Hello World - I am a student and Health Physicist at Oregon State University. Currently I’m pursuing a M.S. in Nuclear Engineering under the guidance of Dr. Todd Palmer. My HP duties mostly involve shipping irradiated experimental samples, monitoring and surveying radiation areas, and controlling the release of radioactive materials. I live off-grid in the woods of Philomath Oregon with my beautiful wife Brittany, a cat named Panda, the sheepish sheepdog Absu, several chickens, and three of the world’s fairest ferrets.
Our research is primarily focused on showing the value of using Spectral Expansion Methods for performing Uncertainty Analysis, as compared to traditional UA methods. We are interested in demonstrating the connection between Polynomial Chaos Expansions and Monte Carlo simulation. The dimension and applicability of this connection is being explored by applying stochastic expansion methods in performing UA using multi-physics simulations. UA is important for establishing confidence levels in numerical predictions due to the differences which arise between noumenal reality and computer modeled simulations.
I enjoy most activities involving imagination and exploration. Wandering in the woods (Backpacking - Camping - Hiking), Video Gaming (JRPGs - Psychological Survival Horror), Tabletop Gaming (AD&D - 3.5 Ed. - 5th Ed.), Reading, Philosophy (Metaphysics - German Idealism - Existentialism), MBTI, Disk Golfing, Snowboarding, Crabbing, Gardening, Cooking, and traveling the Northwest. I am also a devout Metalhead (Power - Folk - Atmospheric Black - Cascadian Black - Technical) and oddly enjoy splitting wood.
Feel free to contact me at: Kyle.Combs@oregonstate.edu