Research Software Engineer

Russell Hanson

I build data pipelines, simulation models, and LLM-powered tools that turn hard research questions into defensible answers.

About

For about a decade I've led the engineering on research projects — owning the design and the technical vision, and building the app, model, or pipeline that answers the question.

Python, FastAPI, React/TypeScript, Databricks, and AWS. Built for rigor, reproducibility, and clarity.

Selected Publications
01
A Guide to Effective Strategies for Supporting Expectant Transition-Age Foster Youth
Dana Schultz, Dionne Barnes-Proby, Ingrid Estrada-Darley, Yoselín Mayoral, Madison Williams, Russell Hanson, Aaron Kofner
RAND Corporation Report

A practitioner guide to evidence-based strategies for supporting pregnant and expectant youth aging out of the foster care system.

2025
02
The Future of Indo-Pacific Information Warfare: Challenges and Prospects from the Rise of AI
Russell Hanson, Adam R. Grissom, Christopher A. Mouton
RAND Corporation Report

Examines how advanced AI language models could supercharge PRC-driven disinformation and information-warfare campaigns in the Indo-Pacific.

2024
03
Insights from the Plan Blue 21 Game: Examining the Role of Sensing and Partner and Allied Contributions to Competition with Russia in the Arctic
Elizabeth M. Bartels, David A. Ochmanek, Nathaniel Edenfield, Brien Alkire, et al.
RAND Corporation, Project AIR FORCE Report

Reports insights from a wargame examining sensing capabilities and allied contributions in great-power competition with Russia in the Arctic.

2023
04
Telehealth Adoption by Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Treatment Facilities in the COVID-19 Pandemic
Jonathan Cantor, Ryan K. McBain, Aaron Kofner, Russell Hanson, Bradley D. Stein, Hao Yu
Psychiatric Services Journal Article

Finds telehealth availability among behavioral health facilities rose sharply in 2020–2021, yet large coverage gaps remained by January 2021.

2022
05
Patterns in Geographic Distribution of Substance Use Disorder Treatment Facilities in the US and Accepted Forms of Payment From 2010 to 2021
Jonathan H. Cantor, Maria DeYoreo, Russell Hanson, Aaron Kofner, David Kravitz, Adrian Salas, Bradley D. Stein, Kandice A. Kapinos
JAMA Network Open Journal Article

Shows Medicare acceptance at SUD treatment facilities lagged other payment types from 2010–2021, reducing geographic access for older adults.

2022
06
Availability and Accessibility of Mental Health Services in New York City
Joshua Breslau, Dionne Barnes-Proby, Mallika Bhandarkar, Jonathan H. Cantor, Russell Hanson, Aaron Kofner, Rosemary Li, Nipher Malika, Alexandra Mendoza-Graf, Harold Alan Pincus
RAND Health Quarterly Journal Article

Maps treatment facilities across New York City and identifies workforce shortages and disparities in access to mental health services.

2022
07
Russia's Growing Presence in Africa: A Geostrategic Assessment
Adam R. Grissom, Samuel Charap, Joe Cheravitch, Russell Hanson, Dara Massicot, Christopher A. Mouton, Jordan R. Reimer
RAND Corporation, Project AIR FORCE Report

Uses geospatial analysis to provide an integrated assessment of Russian involvement across Africa and its implications for U.S. strategy.

2022
08
Road to Damascus: The Russian Air Campaign in Syria, 2015 to 2018
Michael Simpson, Adam R. Grissom, Christopher A. Mouton, John P. Godges, Russell Hanson
RAND Corporation Report

Assesses Russia's employment of airpower in the Syrian civil war and the applicability of those lessons to future campaigns.

2022
09
COVID-19 Air Traffic Visualization (CAT-V) Series
Russell Hanson, Christopher A. Mouton, Adam R. Grissom, John P. Godges
RAND Corporation Report

A seven-part series introducing the CAT-V tool, which integrates epidemiological case data with commercial air-travel statistics to model COVID-19 transmission risk across global flight routes.

2020
10
OCEANS 17 Tabletop Exercise
Elizabeth M. Bartels, Adam R. Grissom, Russell Hanson, Christopher A. Mouton
RAND Corporation, National Defense Research Institute Report

Documents design and findings from a tabletop exercise on conducting air operations across combatant-command boundaries against transregional adversaries.

2019
11
The Lick–Carnegie Exoplanet Survey: HD 32963 — A New Jupiter Analog Orbiting a Sun-Like Star
Dominick Rowan, Stefano Meschiari, Gregory Laughlin, Steven S. Vogt, R. Paul Butler, Jennifer Burt, Songhu Wang, Brad Holden, Russell Hanson, et al.
The Astrophysical Journal Journal Article

Reports the discovery of a Jupiter-analog exoplanet orbiting the Sun-like star HD 32963 via precision radial-velocity observations.

2016
12
Six Planets Orbiting HD 219134
Steven S. Vogt, Jennifer Burt, Stefano Meschiari, R. Paul Butler, Gregory W. Henry, Songhu Wang, Brad Holden, Cyril Gapp, Russell Hanson, et al.
The Astrophysical Journal Journal Article

Reports six planetary candidates orbiting the nearby K-dwarf HD 219134, including five low-mass planets, via precision Doppler measurements.

2015
13
Capabilities and Performance of the Automated Planet Finder Telescope with the Implementation of a Dynamic Scheduler
Jennifer Burt, Bradford Holden, Russell Hanson, Greg Laughlin, Steve Vogt, Paul Butler, Sandy Keiser, William Deich
Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems Journal Article

Describes the on-sky performance of the Automated Planet Finder telescope after implementing a dynamic observation scheduler.

2015
14
Autonomous Observing and Planet Discovery with the Automated Planet Finder (APF)
Jennifer Burt, Russell Hanson, Bradford Holden, R. Paul Butler, Steven S. Vogt, Greg Laughlin
American Astronomical Society Meeting 225 Conference

Presents autonomous, software-driven observing and radial-velocity exoplanet detection with the Automated Planet Finder telescope.

2015
15
The Lick–Carnegie Exoplanet Survey: Gliese 687 b — A Neptune-Mass Planet Orbiting a Nearby Red Dwarf
Jennifer Burt, Steven S. Vogt, R. Paul Butler, Russell Hanson, Stefano Meschiari, Eugenio J. Rivera, Gregory W. Henry, Gregory Laughlin
The Astrophysical Journal Journal Article

Describes the discovery of a Neptune-mass planet in a 38-day orbit around the nearby M-dwarf Gliese 687 via precision radial velocity.

2014
16
A Four-Planet System Orbiting the K0V Star HD 141399
Steven S. Vogt, R. Paul Butler, Eugenio J. Rivera, Robert Kibrick, Jennifer Burt, Russell Hanson, Stefano Meschiari, Gregory W. Henry, Gregory Laughlin
The Astrophysical Journal Journal Article

Reports four planets orbiting the nearby K-type star HD 141399, including three inner giants and a Jupiter-like outer companion.

2014
17
Achieving Autonomous Data Flow of the Automated Planet Finder (APF)
Jennifer Burt, Russell Hanson, Eugenio Rivera, Brad Holden, Steven S. Vogt, R. Paul Butler, Pamela Arriagada, Greg Laughlin
Proc. SPIE 9152, Software and Cyberinfrastructure for Astronomy III Conference

Presents the design and implementation of an autonomous data-flow pipeline for the Automated Planet Finder telescope.

2014