R. Scott Brock

Department of Radiation Oncology
VCU Health System
401 College Street
PO Box 980058
Richmond, VA 23298-0058
(804)628-2497
rbrock@mcvh-vcu.edu

Education

2007PhD Biomedical Physics, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, July 2007
Dissertation: “Modeling of Light Scattering by Biological Cells Using a Finite-Difference Time Domain Method”
2000BS Physics, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
2000BA Mathematics, conc. Computer Science, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC

Experience

05/08–pres  Post Doctoral Scholar, VCU Health System
01/08–05/08  Instructor, East Carolina University
08/00–01/08  Research Assistant, East Carolina University
Investigated light interaction with biological materials using various computational methods, including the Finite-Difference Time Domain(FDTD), diffusion approximation, and Monte Carlo methods. Duties included creating and revising programs, testing programs, acquiring and analyzing data, presenting findings, and setup and maintenance of computational clusters.
08/00–12/03 Teaching Assistant, East Carolina University
Laboratory instructor for General Physics, Astronomy, and Acoustics laboratories. Duties included short lecture, laboratory preparation, demonstrations, assisting students, grading laboratory reports, and creating and grading final exams.

Research Projects

  • Finite-Difference Time Domain simulation of light interaction with biological cells
    • Designed and implemented portable, scalable, parallel FDTD code
    • Acquired and analyzed data for sphere, coated sphere, red blood cell, and NALM6 cell models
    • Created and delivered conference presentations
  • Creating cell models from confocal images
    • Designed and implemented portable code to create cell models from confocal images
    • Created NALM6 and HL60 cell models for FDTD simulation
  • Monte Carlo simulation of light in turbid media
    • Designed and implemented portable, parallel wrapper code for sequential Monte Carlo code
    • Acquired and analyzed data for various incident beam and material parameters
  • Diffusion Approximation of light in turbid media
    • Designed and implemented code to determine the reflectance from turbid media using the diffusion approximation and the radiative transfer equation
    • Acquired and analyzed data for various incident beam and media parameters
  • Study of vortices in stenotic fluid-flow channels
    • Designed and implemented code to determine the frequency and lifetime of sounds emitted from stenotic-flow channels
    • Acquired and analyzed data for various stenosis and flow parameters
  • Analysis of pseudo-random number generators for suitability of use in parallel Monte Carlo simulations
    • Analyzed several RNGs to determine correlation and period
    • Modified RNGs for parallel computing use and to extend the period
    • Determined the RNG which was most suitable for parallel Monte Carlo simulations

Computing Skills and Experience

  • Proficient with C/C++, Fortran77/90, Mathematica, and shell programming
  • Proficient with Message Passing Interface(MPI) library
  • Experienced writing portable, high-performance software
  • Experienced using IBM Power3/4, Cray SV1, SGI Origin2000, Compaq Alpha, and Dell Xeon supercomputers
  • Working knowledge of Latex, XHTML, CSS, XML, XSL
  • Skilled using SigmaPlot, Microsoft Office, OpenOffice
  • Installed, maintained, and administered parallel computing clusters
    • Configured Gentoo and Red Hat Linux operating systems
    • Network configuration over managed and unmanaged switches
    • Network tunnel configuration to create a large virtual cluster using remote clusters
    • Cluster of 30 Intel Pentium II personal computers
    • Cluster of 8 dual 32-bit and 8 dual 64-bit Intel Xeon 1U units

Awards, Honors, and Service

  • Among 150 students in the Southeastern US chosen for “Lunch with the Laureates” at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, 2005
  • Vice-President of the ECU Physics Graduate Student Association, 2003
  • Represented ECU at the ACM Mid-Atlantic Regional Programming Contest, 1999, 2000
  • Awarded first place in the ECU programming contest, 1999, 2000
  • Awarded five ECU Graduate School travel grants, 2003, 2005, 2005, 2006, 2006

Professional Societies

  • Member of the American Physical Society
  • Member of the Optical Society of America

Patent Application

  • “Methods, systems, and computer program products for analyzing cardiovascular sounds using eigenfunctions”, D. W. Pravica, O. W. Day, Jr., R. S. Brock, U. S. Patent Application 20050234349

