Skhathisomusa is a PhD student at the University of Hertfordshire and part of cohort three of the Centre of Doctoral Training (CDT) in Aerosol Science. His undergraduate degree was in nuclear sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and his masters extended this study into high-energy physics with an interest in field theory. There, he used numerical simulations to postulate new particles during the production of the Higgs boson at the ATLAS detector at CERN and studied the degradation mechanisms of plastic scintillators due to neutron radiation damage at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research at Dubna, Russia.

What are you working on within the Hub?

I am working on a machine-learning model to classify aerosol particles using images produced by forward-scattering a laser. Optical light scattering techniques have been deployed for the detection and classification of microscopic airborne particles in a wide range of applications e.g. cloud physics, bio-aerosols, air pollution, respirable hazards. The two-dimensional forward scattering pattern holds a great deal of information regarding the shape, size, and orientation of particles. This project aims to develop an algorithm for the classification of particles based on their scattering patterns for a range of aerosols.

What is the impact of your research so far?

So far, I have developed pre-processing techniques for ingesting forward scattering images into two kinds of convolutional neural networks - an untrained model and a model using transfer learning. I’ve also developed a dimensional reduction technique using PCA to reduce the number of dimensions these images have, increasing the training speed of the model. The model has been tested on ice particles for use in cloud models. I presented these findings at the International Conference on Clouds and Precipitation 2024

What has been the highlight of your research career to date?

The highlight has been working with the academics and PhD colleagues involved in the Aerosol Science CDT. The organisation of the CDT means I am constantly interacting with PhD students in a variety of aerosol fields, opening my eyes to the creativity in researching novel sciences.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I am an avid film photographer and novice documentarian. You will always find me not too far from a cameras. I like cooking, before joining the CDT I was a chef at my own restaurant. I enjoy clothes, but I don’t believe in fast fashion, so spend a lot of my time sorting through thrift stores, charity shops and markets for used clothes, furniture and antiques.