iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Kyle Kabasares, PhD

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

The Secretary of Defense is about to livestream an execution, what are we doing here.

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Then GenAI came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

First GenAI came for the writers, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a writer. Then GenAI came for the artists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not an artist. Then GenAI came for the mathematicians, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a mathematician.

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

After nearly 3 years, I said farewell to NASA Ames yesterday. Looking forward to some much needed rest and vacation. Then, off to my next adventure!

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Wait, we’re figuring this out just now? In 2026?

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Like others before me have said, “you can take the person out of NASA, but you can’t take NASA out of the person”. Ad astra per aspera. 🚀

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

It has been 15 years since I’ve enjoyed a summer that didn’t involve full-time work or study, and I’m grateful to have the time for creative pursuits and self-discovery. I will miss my co-workers and friends dearly at NASA Ames, but I’ll still be based in the Bay Area!

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

So, what now? It’s a bit too early to say for sure exactly, but I will be taking time away from full-time work to work on creating educational content through YouTube and other social media platforms, as well as solo traveling!

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Growing up only 40 miles away in San Francisco, it was a dream to be a part of the NASA workforce one day, and I’m proud I made that dream become reality. I’m also proud that my work on wildfire resilience through Earth observation will benefit the citizens of California.

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

When I finished my astrophysics PhD in 2023, I wanted to pivot from more abstract research to work on problems that had tangible impacts on people, and NASA gave me that chance.

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

After nearly 3 years at NASA Ames, I will be leaving my position on June 15. From being a NASA intern in 2016 to working as part of the NASA workforce as a Data Scientist through the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, this agency has profoundly shaped my trajectory as a scientist.

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

What does it mean that the Shannon entropy of a fair 6-sided die is 2.585 bits? One way of interpreting it is that, on average, over many (N → ∞) trials, it takes about 2 to 3 yes or no (binary) questions to guess the top face of the die if I rolled it and asked you to guess the face. #scicomm

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

I was part of a group award at NASA Ames today! We conducted rapid analysis of remote sensing data products during the LA wildfires last year to help quantify the fires’ impacts and help California’s Office of Emergency Services disaster response efforts.

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Reposted by Kyle Kabasares, PhD

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

In my time at Princeton, we've had several Army officers in our doctoral program. They've all done excellent work. When this former Princeton undergrad says we're actually teaching them "the enemy's wicked ideology" I have no idea what the hell he's talking about but, of course, neither does he.

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Reposted by Kyle Kabasares, PhD

Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 27/02/2026

I mean, it's this, or we just send chatbot-written e-mails back and forth to each other forever

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Yay welcome!!! and yes will give it a read ;)

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Reposted by Kyle Kabasares, PhD

Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Since yesterday, the Einstein AI cheatbot website underwent some rebranding. The tagline changed from "Einstein does the busywork so you don't have to," to "Einstein is the personal tutor every student deserves." In the FAQ, "How does Einstein do all this?" became "How does Einstein help me learn?"

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

I am teaching myself quantum field theory from scratch. I never took a course on it during my Physics PhD, which is one of my regrets, but I’m making up for it now.

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

That feeling when the print version of your favorite online book/resource on galaxies shouts you out 😭 Congrats to Jo Bovy for achieving this milestone and a major thank you for providing an incredible resource he’s created! Check out the online version at: galaxiesbook.org

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

Since then, I’ve decided to wear it at least once during the conferences I attend, in hopes that someone else sees it and feels a little less alone.

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

Gave my last talk at American Geophysical Union 2025 in New Orleans last week in a traditional Filipino 🇵🇭 barong. I don’t bring up my heritage often, but while wearing my barong at AGU last year, a person came up to me and said it was the first time they saw another Filipino at a conference.

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

2 Landau and Lifshitz books short of the complete set…

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Reposted by Kyle Kabasares, PhD

Sharena Rice, PhD @sharenarice.bsky.social · 14/06/2025

How can universities and STEM trainees collaborate to close funding gaps while unlocking new kinds of research and career growth? Delighted to work with @kylekabasares.bsky.social to bring this article to life. 🔗 This article is freely available for anyone to read. Link in the comments.

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 14/06/2025

I made one of my most personal YouTube videos discussing my terrible 2nd half of 2023. It was one of the most difficult but also transformative experiences of my life and overcoming it has given me the belief that if I can survive that, I can get through anything: youtu.be/e0wwd5vZ0Jw?...

youtu.be

Once You've Overcome Real Fear, Fake Fear Doesn't Stand a Chance

YouTube video by Kyle Kabasares

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Reposted by Kyle Kabasares, PhD

Dr. Jessie Christiansen @aussiastronomer.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

Briefly wandered over to The Other Place to gauge the response to the NASA budget devastation to encounter a bunch of gleeful 'we spend too much money, so this is great.' TO BE, ONCE AGAIN, PERFECTLY CLEAR, THE BUDGET REQUEST MOVES ALL THIS MONEY TO DEFENSE. IT SPENDS IT. NO MONEY IS SAVED.

