I am a student working on a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering at
the University at Buffalo (SUNY).
I am also a late-stage Ph.D. candidate in English Literature (also at UB) completing
a dissertation project on the intersection of literature and science.
COMPUTER ENGINEERING: My interests in computing are in systems and infrastructure generally. I started by learning about how computers implement basic arithmetic circuits, moved to basic CPU and system architecture, then operating systems, and am beginning to learn about networking and distributed systems, with virtualization and containerization technologies slated for future studies.
From the Ben Eater 8-bit CPU build and the Commodore VIC-20 to modern operating systems, SOC microcontrollers, and beyond to networking, virtualization, and distributed computing, taking the time to start from the basic principles of computing and slowly building up knowledge of increasingly complex systems is, I believe, the best way to get a deep understanding and appreciation of how the massive, complex global computing infrastructure is built up from simple zeros and ones.
I have a lot still to learn and I am by no means an expert in any one of the fields I've studied, but I feel confident that I have a sufficiently strong grasp of the fundementals that I can build out my knowledge as required by both professional and personal endeavors.
ENGLISH LITERATURE: My interests in English Literature, and more broadly literature and philosophy, are difficult to summarize. The particular strength I see in literature, philosophy, history, and their neighboring fields lies precisely in their ability to inquire about and discuss the human condition in non-scientific modes. Thus, much of my interest in literature, philosophy, and history stems from their abilities to articulate different but equally fundemental aspects of the human condition.
What this translates to as an academic or scholarly project is more nebulous. I am interested in exploring the ways literature and philosophy are complementary to scientific understanding, since literature, philosophy, and science all have the same ultimate source (i.e., the human mind). Any longer explanation would be best saved for a designated webpage (forthcoming?), not an introductory "about me" section.
WEB DESIGN: As might be obvious, I am a fan of very basic websites that deliver information in a simple, robust format that will work on nearly any system with any connection. Fancy websites are neat, just not my style :)