(A Word format version of the is document is available here)
tim@rowledge.org
Profile
- Project lead - small and large, group management, internal consultant
- Technology analysis
- Software development – Smalltalk (especially virtual machines) , C, ARM assembler
- User interfaces - research, design, invention, implementation
- Mechanical engineering - motorcycle frame design, gas turbines, furniture, buildings.
Expertise Summary
Software Development:
Years as Project Lead, Architect and Manager of complex Smalltalk projects
World-class expertise in several Smalltalk implementations including several years managing the development of VisualWorks. Ten years of Squeak development experience including applications and the virtual machine. Member of the board of the Squeak Foundation for several years.
Experience in developing and implementing Smalltalk systems on all classes of machine from custom boards through PDAs to workstation and servers.
Product, Graphics and UI Design:
Designed and built software, user interfaces, motorcycles, model aircraft, publicity materials, furniture. Most famous piece of graphic work is the logo for the Squeak system which seems to be pervasive across the world.
Career History
Expert Analyst - 12/2007 - Present
Technical intelligence analysis for Precedia Associates
Independent Consultant — 7/2004 - 4/2008
Consulting for University of Southern California on the Institute for the Future of the Book project ‘Sophie Project’, building tools and architectures for electronic book delivery systems. See http://www.sophieproject.org
Independent Consultant — 1/2004 - 6/2004
Virtual Machine builder & tools for the open source Squeak project.
Knowledge Tree representation & animation tools for DiscoveryMachine Inc. on behalf of DoD.
Online coursework test creation, management and taking webserver for GreMost Publications.
Virtual Machine work for Viewpoints Research Institute, Glendale CA relating to an early iPad-like device.
exobox, Inc, San Diego, CA 92121 1/2000 - 12/2000
Architect-in-chief and VM/system czar.
Responsible for all the Squeak Smalltalk virtual machine and low-level system code, plus acting as architectural overseer and arbitrator for all software engineering decisions.
exobox was building a user environment for Internet Appliance machines (such as the i-Opener, NIC, etc.) with a strong accent on the communications arena. The system was built entirely in Squeak Smalltalk and hosted primarily on linux, with Mozilla, Jabber, POP3 etc. support.
Interval Research Corporation, 94304 9/96 - 1/2000
Researcher; Member of the Homeworks/Trio project team.
Worked on implementation of a Real Time virtual machine for Smalltalk, running on a custom designed iPad-type machine with a fast ARM cpu, lots of memory and flash storage, high quality colour touch screen, fast multiple network connections etc. A workshop paper discussing the work was presented at OOPSLA'99.
Built a demo/prototype of a patented instant video-on-demand delivery system via broadband. Worked on an ultra-wide band wireless data link project. Worked on a project using wavelets to symmetrically compress and decompress video with a very cheap hardware design. Definition and design of a next-but-two generation TV set top box.
Integral Development Corporation, 11/95-9/96
Lead Software Engineer
Responsible for a team producing the systems level of a complex VisualWorks based stock derivative trading framework and application delivery system.
Developed the basic objects and frameworks to support an extensive application layer, with complex database requirements and sophisticated signal handling, object versioning, concurrency, reliability and scalability needs. Used ODI's ObjectStore/Smalltalk and GemStone/VW for database capabilities. This application is in use a several major banking houses and handles hundreds of millions of dollars of trades per day.
ParcPlace Systems Inc, 11/91 - 10/95
Technical Advisory Group Staff Engineer reporting directly to VP of Development. 3/95 - 10/95.
Advisory architect and reviewer, handle project establishment, management and review. Worked with Adele Goldberg on the development of LearningWorks Smalltalk for the Open University and other higher education institutions.
Manager of Smalltalk Development. 9/93-3/95.
Managed 10+ person engineering staff group that produced the entire Smalltalk language and development system for ParcPlace's 12 platforms.
Acted as budget manager for entire R&D dept, responsible for approximately $4m/yr budget.
Project Leader for the PC & Mac. 6/92-9/93.
Lead the project group handling the Object Engine and Smalltalk low level system code related to all the PC and Mac platforms - anything 'not-unix'.
'Computer Scientist'. 11/91-6/92.
General engineer on the Windows Object Engine and general Smalltalk matters.
Independent Consultant. 10/87 -11/91
Implemented a Smalltalk-80 Object Engine (based on the BrouHaHa VM by Eliot Miranda) for the Acorn RiscPC micro-computer, the only non-ParcPlace Systems version on then on sale.
Taught Smalltalk, both Smalltalk-80 and Smalltalk/V; approximately 400 students taught over 4 years.
Various consultancy projects for clients including UK Ministry of Defence, ICL, Vickers Shipbuilding Plc, Shell Oils Plc etc., including development work on text recognition, map analysis, image processing, word processor systems, spreadsheets etc
Implemented Smalltalk-80 Object Engine for the Active Book Company's PDA machine, adding many capabilities to the basic system such as a rommable image and Object Engine, multi-segment memory management, extended floating point, advanced graphics etc.
Assorted industrial design commissions, ranging from company logos and brochures to motorcycles, exhibition stands and office equipment.
IBM Research Fellow, IBM UK Scientific Centre 8/84- 9/87
Extended ideas from Royal College of Art course (see education section) involving user interfaces for solid modelling CAD systems.
First involvements with Smalltalk, using it as a prototyping language for new ideas in user interface designs. Experiments and work referenced in 'Evolutionary Art and Computers' by William Latham & Stephen Todd, Academic Press 1992
Work covered many areas including graphic design, user interface design, programming (C, Smalltalk, PL/1, BASIC).
Student Engineer, Rolls-Royce Aero Engines Ltd, 9/78- 7/82
Final year project at Imperial College was developing a computerized system to assist the Rolls-Royce Experimental Stress Analysis dept. in gathering and analysing data from photo-elastic stress tests. Required development of interface control software as well as designing and self-building the appropriate sensors.
Education
1985; M.Des(RCA) - Master of Design Degree, Royal College of Art, London, Great Britain.
Premier Fine and Practical Arts college in the world. See also IBM above.
1982; B.Sc.(Eng) - Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, The Imperial College of Science , Technology and Medicine, London, Great Britain.
Premier Engineering college in Europe. See also Rolls-Royce above.
Publications
- "Squeak: Open Personal Computing and Multimedia", Ed Mark Guzdial and Kim Rose; 'A Tour of the Object Engine' Prentice Hall 2001.
- "Building a Realtime OS kernel in Smalltalk", OOPSLA 1999, ACM publications.
- "Object Oriented Software Engineering", ed Bruce Anderson; 'Browsers in Smalltalk-80: What's my model?' British Computer Society 1990.