About Me
I’m an undergrad at Duke University studying Physics and Mathematics, with a minor in Statistical Science. I’m broadly interested in data-driven modeling and scientific machine learning theory/methods for (bio)physics applications. Specifics include:
- Learning dynamical systems
- Physics-informed architectures
- Applications in microbiology and quantum computation
I’m also curious about graph methods, topological/geometric data analysis, and generative modeling. I was born in Beijing, China and live in Cary, NC. My given name is Xiran; I go by Derek.
I’ve put some hand-written course notes and typed notes on select readings/topics here. All are posted with instructor consent; mistakes are my own.
Experience
As part of the Lingchong You Lab, I work with VAE-MLP models for time-series parameter estimation on bacterial growth curves, specifically targeting chaotic ODE systems.
As part of the Liberata Algorithms Team, I’m developing graph-based metrics/algorithms for a new academic publishing system based on continuous authorship shares.
In Summer 2025, I was an AI R&D intern at Lenovo with the Cloud Service Providers, where I assembled an AI cluster testbed and looked at network optimization schemes.
Involvements
I lead the Research Committee for the Statistical Science Majors Union (SSMU), where I’m organizing a seminar series and reading group on theory/methods in modern statistics.
I’m an avid graphic designer of 7+ years, primarily via Photoshop and (more recently) Figma. I serve as a co-director of HackDuke, where I lead the Design Team. I also design for the Duke Math Union, in particular for the annual Duke Math Meet. See some past works here.
I’m also a recreational photographer. I’ve done sports photography in the past; now I do mostly events and nature. See some photos here.