Hello, world!
I am an Assistant Professor of Practice of computer science and programming topics at Stetson University. Over the years, I have authored and taught courses on computer science, programming, computing history, engineering, capstone / senior design projects, etc., and mentored many students from graduate school to kindergarten. In fact, teaching computer science and programming to many age groups in many facilities has been the most meaningful and rewarding part of my career. I’ve lectured to university students for years between Stetson University, Full Sail University and the University of Central Florida. I’ve participated in Code.org‘s Hour of Code with K-12 students and faculty; spoken to middle and high school students about computer science, software engineering, and STEM; and contributed to outreach programs with the same focus. I even cofounded a non-profit with colleagues, the Cacti Council, which promotes critical and creative thinking in education, especially computer science and programming.
My education includes a BS, MS, and PhD in Computer Science from UCF. My work was in the interdisciplinary field of smart architecture and building performance, utilizing smart sensor technology, human-centred design, and various methods of simulation and prototyping to improve lives. I’ve been a member of various academic organizations and honor societies over the years including the ACM, OSA, IEEE, SPIE, Upsilon Pi Epsilon, and Phi Theta Kappa. I have reviewed papers for Solar Energy.
My
industry programming career includes independent and commercial game development, Department of Defense simulation and visualization, power diagnostics for the power generation industry, and eDiscovery. I have worked on video game titles for the Sony Playstation 2, Nintendo Gamecube, and Android; on federal government contract vehicles Joint State Response Training System (JSRTS) and STRI Omnibus Contract (STOC) for the National Guard and PEO STRI; and contributed to an elaborate expert system which processed hundreds of thousands of power plant sensors daily for over 500+ turbines around the world. As a teacher, I still develop scripts, tools, and programs as needed to help with day to day maintenance and provide good examples for the students.
A long time ago in a country far, far away… I
lived for a year in Japan as an exchange student via generous sponsorship by the International Rotary Youth Exchange program. It was such a rich, insightful experience, that I feel every student should have the opportunity (or even be required) to attend school in another country for some amount of time. I have since traveled there once more. I have also traveled to China 4 times.
I used to moonlight as a video game music composer and sfx guy. Some titles include: Gravity Lab!, spout: monochrome mission, and many other games that were canceled :_(
I am somewhat of a hobby collector. I enjoy pleasure reading, learning (just about anything), playing and writing music, sailing, biking around town, home improvement, spending time with friends and family, gardening, volunteering, and dreaming up new hobbies that I will likely never have time for…