Mark Mikofski
Research Scientist at DNVGL
Oakland, California, United States
Summary
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RockstarMark Mikofski is a research scientist and seasoned software engineer with 14 years of experience building robust backend systems and scientific software from Oakland, California. He blends deep numerical methods expertise with practical engineering, contributing notable improvements to SciPy's root-finding algorithms and implementing Halley's method and thorough tests. A pragmatic open-source contributor, he has fixed platform-specific installation quirks for Spyder on Windows and enhanced unit handling in Pint, demonstrating attention to cross-platform reliability and API ergonomics. In applied energy modeling he improved pvlib-python's single-diode and irradiance routines, adding domain-aware features like soiling models and leap-year handling for TMY3 data. Known as a "father, hacker, scientist" on GitHub, he pairs curiosity-driven research with meticulous code quality and reproducible examples. Colleagues can expect a mix of mathematical rigor, systems-level thinking, and hands-on problem solving.
14 years of coding experience
Stackoverflow
19,788reputation
6.7mreached
110answers
3questions
git
top-1%
compilation
top-5%
python
top-5%
tkinter
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numpy
top-5%
git-branch
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Github Skills (37)
git10
algorithms10
python10
windows10
spyder10
pandas10
numerical-methods10
units-of-measurement10
documentation10
optimization10
data-analysis10
compilation9
numpy9
python-packaging9
c119
Programming languages (17)
Github contributions (5)
pvlib/pvlib-python
Jun 2016 - Feb 2022
A set of documented functions for simulating the performance of photovoltaic energy systems.
Role in this project:
Back-end Developer & Data Scientist
Back-end Developer & Data ScientistContributions:157 reviews, 51 commits, 91 PRs in 5 years 9 months
Contributions summary:Mark primarily contributed to the enhancement and refinement of the single diode equation implementation, a core component of the pvlib-python library. They added functionalities like the Kimber soiling model, and made significant improvements to the calculations related to solar irradiance, particularly in the context of infinite sheds. These contributions included implementing methods for explicit IV curve calculations, creating new functions for view factors, and addressing leap year issues in TMY3 data parsing, with an emphasis on accurate and efficient modeling. The user's work touched upon domain-specific calculations to improve the model's real-world applicability.
pythonsolar-energyenergy-systemsrenewablesphotovoltaic
scipy/scipy
Feb 2018 - Mar 2022
SciPy library main repository
Role in this project:Back-end Developer
Back-end DeveloperContributions:119 commits, 13 PRs, 294 comments in 4 years 2 months
Contributions summary:Mark primarily contributed to the `scipy/scipy` repository by modifying and enhancing the root-finding algorithms within the `scipy.optimize` module, specifically focusing on the Newton-Raphson, secant, and Halley's methods. Their work involved refactoring existing code, implementing the Halley's method, and adding tests to verify functionality. They also addressed bugs related to derivative checks and created examples that helped streamline and simplify the testing of the core algorithms.
scipypythonscientific-computing
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