A screenshot of p.43 of https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fiscal-Year-2026-Discretionary-Budget-Request.pdf showing $119.3B moved from Defense to Non-Defense.

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

I worry that without an administrator, NASA will be even more of a sitting duck

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

The Bay Area Environmental Research Institute at NASA Ames Research Center is Hiring! Apply through the links below if you want to help us save California from wildfires! Research Scientist: lnkd.in/dUhip9ep Data Scientist: lnkd.in/dq3AcgH5

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

Curious why so many Physics majors end up job hunting for longer than they expected? Or what you can actually do about it? Check out my new video: “Why Physics Majors Can’t Get Hired (Easily)” youtu.be/H7RArn_W2SQ?...

youtu.be

Why Physics Majors Can’t Get Hired (Easily)

YouTube video by Kyle Kabasares

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Ever wonder how tall Salesforce Tower really is—or how to measure it without leaving the ground? 🛰️ I used open LiDAR data + QGIS to map the heights of iconic SF sites: 🏛️ Palace of Fine Arts 🌉 Golden Gate Bridge 🌳 Even individual trees! Read the tutorial here: medium.com/@kylekabasar...

medium.com

Measuring the Height of Salesforce Tower (and other sites in San Francisco) with Airborne LiDAR…

There’s something exhilarating about being high above the city. Looking out in all directions, appreciating the views, and watching the…

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Attending “Supernova” hosted by Cerebras Systems in San Francisco today. It is not actually about astronomy, but about AI inference instead!

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

I made a height above ground map of San Francisco as a fun side project this weekend! I used publicly available airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data from the United States Geological Survey collected in 2023 and a program called QGIS to create it.

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

I’ve done this with my published papers. A lot of the critique and suggestions for improvement are quite valid.

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Reposted by Kyle Kabasares, PhD

Derek Fox @partialobserver.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

This was ALWAYS the final destination of the student loan-fueled maximum-extraction instrumentalist STEM-centric vision of college education: Our student-customers demanding the degree & social experience they paid for, with any *learning* treated as accidental if not downright counterproductive.

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Hot take: After a decade around academic science, I’ve noticed a common trap (one I’ve fallen into myself): chasing perfect models at the expense of useful ones. The real world is messy. Sometimes a “good enough” model, paired with an honest discussion of its limitations, is far more impactful.

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

Me at this workshop hosted by the CCA/Simons Foundation in NYC this week

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

The Worlds I See by Fei-Fei Li was one of my most memorable reads last year. This heartfelt and inspiring memoir chronicles Fei-Fei Li's journey from her roots in China to a transformative move to New Jersey at 15, to her ascension to becoming the "Godmother of AI".

A picture of Kyle holding the book “The Worlds I See” by Fei-Fei Li.

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

People in academia should read Nassim Nicholas Taleb more but then they probably wouldn’t want to stay in academia 🤣

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Reposted by Kyle Kabasares, PhD

Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Killing off our research facilities and talent pipelines is perhaps the biggest, dumbest self-own in American history.

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

Had a great time hearing Sal Khan tonight! Khanacademy started when I was in high school and played an important role in my eventual development of becoming a scientist. It was great to hear the awesome work @khanacademy.org has been involved in with creating AI tools for education!

A photo of Sal Khan during a fireside chat he is having at the Computer History Museum, taken from an audience member in the crowd.

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Reposted by Kyle Kabasares, PhD

Alexandra Witze @alexwitze.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

One of the employees fired from NASA told me how much their career meant to them: "Prior to everything happening today, NASA has been an incredible place to work — to dream big, to innovate, to do things that I never thought I could have done.” Words by me. 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

NASA begins mass firings of scientists ahead of Trump team’s deadline

Top advisers in the Office of the Chief Scientist are among the first to go amid downsizing effort.

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

My friend bought me a “Black Hole projector” for my last year and I just set it up last night!

A stellar display of light forming a “supermassive black hole” on the wall of an apartment.

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Just met a scientist who does research in both particle physics and Earth Systems science and it makes me feel a little less alone as someone who went from studying black holes to studying the Earth 🥺

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

If you’re wondering what’s been on my mind lately…

A picture showing 4 books: Dynamics of Planetary Systems by Tremaine, Exoplanet Atmospheres by Seager, Exoplanetary Atmospheres by Heng, and the Exoplanet Handbook by Perryman.

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Kyle Kabasares, PhD @kylekabasares.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

Found an IDL version 4 user manual from 1995 that was being thrown away at work

A page from the 1995 IDL user manual for IDL version 4 showing the in-built Voight function.

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