About

What I do

For Work

I am in the process of finishing a DPhil in Free Space Visible Light Communications at University College, University of Oxford, supervised by Prof. Steve Collins. I have been successful with my research, attending three conferences and publishing twelve papers with (at least two) more in draft, and possibly a patent. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2388-4369

The focus of my research is using silicon photomultipliers to achieve high-speed free space optical links with the twist of being in the presence of ambient light, as would be in a real-world scenario. In doing this, I’ve written a very fast and accurate (C++ based) simulation of silicon photomultipliers, which has been backed by experiments. This simulator which will enable rapid experiments for other researchers in the future at Oxford and beyond.

For Fun

In my spare time I like to read nonfiction, edit openstreetmap, cook, go to the gym and play squash. I used to cycle a lot (20+ miles/day), but I need to get back into it to be frankly honest.

When I find the time, I like to learn more about computers (from a computer science angle), and tinker with both software and hardware. I have enjoyed playing with LeetCode problems, but have enjoyed working on Project Euler problems far more. While I am still relatively new to Project Euler, I am fond of the open-ended process of learning more about difficult mathematical problems, that are combined with solutions requiring optimised computer programs.

What I’m looking for

I am looking forward to a career in Software Engineering or Quantitative Analysis. Please download my CV if you are interested in hiring me.

My Experience

I graduated from my Engineering Science degree in 2019 with a Class 1 MEng from The University of Oxford. For the the last half year of my MEng and the first year of my DPhil, I assumed the role as an engineering manager for the electrical and embedded software team on the Oxford race car.

I completed my Fourth Year Project on simulations and optimisation of advanced modulation schemes.

During my undergraduate I worked two summers as an engineer at the startup PrOXisense, with a focus on analysing Blade Tip Timing, Blade Tip Clearance, and Thermal Product sensors. I created simulations and data analysis tools in Python and MATLAB to interrogate and understand data generated from PrOXisense’s novel sensors. This work, along with experiments, guided future development work and allowed for technical presentations to customers. I also spent a lot of effort on automation and data acquisition on various test setups.

I briefly consulted for an algorithmic trading company and suggested some effective strategies for arbitrage.

Technical Strengths

I normally program in Python and C++, and am very comfortable with both. MATLAB was used for my undergraduate and DPhil, as I had to interact with a vast array of test and measurement tools, and write in a language that the majority of my faculty uses. I am comfortable programming in JavaScript, PHP, C and Haskell, but might need a refresher and documentation open when writing it. When writing documents, I like to use LaTeX, and have a good understanding of other markup languages like CSS and HTML.

In the future it is my hope that I will learn Erlang and maybe RISC-V assembly too. I also hope that the future allows me more play around far more with Haskell, as using it requires thinking in a completely different way to “normal” programming.

My tool-set for general computer work is using zshell, tmux, vim, git and ssh. I run GNU/Linux for my desktop and have a few GNU/Linux servers. I have used BSD but I wouldn’t claim to be all knowing with it. I live in and love the terminal, for which I use zshell with oh-my-zsh. My dotfiles are available if you would like to look at my config (I have some useful scripts I’ve written in there).

My CV lists all the software I am comfortable with, and various methods I use day to day.

In my Final year in University, I specialised in Mathematical Methods, ‘Computer Vision & Robotics’, Machine Learning, Advanced Communications, Microelectronics and finally ‘Optics, Optoelectronics, Metamaterials & Plasmonics’. Other courses I enjoyed were Information Engineering, Optimisation, Control Systems, ‘Biomedical Modelling and Monitoring’ and Engineering Computation.