Neil is a software development manager and senior software engineer. He is currently employed as the Manager of Internal Data Services for Geomega, an environmental consulting company in Boulder, Colorado. In his spare time, Neil recently developed the DandyID WordPress Plugin, named by Mashable as a Top 10 WordPress Plugin in June, 2009. Neil is married and has one stepdaughter.

Neil was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1961. In the 7th grade, he wrote his first computer program in Fortran on the Chicago Board of Education time-sharing system. Neil moved with his family to Houston, Texas in 1974, and attended Westbury High School. In the 10th grade, he learned the fundamentals of software development in a BASIC programming class taught by the high school math department.

In 1983, Neil began college at Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) in Nacogdoches, Texas, to study computer science. In his sophomore year, he began working for the university as a student programmer in the Administrative Systems Department.  He developed software for purchasing, housing, and the alumni association. Neil held that position until the spring of 1987.

In his senior year, Neil was inducted into Upsilon Pi Epsilon, the International Computer Science Honor Society, and served as the SFA chapter president.

In the summer of 1987, Neil accepted a summer internship as a software developer for Mobil Oil Corporation in Dallas, Texas. Neil returned to SFA to complete his B.S. degree in the fall of 1987, and, upon graduation, returned to Mobil as a full-time employee.

Current Qualifications

• 15 years of software design and implementation.
• Modular implementation of complex designs.
• Diagnosis and solution of defects in production software.
• Implementation emphasis on code clarity, reliability, and extensibility.

Technical Skills

• Server Development:  PHP, HTML, CSS, XML parsing, Awk/Sed, Bash, WordPress, API development, REST integration.
• Tools:  C programming (12 years), debuggers, version control, make, bug tracking.
• Implementation:  System architecture, algorithm development, unit test automation, peer-to-peer communications, distributed messaging, command line interfaces, multi-tasking, application logging.

Selected Project:  EventVue Excel File Conversion Linux Shell Script

• Converts inbound Excel files to a common format to be imported into the EventVue system.
• EventVue Shell Script (used with permission).

Selected Project:  8051 Single Board Computer

• Built hardware (front, back), firmware, and schematic diagram as a project for a graduate embedded systems class at the University of Colorado.
• Component circuitry included 80C51 processor, 32K EEPROM, 32K SRAM, serial port, transparent latch, address decoder, ADC080 analog/digital converter, LM336 2.5v voltage reference, LM34DZ temperature sensor, and Davis Instruments 7911 anemometer.

U.S. Patent

• 7,657,224: Localized audio networks and associated digital accessories.

Past Software Consulting Contracts

• PeoplePond
• EventVue
• Pillar Data Systems
• Hewlett Packard
• Bindview Development Corporation
• Interphase Corporation
• McAfee

Past Employers

• Percept Technology Labs
• Independent Storage Corporation
• Saber Software Corporation
• NetWorth
• Intellicall
• Mobil Oil Corporation

Education

• PHP/MySQL Programming.  Front Range Community College.  2008.
• Embedded Systems Design - Hardware.  University of Colorado, Boulder.  2003.
• Real-Time Embedded Systems - Software.  University of Colorado, Boulder.  2003.
• B.S. in Computer Science.  Stephen F. Austin State University.  1987.

Certifications

• Microsoft Certified Professional.  MCP ID #3459539.  2005.
• CompTIA Security+ Certified Professional.  ID #001004391171.  2005.