Arbin Timilsina
Data Scientist · Physicist · Writer
I grew up beneath the Annapurna range in Pokhara, Nepal. Today, I hold a PhD in Nuclear Physics and work as a Principal Data Scientist in Massachusetts. My writing explores the peaks we watch from our rooftops, the ones we set out to climb, and what stays with us long after.
Suntala
Suntala is my forthcoming memoir. It begins with a suntala - an orange - peeled for my daughter at bedtime, and follows the scent backward through my grandmother's songs, the rooftop where I traced the mountains, and the Everest expedition whose story I had never told.
Preview SuntalaAbout
I work as a Principal Data Scientist at The RepTrak Company, where I build AI-driven systems for reputation intelligence. My background includes neural machine translation at Luminoso Technologies and years of nuclear physics research at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Iowa State University.
My writing spans poetry and prose. I am the author of the poetry collection infinite void, finite feelings and the forthcoming memoir Suntala.
Suntala
When Motu, my grandmother, died, I did not cry. Six months later, my daughter asked for a suntala - an orange - at bedtime, and the smell of the peel reached further than the news ever had. Suntala is the book that grew from that evening: her songs, my childhood in Pokhara, the Everest expedition I led at fifteen, and the story I never told.
Physics
Jets, QCD Matter, and Neutrino Experiments
Iowa State University · Brookhaven National Laboratory · PHENIX, DUNE, SBND, ICARUS
My PhD dissertation, advised by John Lajoie at Iowa State University, measured inclusive jet production in proton-proton and copper-gold collisions at √sNN = 200 GeV using PHENIX data from RHIC. The work studied how jets are modified as they pass through hot, dense quark-gluon plasma.
After the PhD, I stayed at Brookhaven National Laboratory as a postdoctoral researcher, working on the DUNE, SBND, and ICARUS neutrino experiments.
My physics publications are available through INSPIRE.
Recognition
Professional and Academic
- The RepTrak Innovators Award
- BNL Spotlight Award
- RHIC & AGS Thesis Award
- ISU Research Excellence Award
- ISU Teaching Excellence Award
The recognition below arrived after Everest. I was fifteen, and I turned back ninety-eight meters from the summit. What actually happened up there - and the story I took apart decades later - is the center of Suntala.
- Child of the Year
- Child Encouragement Award
- National Talent Award
- Courageous Youth
- SAYUP Youth Award
- Kumudini Ratna
Writing
Suntala
Suntala is my forthcoming memoir. It begins with a suntala - an orange - peeled for my daughter at bedtime, and follows the scent backward through my grandmother's songs, the rooftop where I traced the mountains, and the Everest expedition whose story I had never told.
infinite void, finite feelings
Some wounds cannot be fixed with an ointment. Here is an unfiltered exploration of the fractures that break us open. From the heavy currents of the ocean floor to the empty side of the bed, these pieces sit with the pain of longing, the absurdity of survival, and the sudden, surprising gasp of fresh air. They are brief conversations with the void - honest, aching, and unapologetic.
Contact
For updates on Suntala, media requests, or professional inquiries, email is the best way to reach me.