About Tom Loredo...

Hi! If you are really curious about me, why don't you ask me about myself directly? I can be reached Alternatively, you can establish snail-mail and telephonic links with me at:

Tom Loredo
Space Sciences Building
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853-6801
(607) 255-6564

For the timid among you, there's some basic information below. Or you can snoop around some of my web sites:

Scientific Resources:
- BIPS: Bayesian Inference for the Physical Sciences
- From Unix to Mac OS X (2007)
- Python Statistical Computing Essentials (Jan 2006; largely out-of-date)
- StatPy: Statistical Computing With Python (largely out-of-date)
Other Resources:
- Tom Loredo's Bookmarks
- Muse: Inspirational Technology — My music technology small business
- James A. Olson Guitars
- AG: Acoustic Guitarists' Annotated Guide to the Internet
- Way Back Home: A Phil Keaggy Home Page
- Bright Avenue: A Bob Bennett Home Page

What I Get Paid For

I'm a Senior Research Associate in the Astronomy Department at Cornell University, and Field Member and Lecturer in the Department of Statistical Sciences. When I'm actually doing research and teaching, I'm getting paid to do work so rewarding that it's more like serious play than work (alas, for an increasing fraction of my time I'm more or less a manager/bureaucrat). My research is in astrophysical data analysis using Bayesian inference, and in theoretical high energy astrophysics. For more about this, see my CU staff page.

From time to time I'm also an instructor at Cornell. Most recently, I created a new course for the statistics department, Bayesian Data Analysis: Principles and Practice; it included a serious lab component covering Bayesian computing in Python, and training students in Python, Git, and GitHub. I've also taught intermediate (junior level) classical mechanics and electromagnetism in the Physics department and helped run the computer instrumentation lab in the Applied and Engineering Physics department. In the EM course I exercised (exorcised?) a long-term interest in Clifford Algebras by using David Hestenes's geometric algebra (aka spacetime algebra) to teach parts of the course. Cool stuff!

Finally, I intermittently run a small business, Muse, concerned with various things that bring music and technology together, ranging from web resources and computer music engraving to audio electronics and signal processing. A paper I presented at the 111th Convention of the Audio Engineering Society on Bayesian Harmonic Analysis for Audio Testing and Measurement provides an example of how methodology I've developed for astronomical problems can be applied in an audio/music-related setting. Contact me if you'd like a reprint.

What I Do With The Money

Some of the things that occupy the rest of my life include:

Church stuff—I'm pretty active at St. Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church here in Ithaca.
Playing guitar—mostly acoustic instrumentals (contemporary and traditional Celtic) and contemporary Folk Music. Some of my favorite acoustic musicians are: Phil Keaggy, Martin Simpson, David Wilcox, Brooks Williams, Bob Bennett, Solas, Eddi Reader.... I've been known to dabble on electric and classical guitars, but my main guitar is a steel-string acoustic (a really nice one, I might add!).
Chocolate & confections—I'm a hobbyist chocolatier and candymaker, at a pretty basic but still quite yummy level of expertise.
Listening to music—that mentioned above, plus contemporary jazz, rock, classical... whatever comes my way.
Promoting favorite music and musicians on the web. I've maintained web pages for Phil Keaggy, Bob Bennett, and Barbara Kessler, and for luthier Jim Olson; and I've created various web resources for acoustic guitarists.
Working with music technology—testing acoustic guitar amplification gear for manufacturers, designing my own gear, developing new signal processing algorithms.
Reading—novels, poetry, nonfiction. Favorite authors include Madeleine L'Engle (you may recognize her name from having read her Newbery Award Winning children's fantasy, A Wrinkle In Time!), Frederick Buechner, Brother David Steindl-Rast, C.S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Andrew Greeley, and Arthur C. Clarke.
Hiking in the parks and biking on the roads around Ithaca (in fair weather!).

I hope that justifies my existence to you! Now get back to work!

On the Sea Serpent at the Boardwalk in Wildwood Crest, NJ.
Tom (top right) and sisters Betsy and Susan (bottom row).
Am I smiling because they're screaming?!
Click it for more wacky TJL photos.

Tom Loredo's Bookmarks Page /