Please find my resume below. Click here to separate it from the navigation bar (for printing purposes).
To be slightly politically incorrect (and keep with the theme of this website) here is a link to a "Profile" page with my photo physical specs and the various stereotypes under which I have been placed in the past.
Ambitions | Academic History | Employment History | Skills in Science | Other Skills
Ambitions |
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Life is short and one's life decisions should lead one outward to discover as much territory as possible before the journey is ended. To take steps in random directions will not do, but nor will marching on so so quickly that you cannot enjoy the journey. Try to have an idea where you are going, but allow yourself to stop and taste an apple growing from a tree near the road.
My ultimate goal in life is to have appreciated it to the fullest. That goal is the cause of my appreciation for nature and for people and it drives my interest in physics. I, as Einstein did, ``want to know the thoughts of God''.
I have a general interest in theoretical physics and the problems that plague unification. However, my love for relativity theory has lead my thoughts to cosmology. I am currently working as a PhD student on ``Cosmological Parameter Estimation'', among other things. I expect to finish my PhD in 1996, upon which time I will likely seek a postdoctoral position at a university somewhere to continue my research.
Academic History |
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Highlights and Awards
Employment History |
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The following is arranged chronologically. I have a good working ethic which has been known to all of my past employers. I have never left a job on bad terms and would not hesitate to ask any of the below employers for a reference if the need arose.
In Feb 1999 I found a weekend job as a fish-monger at Wharf Seafoods at Tweed Heads. I worked there for one year, on weekends, preparing and selling fresh and cooked seafood. I stopped working there due to increasing commitments at uni.
Also in Feb of 1999 I took a second job at a place called Mermaid Beach Fish Market. Here I worked some week-day evenings and odd weekends for three years. The business was a small family fish shop that provided fresh and cooked seafoods for a reliable local clientele. My job involved food preparation, stock management, cleaning as well as customer service. My term there ended when the business was eventually sold.
In 2002 I did some work for Griffith University, re-writing the second-year physics lab manual. Their equipment had changed significantly since the manual was first compiled and it needed considerable revision.
In 2003 I tutored some students in high school maths and first-year university physics. I particularly enjoy working with young high school students as I feel that is an age where mathematics and physics are either grasped or let-go for good. I approach the subjects at a very fundamental level encouraging students to develop real understanding for the material rather than superficial exam-passing tricks.
Tutoring became more serious in 2004, when I took a job tutoring a university subject called "Gens4014: Are We Alone?" at UNSW. Beyond tutoring, I was instrumental in the development of a set of lecture notes for the subject, and helped to maintain the "Are We Alone?" website. I also did some first-year lab demonstrating and exam marking at that time.
Also in 2004 I worked for a time as an attendant at the Dee Why RSL Club. I did some bar-work, made coffee and worked with pokies writing pay-outs and fixing minor errors. I left on good terms after only four months when it became obvious that travel between Dee Why, Randwick (UNSW) and home (regardless of where I decided to live) was far too impractical.
Skills in Science |
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Programming
I started programming in high school when I taught myself QBasic. I have since then found it trivial to adapt my abilities to other programming languages. Today I am proficient in:
I am currently learning C++ and intend to use that in the future where appropriate. Up until this year I have always worked in the DOS/Windows environment. In the department of Astrophysics and Optics at UNSW however, Unix is by far the most prominent OS. Therefore, I am also currently learning the ways of UNIX (with a REDHAT Linux front-end).
Other Skills |
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