Jess Vriesema

About Me

Hello! I'm Jess Vriesema.

I am a computational physicist and planetary scientist specializing in numerical simulations of electrodynamics in the atmospheres of giant planets. As part of my current research, I am using computer simulations to understand how electrodynamics in Saturn's mid- to low-latitude thermosphere influences its temperature, structure and dynamics.

I am currently an associate lecturer for the Department of Physics + Astronomy at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire.

I did my doctoral work at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (Department of Planetary Sciences) at the University of Arizona.

I enjoy programming, playing board/card games, computer games, tabletop role-playing games, music (I play cello and guitar), hiking, and spending time with friends and family. My wife and I have two cats and a dog.

Reddit IAmA

On 18 September 2021, I participated in a Reddit IAmA so that people can ask me questions about planetary science or computational physics. It was a lot of fun!

1 / 10

Visualizing magnetic field lines on an exoplanet

2 / 10

Simulating impact cratering using an N-body model

3 / 10

Designing a virtual reality framework (or training to be a Jedi)

4 / 10

3D-printing moons and planets

5 / 10

Demonstrating the classical XY model of ferromagnetism

6 / 10

Publishing about Saturn's upper atmopshere

7 / 10

Imaging the Andromeda Galaxy

8 / 10

Raytracing in Java

9 / 10

Simulating magnetohydrodynamics in a box

10 / 10

Developing a board/card game

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"If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a movie is worth a thousand pictures, a simulation is worth a thousand movies, and a framework is worth a thousand simulations."
—My personal adage for scientific computing

The content of this page was last modified on Thursday, 17 February 2022 23:53:38 (UTC).

I wrote the HTML and CSS for this website by hand in order to teach myself web design. It may not be the flashiest web page, but I am proud of it!