". SAAO. 2017-10-16. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  40. ^ "LIGO Scientific Collaboration - Multimedia". www.ligo.org. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  41. ^ "NYC Indie Film Awards". www.nycindiefilmawards.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  42. ^ "Award of Merit September 2016 |". Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  43. ^ "Cabo Verde International Film Festival". FilmFreeway. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  44. ^ "Song of the Stars - Paul M. Sutter —". www.pmsutter.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  45. ^ TEDx Talks, A telescope opens the mind to a larger world | Kai Staats | TEDxFrontRange, retrieved 2019-01-22
  46. ^ Staats, Kai. "Earth to Mars, A Journey for Us All". Kai Staats. Retrieved 2019-01-22.
  47. ^ Kai Staats, From Pinocchio to the Terminator, What A.I. Teaches us About Ourselves, retrieved 2019-01-22
  48. ^ "The National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign". www.ncsa.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-22.
  49. ^ "LIGO Detection: An exploration of complex data". SAAO. 2017-09-22. Retrieved 2019-01-22.
  50. ^ "APS -APS April Meeting 2018 - Session Index APR18". Bulletin of the American Physical Society. American Physical Society.
  51. ^ "RCA General Meeting: Living on Mars (From Biosphere 2 to "The Martian")". Rose City Astronomers (RCA). Retrieved 2019-01-22.

External links

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