Thats what I do. I hope to find a job working on either designing high performance (parallel) computer systems, or system level programming. I am currently employed by Sun Microsystems, but I am always at least willing to look at other oppertunities that may arise. Specifically, I am looking for a job with a company that will not only offer me more challenging work than my current job (that's tough to do), but will also help me pay for graduate school in a couple of years so that I can continue my education and research.

I'm graduated RPI in May 2000 with a Bachaelor's degree in Computer Systems Engineering, concentrating in High Performance Systems. I've done research while i've been writing real time Linux device drivers while working in the CS Robtics lab, as well as working on real time image processing using fine grained parallel processing techniques on Intel/AMD and SGI MIPS based machines.

• My Resume: [ HTML ] [ ASCII ] [ Postscript ] [ PDF ]

Most of my work experience is detailed in my Resume, but for a little more detail... I've been working with computers for a very long time, including lots of playing around with my C64 when I was younger. When I got to high school, I meant Vince Weaver, who got me very interested in the programming aspect of things, and taught me a lot of what I knew back then. When I was a sophmore in high school, I applied to the GWU SEAP Summer Engineer Apprenticeship Program which offered summer jobs (at well below minimum wage) to high school aged people. One of the places that participated in the programs was the Edgewood Arera Aberdeen Proving Grounds, which happened to be right behind my house. So, I applied, and the deadline came and passed and I hadn't heard that I'd been hired. About a week after the hiring deadline, I got a call from a Ray Jablonski who said he was interested in hiring me for the summer. And that's how I started my professional career in the computer industry, at the age of 15 when I couldn't even drive yet.

I was working for the US Army Chemical and Biological Defence Command (as it was known back then, it's now the Soldier Biological and Chemical Command). My job was to search the internet for useful programs that could be used in chem-bio analysis. The web was still fledgling back then, and XMosiac was th browser of choice. So I went rummaging around, and found programs like Vis5D and gnuplot which are all in use today by them, as far as I know. I also got to know Ray and really enjoyed working with him, and I didn't mind giving up my summers to work there, because it was fun. Here I was getting payed to browse this new and big internet. (using an SGI Indigo2, no less). I found out later that year that Ray wanted to use my searching project to really just get me acclimated to the way things worked around the office so that I could come back next year and work on some really exciting projects. I also found out that he chose me and the other summer student working there pretty much at random just looking for "computer" listed in the interest of students. It's amazing how far dumb luck can push a career.

The next year Ray was looking for more help, so I convinced Vince to sign up for the program the next summer, and Ray hired him as well. I worked there for every summer through the rest of high school. I was put on a new project of setting up two "wargaming" simlations on the SGI's and X-Terminals the office had so that they could incorporate chem-bio information into these real-time distributed battlefield simulations. The project was supposed to take me all summer, but i finished most of it in the first two weeks, the rest of the time I was on the phone with the maker of the second wargaming program trying to get it to run. Here I was, sixteen years old, working a job I loved, with my best friend working in the same cubicle right next to me, on the phone with representatives from multi-million dollar corporations telling them what was wrong with thier programs. Wow. looking back on it now, I'm damn lucky. Ray was really impressed with my work, as well as Vince's. Over the years since, Ray has become my mentor and friend. That summer, it wasn't only Ray that was impressed with us. Ray's boss, who I got the impression early on was leary about us summer hires, was soo impressed at the end of the summer that he wrote me one of the glowingist recommendation letters I've ever seen. During that summer, I was also sort of put "in charge" i guess of the other summer hires, and thus kindav had my first managorial experience. Not only that, but I was also given full access to all the machines in the office, and woudl routinely perform system maintenance tasks on them. Thus I learned IRIX inside and out, as well as learned how to troubleshoot Windows products (from 3.1 to NT).

The final summer I was there I speant my time teaching myself network programming and trying to build a proxy to make the two wargaming simulations, which didn't use the same protocol, talk back and forth to each other. I made moderate headway, and was eventually able to capture and decode packets from both programs, but time ran out, and I figured i'd pick up my work the next summer. However, I didn't realize that that would be my last summer there. I learned sooo much working there. How to program, work in a professional office environment, how to talk with people, how to give techincal presentations, how to administer IRIX, how to use Unix, how to troubleshoot windows and do techinical support. I grew up professionally there, and what I miss most about it was that I never once dreaded going to work. I was always happy and didn't mind working 9 hour days routinely (theoretically, we were supposed to get every other friday off, but we hardly ever took it). The people there, especially Ray, just made it a wonderful place to work,and in a lot of ways I wish I could go back.

While working there, I made three techinical papers describing my work. Theoretically, each one is pending publication internally to CBDCOM, but somehow I don't think that will ever happen. But here they are:

• Searching the Internet for Useful Chem/Bio Utilities (seems to be lost) 1994
• Wargaming wirh Janus and ModSAF 1995
• DIS Programming with ModSAF and CBR/Sim 1996

After college I moved up to MA, and went to work for Mission Critical Linux. I worked there for about a year and a half before getting laid off (along with 95% of the company). And I don't regret it one bit. The people I worked with there, the connections I made, all were incredible. Most of the employees were former DECies, and it was an incredible learning experience to be able to work with them on Operating System software. It was also invaluable experience about life and professionalism, especially at the end.

Because of my connections and experience from MCLX, I was lucky enough to land a job at Sun Microsystems. I'm finally working on the big multiprocessor systems I've always wanted to... even if the OS is Slowaris and the processors are in-order ;). Still, I'm enjoying my work here too.

The moral of this whole, unfinished story is very simple. Make sure you truely enjoy what your doing, and it's never too late to change your mind. I've made a lot of changes and decisions, and I'm very lucky, but I can honestly say that I have no regrets whatsoever, and for the most part, I'm happy.