About Me
I am currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Colorado - Boulder, advised by Liz Bradley. My research is focused on the spatial analysis of topological signatures in complex dynamical systems.
When I'm not working on research, you can usually find me reading a good book, trying out a new baking recipe, or hanging upside down from a lyra, silks, or other aerial apparatus.
Select Publications and Presentations
Journal Articles
- Gharooni-Fard*, G., Byers, M.*, Deshmukh, V.* et al. A computational topology-based spatiotemporal analysis technique for honeybee aggregation. npj Complex 1, 3 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44260-024-00003-1
*co-first authors - Byers, M., Trahan, M., Nason, E., Eigege, C., Moore, N., Washburn, M., & Metsis, V. (2023). Detecting Intensity of Anxiety in Language of Student Veterans with Social Anxiety Using Text Analysis. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 41(2), 125–147. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228835.2022.2163452
Conference Papers
- Byers, M., Hinkle, L.B., Metsis, V. (2022). Topological Data Analysis of Time-Series as an Input Embedding for Deep Learning Models. In: Maglogiannis, I., Iliadis, L., Macintyre, J., Cortez, P. (eds) Artificial Intelligence Applications and Innovations. AIAI 2022. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 647. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08337-2_33
- Byers, M., & Metsis, V. (2021). Text Analysis for Understanding Symptoms of Social Anxiety in Student Veterans. Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 35(18), 15958-15959. https://doi.org/10.1609/aaai.v35i18.17975
Conference Presentations
- Byers, M.Garling, E. Bradley, E. Gibbs, K. A. Meiss, J. D. "Geometric and Topological Approaches to
Proteus mirabilis Swarm Characterization" in SIAM Conference on Life Sciences (LS26), Cleveland, OH, 2026 - Byers, M.Garling, E. Bradley, E. Gibbs, K. A. Meiss, J. D. "A Multi-Scale Spatial Analysis of
Proteus mirabilis Swarm Dynamics" in Dynamics Days 2026, Tucson, AZ, 2026 - Byers, M., Garling, E. Bradley, E. Gibbs, K. A. Meiss, J. D. "The Spatial Dynamics of
Proteus mirabilis Swarming" in SIAM Conference on Applications of Dynamical Systems (DS25), Denver, CO, 2025 - Byers, M., Chittidi, J. Bradley, E. MacGregor, M. Meiss, J. D. "Computational Topology Techniques for Detecting Exoplanet Signatures" in Dynamics Days 2025, Denver, CO, 2025.
- Byers, M., Garling, E. Bradley, E. Gibbs, K. A. Meiss, J. D. "The Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Proteus Mirabilis Swarming" in Dynamics Days 2025, Denver, CO, 2025.
- Byers, M., Kirkpatrick, B., Skillin, N., Bradley, E. "Topological Data Analysis of Myoblast Self-Assembly." Contributed Talk. SIAM Conference on Applications of Dynamical Systems (DS23). May 2023 (Portland, OR).
- Byers, M., Kirkpatrick, B., Skillin, N., Bradley, E. "Topological Data Analysis of Myoblast Self-Assembly." Poster. Dynamics Days. Jan. 2023 (virtual).
Current Projects
- Computational topology and geometry for understanding the spatio-temporal dynamics of P. mirabilis swarming. (bioRxiv preprint) (GitHub) (Webpage overview with some fun pictures)
- Computational topology techniques for detecting exoplanet signatures in circumstellar disks.
Past Projects
- A computational topology-based spatiotemporal analysis technique for honeybee aggregation. (Paper) (GitHub)
- Topological data analysis as a word embedding technique for anxiety detection in text. (Undergraduate Honors Thesis)
Teaching
- CSCI 2270: Data Structures. Instructor of Record (4 semesters), Co-lecturer (1 semester), TA (2 semesters)
- CSCI 5446: Chaotic Dynamics. Grader (1 semester)
- CSCI 3104: Algorithms. TA (1 semester)
- CSCI 2275: Programming & Data Structures. TA (1 semester)
- CSCI 1300: Starting Computing. TA (3 semesters)
Service
- Pedagogy Committee Student Representative (Spring 2025 - Spring 2026)
- Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Lead TA (Fall 2024 - Spring 2025)