background
I have a varied and broad background in computing. Having spanned the spectrum from system administration to program manager, I have a sound knowledge of different aspects of computing. A large portion of my experience has been centered around applied R&D, having led several successful government-funded projects in the realm of software assurance. In addition, I've brought my experience and skills to bear frequently as a consultant and intermittently as an instructor. I also have a long history of being involved with IT, first as a system administrator(during graduate school), and for the past few years in the role of architecting and planning company-wide infrastructure.
My strengths lie in two primary areas: practical problem-solving and communications. Regarding the former, I'm especially good at analysing hard problems and devising innovative solutions or measures that fit within imposed constraints, whether they be technical, financial or personnel-related. My breadth of knowledge is a considerable asset and a key differentiator in such endeavors. Largely as a result of this, I've been involved with, and successful at, rescuing projects and effecting turnarounds. Communicating with people, on a one-to-one basis as well as in groups, is another strength of mine. While most of my communications have been technical in nature -- conference presentations, teaching, etc -- I have also been a personnel manager, mentoring and managing people. I've had experience with both inward- as well as outward-facing roles and have initiated and maintained relations with clients (research funding sponsors as well as consulting services clients). In addition, I am proficient at writing technical papers and funding proposals, primarily for research purposes.
technical areas of interest
In keeping with my rather diverse roles, I have, and maintain, an interest in a rather varied set of technical areas. Broadly speaking, my interests lie in software analysis, system architecture, operating systems, networking, wireless technologies, learning technologies, and software configuration management. An overarching interest of mine in everything I do is software quality with an emphasis on software security. From a personal perspective, I firmly believe that, in order to excel at a given task, one's knowledge base needs to encompass a broad range of topics.
system administration
As far as System Administration goes, my experience is mainly with UNIX-like systems. I'm very familiar with (and a big fan of) FreeBSD. I work with Solaris, Linux and NT on a regular basis. I'm also very interested in Software Configuration Management, and work with and administer CVS. I have used VSS, SCCS, Bitkeeper and Perforce to varying degrees.