I am so happy to have recently been awarded tenure and promotion to Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Sciences at MSU Denver. This milestone means a great deal to me and was only possible because of the many wonderful collaborations I've made during my time in academia working on impactful research in the areas of human-computer interaction (HCI), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML). I look forward to continuing my work in finding innovative ways to use technology for societal good, addressing challenges in human-robot interaction (HRI), mental health applications, and sustainability. I am also excited to continue teaching and working with the wonderful undergraduate students at MSU Denver on research, fostering creativity, innovation, and practical skills to prepare them for successful careers in technology.

As an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Sciences at MSU Denver, my work intersects human-computer interaction (HCI), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML). My research focuses on impactful technology solutions for societal good, addressing challenges in human-robot interaction (HRI), mental health applications, and sustainability through innovative, interdisciplinary research.Courses I've taught include:Senior Experience in Computer Science: A capstone course where students apply theoretical and practical skills to real-world software projects, using Agile methodologies and GitHub for project management.Software Design for Mobile Devices: This course emphasizes native Android app development using Kotlin, preparing students for careers in mobile app development by covering professional tools, techniques, and processes.Computer Security Offense and Defense: Providing a comprehensive understanding of cybersecurity, this course covers both defensive techniques (e.g., firewalls, encryption) and attack methods, with practical applications on Windows and Linux systems.Software Development Methods and Tools: Students learn professional software development tools and processes, including build automation, RESTful API development, and Docker virtualization, applying these skills to real-world problems in an Agile team setting.Computer Science II: Covering core data structures (linked-lists, trees, stacks, queues) and algorithms (searching, sorting) with an emphasis on object-oriented principles and Java implementation.My aim is to foster creativity, innovation, and practical skills in students, preparing them for successful careers in technology.

I'm excited to announce that I have started working as an expert witness with WIT Legal. In this role, I will be applying the skills and knowledge I've gained both in industry and academia to provide objective opinions on complex technology-related issues. I'm looking forward to contributing my expertise to support the legal process and ensure accurate, informed decisions on intricate technical topics.

I provide architectural guidance and serve as the primary full-stack developer for Pittmo LLC, where I create Web and Mobile applications using PHP, JavaScript, HTML, Kotlin, and Swift.One notable product I developed for Pittmo LLC is Pittmo LABS (https://auction.pittmo.net/), an online software solution that supports the facilitation of live and silent auctions. This product is currently in production.I also built a companion mobile application for Pittmo LABS, which is available in the Apple App Store (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pittmo-labs/id967140359?mt=8) and Google Play Store (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.pittmo.labs&hl=en_US).

I worked in various roles in the software industry for 13 years before joining the University of Denver (DU) as a Professor of the Practice. During my tenure, I established myself as an expert in software engineering and architecture, focusing on web-based applications. As an Associate Professor of the Practice, I actively engaged with students, sharing my industry experience, hosting visits to Comcast, and writing recommendations to support their career pursuits. I also oversaw Independent Study courses, providing flexible learning opportunities.My research at DU was centered on interdisciplinary projects benefiting the public good, leveraging my industry and academic expertise. Collaborating with colleagues across departments such as Electrical and Computer Engineering, Psychology, GIS, Biological Sciences, and Real Estate, I developed a passion for research in machine learning, robotics, virtual reality, cybersecurity, and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI).In teaching, I focused on Web Development, Data Science, and Cybersecurity. Specifically, I taught the following courses:- Web Programming I: Introduction to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript- Web Programming II: Full-stack development with the MEAN stack, where I created a sample application platform- Web Programming III (Web Projects): Real-world web design projects with publicly deployable products- NoSQL Databases: Overview of Key-Value, Document, Column-Family, and Graph databases, crucial for Data Science students- Computer Forensics: Incident response and investigation techniques, focusing on forensic data collection and interpretation- Machine Learning: Comprehensive understanding of supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning, with a focus on ethics and bias in data scienceI created and taught several courses, enriching the department's curriculum and preparing students for successful careers in technology.

During my time at the University of Denver as an Adjunct Professor, I was responsible for the development of a Web Programming track, including Web Programming I, II, and III. I have also contributed to the MS in Data Science degree program by providing an elective course in NoSQL Databases.

