Mitchell Negus
He/him
Education
Ph.D.
University of California, Berkeley
Nuclear Engineering
Dissertation: Privacy-Preserving Computation for Nuclear Safeguards
2018–2021
M.S.
University of California, Berkeley
Nuclear Engineering
2016–2018
B.S.
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Physics summa cum laude, with a concentration in renewable energy
Commonwealth Honors College Scholar with greatest distinction
2012–2016
Professional Experience
Sandia National Laboratories
Cybersecurity Researcher
- Building cryptography-based protocols for providing data integrity and cyber assurance to generalized data structures for multi-mission applications
- Supporting theSandia Emulytics™ portfolio through research on distributed systems
- Enabling USG comprehension of blockchain technology based on experience with cryptographic techniques and software development
- Serving as a leading contributor to the FIREWHEEL scenario orchestration tool development team
- Leading a NA-22 PROACTIVE venture task to demonstrate how privacy-preserving computation can be used to create software-based information barriers for next-generation arms control technologies
- Explored the limits of privacy-preserving computation when applied to explainable machine learning as a member of a FY 2022-2024 LDRD initiative
Dec. 2021 – Jun. 2024
Research Experience
University of California, Berkeley
Doctoral Candidate, Nuclear Engineering
- Applying anomaly detection with multi-party computation (garbled circuits) to nuclear safeguards
- Developed a software package to execute secure multiparty computation for arbitrary problems
- Constructed garbled circuits to perform time series anomaly detection
- Successfully identified anomalies in generic time series samples while preserving data privacy
- Extending anomaly detection to nuclear safeguards specific datasets (radiation spectra time series)
Aug. 2018 – Nov. 2021
Graduate Student Researcher, Nuclear Engineering
- Modeled a multi-cycle pressurized water reactor using VERA on Titan supercomputer
- Translated reactor core model software inputs between MPACT and VERA file structures
- Added sample holder to MCNP input for modeling a neutron generator experiment
- Applied variance reduction techniques to Monte Carlo shielding calculations using the ADVANTG software; highlighted cases where ADVANTG does not provide optimal results
Aug. 2016 – Aug. 2018
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Student Intern
- Assembled and performed diagnostics on 100+ EtherDAQ cards for the fissionTPC, an experiment to measure fission cross-sections in major actinides
- Identified anomalies in fissionTPC data and proposed potential courses of action to resolve discrepancies with theoretical predictions
May 2015 – Aug. 2016
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Undergraduate Student Researcher, Physics
- Leveraged LLNL high-performance computers to simulate radiation contamination effects on performance in a neutrinoless double beta decay detector (nEXO)
- Completed an optimization study of vessel external components to improve detector sensitivity while reducing construction cost and false-positives
Aug. 2015 – May 2016
Undergraduate Student Researcher, Polymer Science and Engineering
- Developed organic electronics, including transistors and photovoltaics
- Analyzed interfacial crystallization of organic compounds on graphene films
Aug. 2014 – May 2015
Teaching Experience
University of California, Berkeley
STAT159/259
Reproducible and Collaborative Statistical Data Science
Graduate Student Instructor
Fall, 2018
NE150
Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Theory
Graduate Student Instructor
Spring, 2018
Publications, Presentations, Posters, and Dissertations
- R. Milewicz, J. Bisila, M. Mundt, S. Bernard, M. R. Buche, J. M. Gates, S. A. Grayson, E. Harvey, A. Jaeger, K. T. Landin, M. Negus, B. L. Nicholson. “DevOps Pragmatic Practices and Potential Perils in Scientific Software Development”. Proceedings of Eighth International Congress on Information and Communication Technology (ICICT). Jul. 2023.
- M. Negus. “No Data, No Problem—Giving Nuclear Inspectors Better Tools without Revealing State Secrets”. USENIX Enigma. Feb. 2021.
- M. Negus, R. Slaybaugh, D. Farley. “Garbled circuits for enabling privacy-preserving safeguards”. 61st Annual Meeting of the Institute for Nuclear Materials Management (INMM). Jul. 2020.
- A. Solodov, D. Farley, C. Brif, N. Pattengale, Y. Gao, J. Lin, M. Negus, R. Slaybaugh. “Development of Novel Approaches to Anomaly Detection and Surety for Safeguards Data”. 60th Annual Meeting of the Institute for Nuclear Materials Management (INMM), Palm Desert, CA. Jul. 2019.
- J. C. Batchelder, S. -A. Chong, J. Morrell, M. Ayllon Unzueta, P. Adams, J. D. Bauer, T. Bailey, T. A. Becker, L. A. Bernstein, M. Fratoni, A. M. Hurst, J. James, A. M. Lewis, E. F. Matthews, M. G. Negus, D. Rutte, K. Song, K. Van Bibber, M. Wallace, C. S. Waltz. “Possible evidence of nonstatistical properties in the 35Cl(n, p)35S cross section”. Phys. Rev. C. 99, 044612. 25 Apr. 2019.
- D. R. Farley, M. G. Negus, R. N. Slaybaugh. “Industrial Internet-of-Things & Data Analytics for Nuclear Power & Safeguards.” Sandia Report SAND2018-12807 (Unlimited Release). Nov. 2018.
- M. Negus. “Ex-core fluence calculations of an operational PWR using VERAShift.” (Unpublished master’s thesis) University of California, Berkeley. Aug. 2018.
- M. Negus, S. Sangiorgio, M. Heffner. “Instrument and Analysis Verification for the fissionTPC.” LLNL Summer Student Symposium. Livermore, CA. 3 Aug. 2016. (poster)
- M. Negus. “Diagnostically Simulating Radon Progeny at the nEXO Cathode.” (Unpublished bachelor’s thesis) University of Massachusetts Amherst. May 2016.
- M. Negus, A. Pocar. “Diagnostically Simulating Radon Induced Backgrounds for nEXO Efficiency.” Statewide Undergraduate Research Conference. Amherst, MA. 22 Apr. 2016. (poster)
- M. Negus, S. Sangiorgio, M. Heffner. “Simulated optimization of HFE volume around the nEXO TPC.” Division of Nuclear Physics Fall Meeting 2015, CEU. Santa Fe, NM. 28-30 Oct. 2015. (poster)
Computer Skills
- Python
- Bash
- HTML/CSS
- SQL
- JavaScript
- PHP
- C++
- Matlab
Languages
- Git
- LaTeX
- Docker
- Jupyter
- Vim
-
ROOT
(CERN analysis toolkit)
Tools
- VERA
- Shift
- MCNP
- ADVANTG
- GEANT4
Nuclear Software
Professional Service
National level member
2017–2021
2019–2021
Selected participant
2017, 2018
Professional Development and Workshops
CASL Institute
Selected participant
2017
Selected participant
2017
Blockchain Unlocked, UC Berkeley Law
2018
Honors and Awards
UC Berkeley Nuclear Engineering Virgil E. Schrock Award, for outstanding service
2019