About

Diego Villalba

Physics · Machine Learning · Scientific Computing

I am a physicist working at the intersection of machine learning and scientific computing. My research focuses on cosmology, computational astrophysics, and the data-driven modeling of physical systems — with the goal of developing AI methods that are scalable, interpretable, and physically grounded.

I am particularly drawn to the idea that machine learning and physics are not separate disciplines, but complementary frameworks that can be unified to address complex scientific, technological, and societal challenges. This perspective guides both my research and teaching.

Soy físico y trabajo en la intersección entre machine learning y cómputo científico. Mi investigación se enfoca en cosmología, astrofísica computacional y el modelado de sistemas físicos basado en datos, con el objetivo de desarrollar métodos de IA escalables, interpretables y físicamente fundamentados.

Me atrae particularmente la idea de que machine learning y física no son disciplinas separadas, sino marcos complementarios que pueden unificarse para abordar retos científicos, tecnológicos y sociales complejos. Esta perspectiva guía tanto mi investigación como mi docencia.

Cosmological ML

Displacement-field reconstruction and super-resolution of N-body simulations using neural implicit representations.

Medical Imaging

Accelerating MRI acquisition with wavelet scattering transforms while preserving diagnostic fidelity.

Differentiable Models

Simulation-based inference and neural fields for high-dimensional physical field reconstruction.

Teaching

Co-teaching data mining at the Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM — connecting theory with applied ML.Co-imparto minería de datos en la Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM, conectando la teoría con el ML aplicado.

I have developed these methods at the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), where I contributed to the CODECS project on cosmological simulation compression, and at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), where my ongoing work spans astrophysical super-resolution and interpretable MRI reconstruction.

He desarrollado estos métodos en el Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), donde contribuí al proyecto CODECS sobre compresión de simulaciones cosmológicas, y en la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), donde mi trabajo actual abarca super-resolución astrofísica y reconstrucción interpretable de MRI.

Applied domains

Medical Imaging

Accelerating MRI acquisition while maintaining diagnostic image quality.

Industry

OCR-based data processing pipelines and document intelligence systems.

Research Interests

Machine learning for scientific simulations
Simulation-based inference
Cosmological simulations & large-scale structure
Differentiable and physics-informed modeling
Machine learning for medical imaging
High-performance & parallel computing
Neural implicit representations
Generalizable methods for real-world systems

Personal

Originally from Mexico City. Alongside research, I am actively involved in teaching, mentoring, and science communication, and I enjoy helping students build strong foundations in physics and data science.

I am always interested in connecting with people working on machine learning, scientific computing, or data-driven science — both in academia and industry.

Originario de la Ciudad de México. Además de la investigación, participo activamente en docencia, mentoría y comunicación de la ciencia, y disfruto ayudar a los estudiantes a construir bases sólidas en física y ciencia de datos.

Siempre me interesa conectar con personas que trabajan en machine learning, cómputo científico o ciencia basada en datos, tanto en la academia como en la industria.

Diego Villalba

Explore my research work, projects, and CV — or reach out if you'd like to collaborate. Explora mi trabajo de investigación, mis proyectos y mi CV, o escríbeme si quieres colaborar.