Hi! I’m Curtis Taylor Peterson. I graduated in 2019 with bachelor’s degrees in physics and mathematics from Arizona State University. In 2024, I earned my Ph.D. in physics from University of Colorado Boulder, where I focused on calculating non-perturbative renormalization group beta functions of massless SU(3) gauge-fermion systems.

My Research Interests

Broadly speaking, my research focuses on the application of tools from other scientific disciplines to problems in lattice field theory, such as machine learning and renormalization group methods. I’ve also worked on various other research topics, such as muon g-2, exotic hadron physics, theoretical biophysics, high-temperature/pressure molecular physics, computational fluid dynamics and computational astrophysics.

A list of my research publications can be found either on Google Scholar or Inspire HEP. Any open-source code that I work on or have developed can be found on my GitHub.

My Personal Life

I grew up partially in Idaho and partially in Arizona. In my adult years, I’ve felt more connected to my time in Arizona because it is more recent and I grew a lot as a person during the nine years that I lived there. Since then, I’ve lived in numerous places, such as California, Colorado, New Mexico, Indiana, and Michigan. It is likely that I will live in a couple more states before my wife and I finally settle down somewhere long-term. Such is the millennial way…

I thoroughly enjoy exploring various topics in physics and science. Most recently, I’ve enjoyed reading books on paleoanthropology and I’ve been working through the literature on loop quantum gravity. Outside of physics, I enjoy spending time with my wife, skiing, hiking, fishing, playing guitar, and trying out local brews. My favorite brewery is Breckenridge Brewing.

I am an avid fan of metal music and just about anything else involving guitar at some level. Some of my favorite metal artists are Pantera, Lamb of God, Gojira, and DevilDriver. More recently, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the works of Alluvial and Rivers of Nihil. Outside of metal, I really enjoy the newer wave of Americana artists, such as Colter Wall, Sierra Ferrell, and Benjamin Tod. CHON will always be one of my favorite artists of all time, and they are the act that I’ve have seen the most live by a significant margin. Other worthy mentions are the Black Pumas, Chris Stapleton, Pink Floyd, Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold, and the Eagles.

As is probably already quite evident, I have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). I am quite open about ADHD and how it has affected my personal and professional life. I only started to get treatment in the form of medication at the age of 24 while in my second year of graduate school, though I had gone through therapeutic treatment for some time as a child that was ultimately ineffective for me, personally. I try to bring awareness to the difficulties of living with ADHD as best I can by being open about my experience. I strongly suggest for other adults who may be struggling with ADHD to reach out for professional help in seeking treatment.

If anyone reading this page knows Jeff Probst, tell him that you have a fantastic suggestion for a future Survivor contestant…