I worked in an Agile team environment as a Software Engineer and Architect, owning the overall client/server-based software design, including technologies, application architecture, and deployment strategy. I also contributed to the software's implementation as part of a larger team.I was responsible for establishing our cloud-based deployment architecture using AWS ECS for a Docker-based Node.js/Express.js API, and AWS CloudFront for our Angular-based Single Page Application (SPA). Persistent file storage was maintained in AWS S3. The build and deployment were facilitated by Bitbucket pipelines. The databases used included CouchDB, Atlas (MongoDB), and Redis. All deployment infrastructure was HIPAA-compliant, utilizing secure communications and at-rest encryption.Additionally, I designed and implemented an on-prem Node.js-based client for communication with the ECS-deployed server application. This application required strict security and network resiliency (i.e., functioning during network outages). I implemented features such as per-user encryption at rest, per-user database replication using CouchDB, and multi-factor authentication to meet these requirements. These unique requirements resulted in a challenging but enjoyable problem to address.I also led the refactoring of a Flask (Python)-based Natural Language Processing (NLP) application for multi-user environments, ensuring scalability and resilience. This involved analyzing existing code to refactor shared data as libraries or singletons, minimizing session creation overhead. We implemented session sharing in Redis using AWS Elasticache, enabling a clustered, load-balanced deployment. This effort allowed the application to function more efficiently and handle multiple users seamlessly.

I worked in an Agile team environment serving as a Software Architect. My job responsibilities included the ownership of the overall software design, including the technologies in use, application architecture, and deployment strategy.I worked closely with the system engineering team to prioritize findings from infrastructure vulnerability scans, so that they can be worked off in a timely manner. I also spearheaded an effort to implement static code analysis of our software products, so that vulnerabilities can be found during development, in order to mitigate operational risks to the system.I was responsible for the standup of our cloud-based deployment architecture. A key part of that activity included designing the detailed network layout necessary to support a hybrid cloud-based and on-premise architecture in a secure manner. I was heavily involved in the firewall requests needed to support an IPSec tunnel from our cloud provider into our national data center, ensuring with those requests that we adhere to the concept of least privilege, in that we only allow access between machines necessary for them to perform their assigned functions.In addition to the cloud migration effort, I also led an effort to modernize our software deployment process. We used Jenkins to create Docker containers for our application, stored in Artifactory. We then deployed the Docker containers to Kubernetes, both on premises and in Amazon Web Services (AWS), using Spinnaker, a continuous delivery platform made available via the Netflix Open Source Software (OSS) Center. My efforts developing a deployment model using the Amazon Elastic Container Service for Kubernetes (Amazon EKS), a hosted Kubernetes service, over a Direct Connect link from AWS to the Comcast Datacenter were groundbreaking. I was able to help several other teams within Comcast understand this approach after I developed it for the team.

I led a migration effort of a legacy Java application into a modern, microservice based software architecture including: Java 8, Spring Boot, Kafka, Akka, and Spring Data JPA using QueryDSL and Hibernate. We used a polyglot persistence model for our data, including: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and Redis.

I worked in an agile team environment on software problems across all layers of the application stack, including the User Interface (UI), Composite, and Service layers.I designed and implemented a majority of the Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) strategy for the team, creating an automated and repeatable process for getting software changes from development to production quickly, while maintaining high quality assurance through automated functional testing.I was one of the principal engineers responsible for our team's approach to component based UI design, implementation, and testing using Node, Grunt, Bower, and AngularJS.

I designed and implemented an end-to-end proof of concept (POC) of a gradebook system that jump-started development of the current production product, allowing for the team to stay on schedule by using the POC as a starting point for implementation. I implemented a reusable time-series storage model for Cassandra data, which became the basis for all of our column families.

I served as Chief Architect for a complex software program employing around 100 people, providing both software and systems architectural guidance. I was responsible for diagnosing operational issues, providing technical recommendations to both the customer and internal management and driving those recommendations to completion.My primary responsibilities included ensuring the software produced by the team met the technical requirements set forth by the customer, while at the same time adhering to the strict security requirements (for both the software itself, as well as the network infrastructure that supported it) of its runtime environment. I worked closely with the Information Systems Security Officer (ISSO), as well as the system engineering team, to ensure that vulnerability scans were performed against the software and network. Any high priority findings were prioritized and identified as risks to the product. I designed a Network Inventory Catalog (NIC) tool to help keep track of each of our environments and the systems within them. For each system, we kept detailed records of software versions and patch levels so that we could, at-a-glance, see the state of any environment. This tool quickly became a critical part of our deployment process, allowing the software Quality Assurance (QA) team to ensure that each environment had the same patch level for critical dependencies. Thanks to the NIC tool, QA was able to develop an automated process to verify each environment, saving the time spent in manual verification. I maintained an environment progression roadmap for the organization, which showed how software releases would progress between development, testing, and production environments. This was a critical document to maintain, given the size of the software program. Without coordination of critical resources it would have been impossible to confirm that each team had an environment to work in without interfering with other teams.

I served as release manager for a maintenance release of a large software system. I coordinated a multi-disciplinary team of 12: Systems Engineering (SE), Software (SW), Test, and Quality Assurance (QA) engineers, communicating with senior level customer representatives, to ensure a quality product was delivered.I served as software lead for a modernization effort of existing software. I led a team of three and held multiple design Technical Exchange Meetings (TEMs) and user engagements with the customer.I served as the architect for the Sensor Fusion Enablement thread of the Open Geospatial Consortium Web Services, Phase 7 (OWS-7) testbed.I worked as a full-stack software developer, during all phases of the software lifecycle, participating in multiple design TEMs and customer engagements.

