"After completing my undergraduate degree at Rice, I spent two years working in government and the software industry, then returned to school to earn a PhD in Bioinformatics. Along the way, I tutored and taught both undergraduate and graduate students in subjects including compilers, operating systems, algorithms, and programming languages.

Since finishing my PhD, my main focus has been on mountaineering, climbing peaks in North and South America, and Europe. However, I have retained my interests in teaching and programming, as a tutor and sometimes a contract programmer.

I took Calculus as a junior in High School, then served as a TA and tutor for the course as a senior. I continued along the Mathematics major path as a college freshman before changing course to Computer Science. The Computer Science curriculum at Rice was fairly math-heavy, though, and my graduate work relied on a solid understanding of statistics.

I have been working with computers for over 25 years, as a student, researcher, programmer, and hobbyist. I am interested in computers and programming both as tools to accomplish other tasks, and as things in themselves. For work and out of curiosity, I have programmed in probably a dozen languages, including Matlab, Julia, C, C++, Fortran, Perl, and Python.

I enjoy working with students of all abilities who are willing to engage and motivated to learn. I want to help you not just solve your immediate problem or prepare for the next test, but acquire a deeper understanding that will serve you in the future." less...