I like systems and automation, so in my personal time I’ve put together some computer-based tools and systems over the years to that end. I spent several years working my way through a self-directed computer science education, and these served as both the motivation for – and application of – that learning process. I’m now partway through a formal graduate degree in computer science now, building on the knowledge and experience I gained through this work. Several of these programs or systems relate to some kind of data organization (for example, the Media Offload Tool). I’ve always enjoyed organizing information and creating order from disarray.
As a kid, I meticulously maintained my music collection in Windows Media Player, loading in all the right album art, release date, and other metadata. I also remember collecting performance specs on all my favorite cars and cataloging cool pictures in an organized folder structure. In high school, I did the same with my skateboarding videos and pictures.
As part of the Wreck Racing team at Georgia Tech, I collected the scattered repositories of previous club documents, CAD models, workday and event pictures, etc. into a central database, integrated with the current and ongoing data being generated. To keep things organized and safe in the future, I migrated this directory structure from the shop computer to university-maintained servers.
When I worked for the HScott Motorsports NASCAR team, the 51 team was in many ways starting from scratch and lacking any sort of historical database to draw from. I created and maintained a new system to house the team’s race weekend records, setup specs, simulation runs, track data, parts database, inspection measurements, etc. – most of which were the product of my work.
At my current job, I led the development of our vehicle software validation, documentation, and release/revision standards. Electric and EFI powertrain control systems play a significant role in vehicle safety and performance, so these standards are essential to proper due diligence. I’ve built several data mining, analysis, and visualization tools in the course of various projects, helping develop better-performing drivetrains, quickly gather part-usage data, or analyze patterns of field issues. Now I work full-time as a data scientist.