Night with a Nerd: Canfield Solitaire through a Monte Carlo Lens

Canfield Solitaire through a Monte Carlo Lens Talk by Joel A. Kulesza, PhD, PE

The invention of the modern Monte Carlo method is generally attributed to Stan Ulam, where the idea was sparked during a period of convalescence while playing a game of Canfield solitaire. His goal was to calculate the probability of winning, but because of the many possible deals he realized that calculating this was intractable, but it may be possible to estimate the likelihood if many games were played and the fraction of wins was computed. This talk introduces the history and rules of play for this unique, largely unknown, and frequently misidentified patience-game variant. It then describes a couple recent efforts to perform win-probability analyses similar to those at the origin story of Monte Carlo. Along the way, shuffling, randomness, Shannon entropy (and its relationship to nuclear engineering) are discussed. Future research directions coming from this topic will also be described. Time for Q&A and general discussion on Monte Carlo will follow.

$10 admission; free for BSMA members (you can become a member on our Join Us page).

Tuesday, September 29 6-8pm at the Bradbury Science Museum (doors open at 6 and the talk starts at 6:30). 

About the Speaker

Joel Kulesza is currently the group leader of the Monte Carlo Codes Group (XCP-3) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Previously, he was a staff member in the same group where he focused on development of the MCNP code and supporting its users in the areas of variance reduction, unstructured-mesh geometries, and scientific visualization. He has been at LANL since 2016, before which he spent almost 10 years at Westinghouse Electric Company working in the areas of pressurized-water reactor core design, radiation shielding design, and reactor pressure vessel fluence analysis validated with passive ex-vessel neutron dosimetry measurements. Throughout his professional experience, he has worked at the intersection of particle transport methods, codes, and applications.