Developer · Physicist · Researcher

Building software
at the edge of science

I build smart contract tooling for Stellar, run an EdTech company, and do independent research in mathematical physics, computational biology, and information geometry. Physics PhD, 12+ years writing code.

View Work Read Research
About

Background

I got my physics PhD from the University of Tennessee in 2023, where I worked on the PROSPECT neutrino experiment at Oak Ridge. Most of that was signal processing, particle transport simulation, and machine learning to squeeze better measurements out of noisy detector data.

Right now I'm building soroban-sdk-tools after winning an SCF #39 Developer Tooling grant. It adds proc macros and test utilities for typed storage, contract errors, contract imports, and auth helpers so Soroban contracts take less boilerplate to write and maintain. I'm also lead developer for Songcraft, a music reading game for kids.

Before that I contracted with AhaLabs on Stellar developer tooling and smart contracts: contributions to stellar-cli and stellar-js-sdk, work on Scaffold Stellar, and contract development for EquitX. The current soroban-sdk-tools effort is a collaboration with AhaLabs' CTO.

On the research side, I'm working on three projects that share a common mathematical backbone: division algebras in particle physics, multi-scale biological simulation, and information-geometric economics. More on that here.

Rust TypeScript Python Soroban / Stellar Node.js React / Preact Machine Learning Scientific Computing Signal Processing Smart Contracts

Education

PhD in Physics
University of Tennessee
2023
MS in Physics
University of Tennessee
2017
BS in Physics
University of North Carolina
2012
Portfolio

Selected Work

Open-source tools, production apps, and research code.

SCF Grant Recipient

soroban-sdk-tools

Rust proc macros and test utilities for Soroban contracts: typed storage handles, flattened contract errors, stronger contract imports, and auth helpers for tests. The project was funded through an SCF #39 Developer Tooling grant.

Rust Stellar Soroban Smart Contracts
GitHub SCF Award Demo

Songcraft

A music reading game where kids play along with sheet music in real time. Teachers can run classroom sessions, parents can track progress. Built on MusicXML with live note matching via WebSockets.

TypeScript EdTech WebSockets Node.js
Live Site

paper-search-mcp

MCP server for searching and indexing scientific papers across arXiv, Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, and 6 more sources. Local hybrid search with BM25 + SPECTER2 embeddings.

Rust AI Tooling MCP
GitHub

symbolic-math-mcp

MCP server for symbolic mathematics and tensor algebra. SymPy-powered CAS with Christoffel symbols, Riemann/Ricci/Einstein tensors, gamma algebra, and Fierz identities.

C++ SymPy Physics
GitHub

ML for PROSPECT

CNN/GCN-based event reconstruction for the PROSPECT neutrino detector. Achieved 3.3% improvement in signal statistics for the short-baseline oscillation search.

Python Deep Learning Physics
GitHub Slides

AhaLabs / Stellar Tooling

Contracting work on the Stellar stack before soroban-sdk-tools: contributions to stellar-cli and stellar-js-sdk, developer experience work on Scaffold Stellar, and smart contract development for EquitX.

Rust Stellar Developer Tooling
stellar-cli Scaffold Stellar EquitX

StockForge

Manufacturing inventory and MRP software for small to mid-size shops. Bill of materials, barcode scanning, predictive reordering, and supply chain automation in one system.

TypeScript Astro MRP
Live Site

EvoHabit

Habit tracker that adapts to how you actually behave, not how you wish you did. Streak logic, flexible scheduling, progress visualization.

TypeScript
Research

Independent Research

Three research programs that share a common mathematical backbone. Papers headed to arXiv.

Octophysics

Mathematical Physics

Division algebra foundations of the Standard Model. Computational verification of gauge group emergence from octonionic structure, Clifford algebra chains Cl(6)→Cl(10), and Spin(10) grand unification.

Rust Gauge Theory Octonions
Papers in preparation

EmbryoSim

Computational Biology

Hierarchical embryonic development simulation across 5 biological scales using gauge theory, RG coarse-graining, fiber bundles, and topological invariants. From quantum to organism.

Rust Fiber Bundles Active Inference
Papers in preparation

Entronomy

Information-Geometric Economics

Economics grounded in information theory. KL-divergence replaces subjective utility. Validated on macroeconomic data with sloppy spectrum analysis and 100% crisis detection precision after calibration.

Rust Fisher Information Gauge Theory
Papers in preparation
Explore Research →
Publications

Academic Publications

Selected publications from the PROSPECT neutrino experiment, LEGEND dark matter search, and other collaborations.

  • Machine learning for single-ended event reconstruction in PROSPECT experiment
    M. Andriamirado et al. (PROSPECT Collaboration)
    JINST 20, P08006 (2025)
  • Final Search for Short-Baseline Neutrino Oscillations with the PROSPECT-I Detector at HFIR
    H.P. Mumm, M. Andriamirado et al.
    Preprint (2024)
  • Reactor Antineutrino Directionality Measurement with the PROSPECT-I Detector
    H. Mumm, M. Andriamirado et al.
    Preprint (2024)
  • Final Measurement of the ²³&sup5;U Antineutrino Energy Spectrum with the PROSPECT-I Detector at HFIR
    M. Andriamirado, A.B. Balantekin, ... B. Heffron, ... et al. (PROSPECT Collaboration)
    Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 021802 (2023)
  • Joint Measurement of the ²³&sup5;U Antineutrino Spectrum by PROSPECT and STEREO
    H. Almazan, M. Andriamirado et al.
    Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 081802 (2022)
  • Joint Determination of Reactor Antineutrino Spectra from ²³&sup5;U and ²³&sup9;Pu Fission by Daya Bay and PROSPECT
    F.P. An, M. Andriamirado et al.
    Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 081801 (2022)
Contact

Get in Touch

Want to talk about a project, have questions about the research, or just want to say hi? Drop me a line.

blaine@blaineheffron.com GitHub LinkedIn Google Scholar