Chad Harper

• PhD Student, Physics Department
  

chad_harper@berkeley.edu

Research Interests

I use ideas from statistical physics, information theory, machine learning, and dynamical systems to study how local structure gives rise to global dynamics in complex systems. My current research focuses on the biophysical determinants of single-neuron complexity, dynamical processes on multilayer networks, dynamic mean-field models of evolutionary games, and mechanistic interpretability as a foundation for AI governance and regulatory policy. More broadly, I am interested in computational neuroscience, neuromorphic computing, complex systems, and algorithmic fairness.

Bio

I was born and raised in Atlanta, am a Ph.D. candidate in the Physics Department at the University of California, Berkeley, and a graduate fellow at the Kavli Center for Ethics, Science, and the Public. Before beginning graduate school, I worked as a consultant at Deloitte, where I developed machine-learning pipelines and graph-based models for government and public-health clients. I did my bachelor’s studies in math and physics at Grinnell College.

I love to teach! I teach physics at Laney College and mathematics at Mount Tamalpais College at San Quentin. I like to treat the classroom as a working scientific community in which students develop, revise, and present ideas collaboratively.

Outside of science, I enjoy exploring how the aesthetics of fashion can serve as a cultural lens through which to interpret the sociopolitical moment. I’ve also directed editorial-style photoshoots and like to build bonsai.