W. John Thrasher, PhD

I am Dr. John Thrasher and I am an Assistant Professor of Computational Science at USCB. I have been here at USCB since Fall of 2020.

I earned my BS Degree in Psychology from Florida State University in 2007. I received my MS in Demography from Florida State University in 2009. I received my PhD in Computer Science, also from Florida State University, in August 2020.

I began my interest in research, albeit not in the same field, when working on my MS in 2008-2009. This interest continued while working on my PhD, as I began research into topics related to computer science. I began my teaching career while a graduate student in 2014, teaching various Computer Science courses at Florida State University. I have continued my interest in both since joining the USCB faculty, where I have continued my research and taught a variety of courses for Computational Science and Information Science and Technology majors, teaching topics such as web development, software engineering, and cryptography.

My current research interests are focused on two major areas. One is Monte Carlo methods, particularly using Monte Carlo methods to solve boundary value partial differential equations and introducing restart to improve the efficiency of various Monte Carlo methods. The other is random number generation, particularly improving the SPRNG library for working with parallel random number generation and improving the ability of pseudo random number generators to pass tests by doing things such as introducing cryptographic scrambling.