I'm a programmer and data analyst with a background in science and engineering. A recurring theme in almost all of my work is the illumination of otherwise invisible information via aggregation, tracking and analysis. I have a resume and am likely to get emails sent to ben.engebreth@gmail.com. I live in Portland Oregon. Here are some of my projects.
Dynamic Sky
(re)Discovering Solar System Objects with code.
- 2024: Increasing HelioLinC’s TNO recovery potential and extending TNO discovery beyond 150 AU with multi-night tracklets • ITF Linking: The 3-nighter Problem
- 2023: HelioLinC-RR: A Two Reference Epoch Clustering Phase Space Implementation of HelioLinC • Hyperlinc Poster Presentaion at Rubin PCW 2023 • Hyperlinc: Solar System Object Linking via Orbital Plane Clustering • LambertFit: Python Angles-Only Orbit Determination via Lambert Solver
- 2022: HelioLinC-ing a CSS Superfield • CSS Field Study: A NEO in G96 Field N18068 • A Preliminary HelioLinC Pipeline for CSS Data • HelioLinC NEO study • HelioLinC: A Variation in 6 Dimensions • Track Linearization with Heliocentric Coordinate Transformation • Geocentric to Heliocentric Vector Transformation via Distance Guess
- 2021: SBIdent: A Python Package for Querying the JPL Small Body Identification API • Optimal Sedna • Process Update: June 2021
- 2020: A 21.3 Magnitude TESS TNO: (493480) 2014 YZ49 • Towards a Naive Moving Object Processing System • Sedna Revisited: Orbit Determination • TESS TNO: (455502) 2003 UZ413 • TESS TNO: Sedna • TESS TNO: (208996) 2003 AZ84
- 2019: TESS TNO: (55565) 2002 AW197 • TESS TNO: Orcus • TESS Field Study: 172 Asteroids Detected • Detecting Asteroids with TESS: a Preliminary Study (Terpsichore, Philomela, Leontina) • Ceres • Jupiter • Uranus • Juno • Mars
Department of Numbers
Light analysis of publicly available datasets from the Census, BLS and other public sources. Datasets include income, unemployment, rent and more. In March of 2020 I started tracking daily COVID-19 case and testing statistics by state to try to understand the US outbreak better.
camelcamelcamel
Widely regarded as the premier Amazon price tracker, camelcamelcamel had over 13 million pageviews in December of 2017. Mentions: New York Times, Wall Street Journal
SBIdent
SBIdent is a Python package for querying the JPL Small Body Identification API. JPL released version 1.0 of this API in early 2021 to replace the legacy ISPY system. The API provides astrometric coordinates (e.g. RA and DEC) for Solar System Objects so that observers can identify these moving bodies in their observations. I use this tool heavily in my Dynamic Sky project. When I discovered the new API no one had released a library for it yet, so I wrote sbident.
HousingTracker
This site no longer exists, but I'm still quite proud of it. HousingTracker compiled housing inventory and price trends during the housing bubble by aggregating online real estate listings. The site was widely cited during the housing bubble and after the Great Recession. Housingtracker existed from 2005 to 2014. Mentions: New York Times, CNN, CalculatedRISK
Photos & Trip Reports
- 2020: PCT Miles in Oregon & Washington
- 2019: Skurka RMNP • PCT Oregon Section: Elk Lake to Timberline Lodge
- 2018: Hikes • Skurka SEKI
- 2010: Lake City Colorado
- 2009: Glacier National Park