Peer-Reviewed Publications

  • J. Q. Lu, C. Chen, D. W. Pravica, R. S. Brock, X. H. Hu, “A diffusion solution for modeling of reflectance images under a full-field illumination condition”, Journal of the Optical Society of America A (submitted)
  • C. Chen, J. Q. Lu, K. Li, S. Zhao, R. S. Brock, X. H. Hu, “Numerical study of reflectance imaging of turbid media using a fast Monte Carlo method”, Medical Physics (accepted)
  • H. Ding, J. Q. Lu, R. S. Brock, T. J. McConnell, J. F. Ojeda, K. M. Jacobs, X. H. Hu, “Angle-resolved Mueller matrix study of light scattering by B-cells at three wavelengths of 442, 633 and 850nm”, Journal of Biomedical Optics (accepted)
  • J. Q. Lu, R. S. Brock, P. Yang, X. H. Hu, “Modeling of light scattering by single red blood cells with the FDTD method”, Optics of Biological Particles, edited by A. Hoekstra, G. Videen and V. Maltsev, 213–242 (Springer, 2006)
  • R. S. Brock, X. H. Hu, D. A. Weidner, J. R. Mourant, J. Q. Lu, “Effect of detailed cell structure on light scattering distribution: FDTD study of a B-cell with 3D structure constructed from confocal images”, Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy & Radiative Transfer, 102, 25–36 (2006)
  • R. S. Brock, X. H. Hu, P. Yang, J. Q. Lu, “Evaluation of a parallel FDTD code and application to modeling of light scattering by deformed red blood cells”, Optics Express, 13, 5279–5292 (2005)
  • D. W. Pravica, M. Bier, R. S. Brock, O. W. Day, “Stable stationary vortices and traveling oscillatory vortices in a stenotic fluid-flow channel”, Phys. Rev. E, 72, 067303 (2005)
  • X. Ma, J. Q. Lu, R. S. Brock, K. M. Jacobs, P. Yang, X. H. Hu, “Determination of complex refractive index of polystyrene microspheres from 370 to 1610nm”, Physics in Medicine and Biology, 48, 4165–4172 (2003)

Proceedings Publications and Conference Presentations

  • R. S. Brock, H. Ding, D. A. Weidner, T. J. McConnell, X. H. Hu, J. R. Mourant, J. Q. Lu, “Modeling of the internal optical structure of the nuclei of B-cells”, OSA Annual Meeting, presentation FTuE2, Rochester, NY (2006)
  • H. Ding, J. Q. Lu, R. S. Brock, L. P. Burke, D. A. Weidner, T. J. McConnell, X. H. Hu, “Determination of intracellular distributions of refractive index of B-cells and HL60 cells at 442, 633 and 850nm”, OSA Annual Meeting, presentation FTuQ1, Rochester, NY (2006)
  • C. Chen, R. S. Brock, D. W. Pravica, X. H. Hu, J. Q. Lu, “Fast modeling of reflectance image of turbid medium with full-field illumination”, Progress in Electromagnetics Research Symposium (PIERS), invited presentation, Cambridge, MA (2006)
  • R. S. Brock, X. H. Hu, D. A. Weidner, J. R. Mourant, J. Q. Lu, “3D Reconstruction of B-lymphocytes with confocal images and parallel FDTD simulations of light scattering”, OSA Biomedical Optics Conference, presentation MC8, Miami, FL (2006)
  • H. Ding, J. Q. Lu, R. S. Brock, D. A. Weidner, T. J. McConnell, L. P. Burke, X. H. Hu, “Angle-resolved Mueller matrix study of light scattering by B-cells and HL-60 cells at three wavelengths of 442, 633 and 850nm”, OSA Biomedical Optics Conference, presentation ME73, Miami, FL (2006)
  • J. Q. Lu, R. S. Brock, X. H. Hu, P. Yang, D. A. Weidner, “Numerical simulations of light scattering from blood cells using FDTD method”, NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Optics of Biological Particles, Novosibirsk, Russia (2005)
  • R. S. Brock, X. H. Hu, H. Ding, J. Q. Lu, D. A. Weidner, “Parallel FDTD simulation of light scattering by three-dimensional B-cells at different phases of cell cycle”, OSA Annual Meeting, presentation JWA45, Tuscon, AZ (2005)
  • R. S. Brock, X. H. Hu, P. Yang, J. Q. Lu, “Simulation of light scattering by a pressure deformed red blood cell with a parallel FDTD method”, SPIE Proceedings 5702, 69–75 (2005)
  • K. Li, J. Q. Lu, R. S. Brock, B. Yang, X. H. Hu, “Quantitative modeling of skin images using parallel Monte Carlo methods”, SPIE Proceedings 5693, 82–87 (2005)
  • R. S. Brock, X. H. Hu, D. Weidner, Y. Feng, “Modeling of light scattering by B-cells using a parallel FDTD method”, OSA Annual Meeting, presentation FTuG49, Rochester, NY (2004)
  • J. Q. Lu, C. H. Sibata, R. S. Brock, R. R. Allison, G. H. Downie, R. E. Cuenca, X. H. Hu, “Optimization of PDT treatment with multiple laser beams using a parallel Monte Carlo code”, AAPM Annual Meeting, poster PO-T-247, San Diego, CA (2003)