I worked as a full-stack software developer, during all phases of the software lifecycle, participating in multiple design TEMs and customer engagements.

As a teaching assistant, my job responsibilities included grading courses in the department, holding office hours with students, and continuing my research towards my Ph.D. in Computer Science. Working as a TA greatly helped both my written and oral communication skills. I tutored several classes in the Computer Science curriculum, including: Introduction to Computer Science I, World Wide Web programming, Computer Networks, and Operating Systems.When grading assignments, it was very important to present student feedback regarding incorrect answers in a way that demonstrated an unbiased and fair approach. I accomplished this by developing a grading rubric for each assignment I would use when scoring each assignment. This allowed me to be consistent in grading and to give clear indications to the student why they were assigned a specific score. When helping students during office hours, I was required to explain complex material to students in a way they could understand. At the same time, it was important I not solve the problem for the students, but instead lead them to the solution by helping them understand the foundational principles on which the problem was built. I thoroughly enjoyed helping students in this way. It was immensely rewarding to see when a student comprehended the problem at hand and was able to arrive at the correct conclusion.

As a teaching assistant, my job responsibilities included grading courses in the department, holding office hours with students, and continuing my research towards my Ph.D. in Computer Science. Working as a TA greatly helped both my written and oral communication skills. I tutored several classes in the Computer Science curriculum, including: Introduction to Computer Science I, World Wide Web programming, Computer Networks, and Operating Systems.When grading assignments, it was very important to present student feedback regarding incorrect answers in a way that demonstrated an unbiased and fair approach. I accomplished this by developing a grading rubric for each assignment I would use when scoring each assignment. This allowed me to be consistent in grading and to give clear indications to the student why they were assigned a specific score. When helping students during office hours, I was required to explain complex material to students in a way they could understand. At the same time, it was important I not solve the problem for the students, but instead lead them to the solution by helping them understand the foundational principles on which the problem was built. I thoroughly enjoyed helping students in this way. It was immensely rewarding to see when a student comprehended the problem at hand and was able to arrive at the correct conclusion.

I worked as one of the primary server-side developers for Squeezed The Game, an MTVu sponsored project (http://www.mtv.com/news/1535474/can-social-change-video-games-tackle-divorce-poverty-genocide/).I was responsible for much of the server-side game logic, including creating the game login system. This included the secure storage of usernames and passwords for the game, as well as protecting the transmission of login credentials over the network.The project received media attention, both in Newsweek (https://www.newsweek.com/activists-build-video-games-112607}) and the Los Angeles Times (http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jul/09/local/me-games9).The description of Squeezed, as taken from the project's main website (http://squeezed-thegame.org/), is as follows:Squeezed, the videogame, was built in 2006-2007 by a multidisciplinary team of graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Denver interested in game development, and more specifically in using this medium for socially conscious ends. Students were attracted to the project from all over campus, they represent majors in Game Development, Computer Science, Electronic Media Arts & Design, Digital Media Studies, and Studio Art. The initial ideas for the game were influenced by previous games of the SWEAT collaborative (https://globalgamejam.org/2015/jam-sites/sweat-collaborative) and contemporary issues surrounding immigration. The team struggled to learn how to work together [or not], and how to make forward progress without a clear line of leadership in this experiment in egalitarianism. Each member of the team hoped to carry forward new knowledge and insights gained from this project into future careers.

Our group was responsible for set-top box certifications for 3rd party vendors. As part of this certification, we developed scripts to test that the boxes complied with the published API contract.I gained extensive experience in Java and Perl by working on real-life industry problems. We worked closely with the vendors to ensure any issues that were identified during the certification process were remedied prior to the unit being put into production.

I worked as a software development intern with the 96th Communication Squadron. The focus of my work was a mixture of standalone applications programming, as well as web based systems. I developed Java-based, XML driven workflow modules, complex Perl scripts, and ASP driven web applications allowing users to maintain backend SQL databases. The skills acquired while working for Eglin greatly broadened my capabilities as a programmer and made me a more valuable asset to my organization.

I worked as a lab assistant and grader. I was responsible for mentoring both undergraduate and graduate students with problems across all courses offered in the department and graded assignments for many of the undergraduate level courses. Given the size of the department, there was generally only one assistant on duty, at a time, in the computer lab. This meant that while I was working, I was responsible for answering any question that a student might pose, regarding all courses that were currently being taught. This was a very challenging position, but one that taught me a great deal about how to mentor others, even when I was not the subject matter expert on the material in question. Helping someone is not always about knowing the answer. Sometimes all that is required is to help adjust the thinking of a student, so that they can see the problem from the point of view necessary to come to the correct solution. I was very grateful to have been given an opportunity to do just that while working in the Computer Science lab at the University of West Florida.