· B.Sc., Computer Science, University of Southern Mississippi, December, 1985. Minor in music. K-12 teaching certification in computer science, instrumental music, music theory.
· M.Sc., Computer Science, University of Southern Mississippi, August 1995, Thesis: "An introduction to computer applications in music". Thesis was used as a basis for inter-departmental course in computer music, and involved purchase and creation of computer music lab.
· Ph.D., Computer Science, Tulane University, 1999, Dissertation topic: "A Fuzzy Object Oriented Approach for Managing Spatial Data with Uncertainty" Advisor: Frederick E. Petry, IEEE Fellow.
(7/00 to present) Assistant
Professor(tenure track), School of CTI, DePaul University. Currently teaching Database Design
courses; performing research in OODBMS, fuzzy systems, and computer
graphics.
(6/99 to 8/99) Consultant, MSI,
Bellevue Washington. I wrote
programs and helped design an Oracle parallel loading process which was taking
far too much time, and was crucial to the business of this Cellular phone
software company.
(6/98 to 6/00) Assistant Professor(tenure track), Department of Computer Science, University of Idaho; Taught all database courses offered by the department; updated database curriculum; acquired software grant from Oracle ($3.2 million) for CS educational use; conducted research in spatial data, fuzziness and uncertainty in databases, machine learning, philogenetic databases.
(12/97 to 6/98) Instructor, Oracle Education. Working as a contractor for Oracle Education in a part time capacity, I traveled around the country, teaching introduction to Oracle, introduction to Rdb, and data modeling classes at corporate training centers.
(5/97 to 5/98) Researcher: NASA/Naval Research Laboratory, Space Center, MS. Researching and surveying Remote Sensing packages, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and their associated databases to determine the best fit for the ORCA ocean floor mapping project. Made recommendations on how to utilize over $1 million in combined hardware and software purchases. Hardware environment includes Windows NT, Windows 95, Macintosh, Sun Sparc, and SGI machines.
(4/96 - 6/97) Consultant: Entergy, New Orleans LA. Led the project and team to analyze and upgrade the IP/DNS structure. Managed the entire project life cycle from inception to proposal to installation to turnover. This involved the auditing of 14 DNS servers (Sparc and RS/6000, all running UNIX), and over 1400 individual IP addresses in their 1 Class B and 2 Class C subnets. These included NT, Solaris, AIX, Win 3.1 and Mac workstations. Recommended the purchase of Quadritek/QIP, an automated intranet IP management tool, to manage the LAN/WAN. Managed the installation of QIP, which had to successfully interface with the client’s existing Oracle 7 and Sybase databases. Wrote operational procedures on how to backup and maintain the corporate Oracle database. During the upgrade of hardware (Bay-Cisco) and software (Bay-QIP-BIND), there was zero cluster and database downtime.
(2/93 - 5/94 - full time; 6/94 - 5/96 - occasional part time) Consultant: McCaw Cellular Communications /AT&T Wireless Services, Kirkland, WA. At this client, I planned, developed, implemented, and managed several processes. One was a program which would automatically page past due accounts based on the criteria selected by the user. This enabled several employees which previously called these customers to be reassigned to more productive tasks. I also developed a method to automatically replenish the file of available phone numbers. This was enacted whenever the amount of phone numbers in a market dropped below a pre-set threshold. This was an integral part of the retail subsystem, which used a Visual Basic front end to communicate to the legacy VMS system via desktop ACMS in a client/server relationship. I also developed many ad-hoc reports, and implemented the SQL database for the entire MIS department. I designed and implemented a system to track and report all calls to the customer care center. In these projects, I was the leader of the team, directly reporting to the MIS director. The hardware environment consisted of a large Digital VMS cluster (VAX and Alpha) in addition to several UNIX, NeXT, PC and Mac workstations. Many applications also interfaced directly with digital phone switches and the Oracle 7 and Oracle Rdb databases. All projects were completed on time and under budget, with no downtime. I was involved in the entire engagement life cycle, my contract was renewed 5 times, and I made successful presentations to Craig McCaw and Jim Barksdale.
(6/93 - 3/94) Consultant: Snohomish County Public Utility, Everett, WA. My task here was to design and load tables into an Oracle Rdb database from an existing Paradox database. I created indices and storage maps to optimize access. COBOL was the language of choice, although I used some C. The legacy hardware platform was Windows 3.1 PCs, and they were being ported to Digital Alpha VMS machines.
(8/93) Consultant: Laser Direct/US West Cellular, Kent, WA. I was called in for performance tuning, and delivered a document which outlined how to tweak the COBOL programs, DCL procedures, file access, and system parameters for their specific applications. I also consulted with management on capacity planning and new hardware purchases.
(1/92 - 2/93) Consultant: Pac*Tel Cellular/AirTouch, Irvine, CA. I was contracted by this client to develop the first Oracle Rdb DECforms application in this DBMS/TDMS shop. This prototype used COBOL and ACMS client/server architecture on their multiclustered VMS environment. I also modified all of the current system’s online update programs to include a data integrity check. This required modifying all of the ACMS update servers to include an audit task. In another project, I led a team reformulating the critical units in service reports. This team consisted of Pac*Tel employees, outside consultants (from a big 6 firm), and independent consultants such as myself. I managed the entire team, and apprised the client of status, and approved and presented the final design. It was also my responsibility to complete the performance reviews of my team members. We considered and prototyped several solutions ranging from downloading raw data to PCs, to creating a standalone Rdb or Oracle database. We decided to use an approach that would make use of the existing system, yet ensure integrity by instream scheduling, restartability, and error recovery.
