Profile:

I am an accomplished developer, educated to Doctoral level. My current interest is the development of commons-based distributed technology.

Professional Profile

My career in computing began in the early 1990s. After achieving a distinction for my BSc in Computer Science, I worked for several years as a UNIX Systems Administrator. I then ran my own web-based business, which streamed DJ mixes over the Internet. That sparked an interest in digital music, and in 2003, I undertook an MSc in Music Technology. That led to my becoming an Audio Programmer in games, where I worked on various released titles, including Sony’s This is Football on the PlayStation portable. In 2010, I undertook a second MSc, this time in Advanced Environment and Energy as I wanted to increase my knowledge of environmental issues. I funded that course by working as a Freelance Programmer, where my main focus became website development. Then, in 2013, a friend asked me to build him a Bitcoin mining rig, and so began my journey into blockchain technologies. I have since completed a PhD, where my thesis asked whether blockchains can help overcome some of the most urgent problems facing humanity. In short, my conclusion was that they could, but it is impossible to solve all of humanity’s issues by diversifying technical operations; we need to change political, economic, and cultural goals, too.

Experience

• Nearly thirty years experience in the computing industry, beginning in 1992 with a COBOL programming course.
• Seven years involved with blockchain technology, including four years researching the technology as part of a PhD.
• Many years of freelance computing experience, including creating and managing Drupal-powered websites and maintaining training materials for the search technologies Apache Solr and Elasticsearch.
• Four years of games industry programming experience, where I worked on four completed titles.
• Early in my professional career, I was UNIX Systems Administrator.

Achievements

• Developed Enervator (EOR), an Ethereum-based cryptocurrency whose aim is to incentivise energy efficiency. That is supported by two applications that demonstrate administering and buying EOR. Their web-based frontend uses React + TypeScript + Redux, and the backend uses Solidity.
• Created ReportAid, a prototype Ethereum application for humanitarian aid reporting, which implements the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) standard on the blockchain. That uses React + TypeScript + Redux + Solidity. ReportAid also features a RESTful API for outputting IATI XML, which is written in Go.
• Built Provenator, an Ethereum application for proving the provenance of digital assets. The frontend uses React, and the backend, Solidity.
• Published academic papers.
• Developed a stand-alone eight-track mixing desk in C++ for the Xbox 360 game Rock Revolution.
• Designed pitch detection routines and developed a cross-platform audio library in C++ for the singing game Disney’s SingIt – High School Musical 3.
• Built and maintained a website for streaming and selling DJ mixes.
• My MSc dissertation featured a parallel formant synthesiser and a Finite Impulse Response filter, which produced the vowel sounds of the vocal system via a synthesiser keyboard. It was designed in Matlab and implemented in C++.
• For my BSc dissertation, I wrote a Web-based Java application for monitoring the performance of a running UNIX system.

Academic Publications

• Cryptocurrencies and Beyond: Using Design Science Research to Demonstrate Diverse Applications of Blockchains.
• Fake News - a Technological Approach to Proving Provenance Using Blockchains.
• Towards a post-cash society: An application to convert fiat money into a cryptocurrency.
• Socialism and the Blockchain.
• Internet of Things, Blockchain and Shared Economy Applications.

Public Speaking

• Enervator, a talk on my cryptocurrency for incentivising energy efficiency, given for the February 2020 Brighton Nerd Nite.
• Enervator - Incentivising Energy Efficiency, a presentation for the Innovation Forum, Energy Services Business Models, held by the UK Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions.
• Beyond Cryptocurrencies, a talk given for the August 2019 Brighton Blockchain Meetup.
• Fake News - a Technological Approach to Proving Provenance Using Blockchains, a presentation as part of the University of Sussex Library’s 2018 Digital Discovery Week.
• Collaborating Through Blockchains, a talk given at the University of Sussex as part of the Informatics Department’s 2018 PhD Symposium.
• Introduction to Blockchain Application Development, a three-hour introduction to building blockchain applications, given for Wired Sussex.
• Internet of Things and Blockchain Technology, a twenty-minute overview of blockchains and the Internet of Things at the 2016 Smart Summit London.
• Blockchain Technology and the Internet of Things, an overview of blockchains, given at the 2016 launch of the Creative Technology Group at the University of Sussex.

Career History

• November 2008 – January 2016: Freelance Programmer.
• May 2007 – November 2008: Senior Audio Programmer - Zoe Mode.
• October 2004 – May 2007: Senior Audio Programmer - Sony Computer Entertainment.
• August 2001 - September 2003: Company Director - Yossarian Computing Ltd.
• February 2001 - August 2001: Contract Web Support Engineer - Credit Suisse First Boston.
• July 1998 - January 2001: Contract UNIX Technical Support Engineer - Reuters Ltd.
• November 1997 - May 1998: UNIX Systems Administrator - University Of North London.
• July 1996 - June 1997: Intern’ as UNIX Systems Administrator - Reuters Ltd.
• March 1995 - October 1995: Contract IT Systems Trainer - Hounslow Social Services.
• June 1992 - September 1994: UNIX Systems Administrator - Seymour International Press.

Education

• February 2016 - March 2020: PhD in Blockchain Technologies at the University of Sussex.
• September 2010 – January 2014: MSc Architecture: Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies from the Centre for Alternative Technology.
• January 2005 – September 2008: Diploma in Mathematics from the Open University.
• September 2003 – September 2004: MSc (Distinction) in Music Technology from City University, London.
• September 2003 – April 2004: LOCN World Arts and Music Pathway Level 2 (Music Theory, Aural Training, Studio Production, Mix-Down Processes).
• September 1994 - June 1998: BSc (Hons) 1st class in Computer Science from the University Of North London.
• January 1992 - January 1993: Applications Programming in COBOL - City & Guilds 424.

Contact Details

e: steve at glowkeeper dot uk

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