Summary
Full-stack platform developer with basic research experience. Former technical lead for McGraw-Hill's Simnet simulation, among other projects. In pursuit of good questions.
Education
Columbia University Computer Science 38 cr | 2023
CUNY Mathematics Xfer | 40 cr | 2020
Lee University Political Science BA | 198 cr | 2010
Grants
National Science Foundation
- S&CC [CNS-1737533]
- PFI [IIP-1827505]
ODNI
- IC-CAE, Rutgers [HHM402-19-1-0003]
- IC-CAE, Rutgers [HHM402-18-1-0007]
Department of Education
- MSEIP [84.120A]
Bentley Systems, Inc.
- CUNY-Bentley [CRA 2017-2020]
PSC-CUNY Research
CCNY CiPASS
Research
- Zhu, Z., Chen, J., Zhang, L., Chang, Y., Franklin, T., Tang, H., & Ruci, A. (October, 2020). iASSIST: An iPhone-Based Multimedia Information System for Indoor Assistive Navigation. International Journal of Multimedia Data Engineering and Management (IJMDEM), 11 (4), 38-59. doi:10.4018/IJMDEM.2020100103
- Chang, Y., Chen, J., Franklin, T., Zhang, L., Ruci, A., Tang, H., & Zhu, Z. (2020, August). Multimodal Information Integration for Indoor Navigation Using a Smartphone. Paper presented at the IRI2020 - The 21st IEEE International Conference on Information Reuse and Integration for Data Science New York, USA. 56-58. doi:10.1109/IRI49571.2020.00017 .
- Venerella, J., Franklin, T., Sherpa, L., Tang H., & Zhu, Z. (2019, July). Integrating AR and VR for Mobile Remote Collaboration. Paper presented at the 2019 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Adjunct (ISMAR-Adjunct). Beijing, China. 104-108. doi:10.1109/ISMAR-Adjunct.2019.00041 .
Professional
Triad Interactive (acquired by McGraw-Hill) Washington, DC
Program Manager December 2017 - August 2019 (1 year 9 months)
- Remotely coordinated rolling simulation content platform upgrade sprints for McGraw-Hill's Simnet
- As an individual contributor, specialized in DevOps team support, building and maintaining process automation with Azure, Jenkins, and Bitbucket Pipelines
- Mentored many talented new engineers who went on to head projects at Triad and other companies, including Google, Microsoft, Citibank, and federal agencies
- Developed Goodman, an app for making ShowMe videos and accessible GuideMe activities
- Adapted the 2016 simulation for interactive playback featured in SIMnet 2019 (team of 2)
- Led simulation platform a11y enhancement for SIMnet '19
Lead Software Engineer January 2016 - December 2017 (2 years)
- Led rotating team of 13 that developed McGraw-Hill's SIMnet '16 sim
- Prototyped action recording/playback function featured in the '19 release
- Developed test-harness solution for the '16 and '19 platforms
- Automated numerous procedures and service interactions to simplify team workflows
- Developed additional content creation applets for new McGraw-Hill products
- Coordinated several SIMnet platform accessibility sprints
Software Engineer January 2015 - January 2016 (1 year 1 month )
- Designed the new sim for McGraw-Hill's SIMnet '16 beta (team of 6)
- Prototyped KeyKaroo, a K-20 keyboarding application (team of 4)
- Created mockup for McGraw-Hill's GDP 11e update (team of 2)
- Built the e-textbook annotation engine for SIMnet's 2015 platform enhancements
Frontend Developer January 2014 - January 2015 (1 year 1 month )
- Maintained SIMnet's student-facing clients (team of 3)
- Implemented Selenium-driven integration testing for LMS
- Built internal tools for interactive HTML5 content creation
- Prototyped the SIMnet '16 Excel simulation grid
Content Developer November 2013 - January 2014 (3 month s)
- Developed XML for the Flash sim of McGraw-Hill's SIMnet '13
- Maintained existing XML schemas to improve our workflow
- Helped with network admin tasks
XO Communications (acquired by Verizon) Nashville
Client Service Manager October 2012 - November 2013 (1 year 2 month s)
- Team technical resource for installs and cloud onboarding. $1.6M new installs and renewals.
Institutional
Columbia University New York
General Studies Election Commissioner January 2021 - January 2022 (1 year)
- Facilitated elections for the e-board of the school's student council.
City University of New York New York
CCNY Visual Computing Laboratory May 2019 - August 2020 (1 year 4 months)
- [Led to publication] Accessibility geodatabase for outdoor navigation: programmed backend services, designed nav algorithm for test case, coordinated dataset labeling.
- [Led to publication] Virtual cane for BVI indoor navigation: supported iOS development/deployment, consulted regarding architecture, security, framework capabilities. Collaborated with Lighthouse Guild.
- [Led to publication] VR app helping MTA commuters with ASD acclimate to crowded interiors: designed interfaces between the tracker, smart device, and VR client.
- [Published] Project for accessible indoor navigation: helped with iOS development, algorithm design, and writing.
- [Published] Mobile collaboration using smartphones: refactored backend for remote client using Photon Unity Networking, began porting mesh generation from 6D.ai to native ARKit and HoloLens.
- [In progress] AR app for visual rehabilitation using a LiDAR equipped smartphone for sensory substitution by encoding spatial information to audio-haptic channels.
- [In progress] AR annotations for smart textbooks: programmed backend, designed frontend feature set.
- Gave a few talks on software development for individual classes.
CCNY Data Science & Engineering Program November 2019 - May 2020 (6 months)
- Reviewed applications and compiled admissions committee results.
- Promoted the program and fielded applicant inquiries.
BMCC Robotics Laboratory May 2019 - July 2019 (3 months)
- Helped with Summer bootcamp for high schoolers with workshops on robotics, machine learning, and web development.
- Taught a workshop on app development. Students built online portfolios using TypeScript, React, and GitHub pages.
Lee University Cleveland, TN
Institutional Research: Registrar Secretary May 2011 - March 2012 (10 months)
- Organized campus-wide registration and orientation events
- Managed 12 student workers with ruthless efficiency. None survived.
College of Education: Intern Analyst March 2010 - March 2011 (1 year)
- Dungeon master of data collection for new travel offices.
College of Arts & Sciences: Student Assistant May 2007 - May 2010 (3 years)
- Worked for the Dean as an officer of the honors program.
- Became ring master for a variety of events (recruiting expos, formal ceremonies, faculty quiz bowl, etc).
- Developed standardized admissions protocol for institutional honors
- Designed their rising sophomore program
Arnold Elementary School Cleveland, TN
Tutor Sept 2009 - May 2011 (1 year 9 months)
- Taught kids basic math, reading, and writing.
Unity Center Afterschool Program Cleveland, TN
Music Teacher May 2008 - Jul 2010 (2 years 2 months)
- Taught kids how to read music and play instruments.