(3/91 - 1/92) Consultant: Orange County, California. Here, I was system manager and DBA. I also developed the vitals system, which allows the public to search through the county index of births, deaths, and marriages via a touch screen at their local library, and print out the appropriate abstract at the librarian’s desk. I logically and physically designed the Oracle Rdb database and created the DECforms/COBOL user interface. I oversaw the installation of the laser printers and terminals at each remote site; and brought the sites online. As system manager for the network, which had 28 remote sites, I worked with DEC tools on system tuning and capacity planning. I performed all DBA functions, including performance tuning and integrity analysis. I also initiated and implemented CMS libraries and MMS procedures for all systems.
(2/90 - 2/91) Consultant: Pacificare, Cypress, CA. As a consultant, I was responsible for designing, implementing and documenting both major and minor changes to the billing system. Due to my expertise in VMS, Oracle Rdb, and SQL, I was often called in to "firefight" problems in other groups as situations warranted. These groups included: membership, enrollment, eligibility, provider services, claims, accounting, and authorizations. I used my VMS, COBOL, and Rdb/SQL performance enhancement techniques in all IT areas. My documents addressing lock handling, data normalization, and file access resulted in de facto departmental standards. I was the primary contact during all system and processor upgrades. I conducted training courses which introduced all new programmers and analysts in the billing and capitation groups to the VMS environment. These courses were videotaped and are still being used to train new hires. Hardware included Windows, Mac, and VT front ends to the VAX/Alpha VMS cluster.
(7/89 - 1/90) Consultant: Warfield, Santurri, and Arnold, Pensacola, FL. At this law firm, I designed and implemented an office automation system on the existing PC network. I created a tickler system, a docket scheduling system, and a "briefs bank" system for the firm; and trained the attorneys, paralegals, and other staff on the uses and function of the system. This system used dbase on the company LAN.
(1/89 - 12/89) Consulting Software Engineer: Tybrin, Fort Walton Beach, FL. Here, I worked on two major projects. On the first, I enhanced, and later converted a VMS/Rdb flight plan system to an Oracle/SQL/C application. This package was an online system for a defense contract. The other major application was design, development, and implementation of an Oracle package for a USAF budget scheduling and tracking system. I was also the site system manager, performing all hardware and software maintenance and upgrades for our VAX/VMS system, and all other system management and database administrator functions.
(10/87 - 1/89) Software Specialist: Digital Equipment Corporation, Los Angeles, CA. At DEC, I was a member of the team bidding for and developing a petroleum products pipeline operations system. As the VMS systems and VMS/Rdb/SQL expert of the team, I logically and physically designed the application database; and defined system requirements. I also designed and maintained specifications, standards, and documentation using all of the VAXset tools. Consulting at Security Pacific Automation Company, I was responsible for implementing a liability income and cost system. After analyzing the existing system and plan, our team created and implemented a new plan, and the remainder of the project was completed on schedule. This was also an Rdb application, in which I did both logical and physical database design. I was also assigned by DEC to several short-term consulting engagements. I was involved in every aspect of the engagement, from pre-sales to proposal specifications to system design to implementation.
(10/85 - 8/87) Senior Programmer/Analyst: Computer Sciences Corporation, Pensacola, FL. I developed, tested, implemented, and documented a scheduling, tracking, forecasting, and reporting system. This application was originally VAX/DBMS COBOL and was converted to VAX Ingres with COBOL and several DCL utility programs. As a team member, I worked from both written specifications and direct customer interface. On another project, I converted a IBM 4381 application to a VAX Ingres/SQL application. This involved taking the original design specifications, as well as new user input, and rebuilding the system from scratch.
(1/83 - 9/85) Programmer/Analyst: Macro Information Systems, Gulfport, MS. I designed, developed, tested, implemented, and documented an automobile dealership finance, inventory, and insurance automation package. This system, originally written in DOS COBOL, was ported to a UNIX/C system. As this was a small site, I was also responsible for maintenance, upgrading, and installation of site hardware and software.
· University of Idaho Research travel grant: $900; Summer 1999; PI. Purpose: Travel to 1999 NAFIPS conference in NYC to present paper and chair session on fuzzy databases.
· Oracle software grant ($3.2 million): Fall 1999; PI. Acquired licenses for Oracle Enterprise server software, client software, all options and cartridges, and all development and management tools on both HP-UX and WindowsNT platforms.
· University of Idaho Research Seed Grant: $6000; Spring 1999; PI. Title: Representation of Uncertainty in Spatial Databases and Geographic Information Systems.
· Institute of Museum and Library Services National Leadership Grant: $750,000; Fall 1998; Co-Applicant. Purpose: Creation of a digital geospatial and numeric data library for the state of Idaho.
French (reading ok, speaking is rusty)
Spanish (reading fair)
Czech (working on it)
ASL (rusty and slow)