CV

Skye Book

Strengths

  • Extremely strong written and oral communication skills
  • Ability to collaborate with and lead teams of people
  • Can read and digest legal documents quickly and efficiently
  • Highly experienced in open-source practices and etiquette
  • Strong Java development skills and knowledge of best practices
  • Strong understanding of 3D graphics, both hardware and software

Experience

Lead Developer: Betaville @ Brooklyn eXperimental Media Center (January 2009 – Present)


Betaville aims to invite all people to become involved in city building set under the auspices of a Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMO). By fusing an open-source and cross-platform 3D game engine with a well thought out approach to urban planning and community based design, we’re breaking new ground in how cities and communities are built.

I’ve worked on the project from the very beginning, at first for credit as a senior project, then working on it as a university-sponsored summer researcher, and now in my position as a Research Assistant (subsidized by a Rockefeller Grant) at Brooklyn eXperimental Media Center. Throughout the life of the project I have led technical development, presented the project to interested parties, and worked to build an open-source community around the project.

In addition to the work being done in New York, I have twice travelled to Germany (two weeks in March 2010 and a month in January 2011) to work with the students of the Media 2 Culture Institute of the Hochschule Bremen who are partners on the Betaville project with us. In my time there I managed a number of subgroups developing features such as video on OpenGL textures, integration of the Betaville server architecture into a web application, and new forms of movement within the virtual world.

Manager & Webmaster: jMonkeyEngine (June 2009 – Present)

Acquired and set up dedicated server for this open source project. In addition to maintaining forums, wiki, blog, and static content, have expanded the capabilities of the project by setting up nightly builds, multi-user blogging capabilities, and serving the needs of the community.

I currently manage the community along with the jMonkeyEngine Core Team. In addition to running the every day operations of the site, we actively work to spread information about the jME project as well as help to provide spotlight for commercial and open source projects that have grown from within the community. In addition to project promotion, I’m actively engaged in an enhanced documentation effort designed to soften the learning curve required to start developing 3D games.

IT & Technology Research and Development: Total Impact Communications, Ltd. (June 2004 – Present)

In addition to functioning as the company’s IT mainstay (Management of Windows Active Directory and a number of Linux Web&Application Servers), I also find new and innovative ways to present information on behalf of our clients in order to help them win today’s biggest construction contracts in the New York/New Jersey area.

To this end, I have performed image analysis, complex diagramming as well as the setup and management of a company-wide 3D render infrastructure that allows for maximum flexibility on inflexible deadlines. Some of these projects include Hudson River Tunnel, 11 Times Square, and the South Ferry Terminal Project.

General & Component/Peripheral Sales: Micro Center (April 2007-February 2008)

I started as a salesman in the main floor of the store selling everything from mice and keyboards to CD media and printer ink/toner. I was then promoted to the “Peripherals” department where I sold not only said peripherals, but high end system builds as well. I was able to form first name basis relationships with a number of customers and got a good deal of return business due to my technical expertise and ability to interact well with people. Responsible for ~$2k-3k sales per day.

Intern: Long Island Radio Group (August 2005-January 2006)

I worked both in the studio and in the field doing production and public relations work. In addition to editing spots and filing them in an ENCO system, I was also responsible for being one of the faces behind the company at promotional event as well as contacting prize winners from on-air contests.

Education

Talks

  • June 15, 2011 – Betaville @ DGSNA Digital Government Innovation in Challenging Times, University of Maryland, College Park
  • November 14, 2011 – “Visualizing Geospatial Data Using Real-Time 3D Technologies” (Thesis Work) @ Esri NYC Dev Meetup
  • November 30, 2011 – Betaville @ Geographic Information Systems and Mapping Operations (GISMO)

Life

I’ve tried to do my share of living and have a wide range of interests. Here’s a rather incomplete list of the highlights:

  • I’m an Eagle Scout
  • I participated, and won a number of medals, in Science Olympiad during high school
  • I’ve been skating since I could walk; Been playing hockey since I could hold a stick
  • Spent one of the most enjoyable weeks of my life at Fort AP Hill in Virginia for the BSA’s National Jamboree
  • Have piloted an aircraft and never turn down an opportunity to do it again
  • I love road trips and the Americana that driving cross-country represents
  • Have voided a warranty, in the name of science, within hours of buying a product
  • Have been called a geek… repeatedly