Alan Richmond's Employment History

Curious Minds, EncycloZine, internet.com (WDVL), CyberWeb SoftWare, NASA/GSFC HEASARC, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Space Telescope Science Institute, Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility, Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Joint European Torus, Doel nuclear power, Wimpey Laboratories.

Founder and Technical Manager of Curious Minds
Employer: Self Location: Herefordshire, UK Dates: 8.2004 - present
Duties Created Curious Minds. Located suppliers. Website uses OScommerce. Added products. Created graphics. Advertising and promotion, esp. Google AdWords.

Managing Editor of EncycloZine
Employer: Self Location: Charlottesville, VA Dates: 3.99 - present
Duties Editor and webmaster. Development of EncycloZine - a concise illustrated encyclopedia comprising 3 subsites: Artzia (arts, history, and humanities), Eluzions (games, illusions, and puzzles), and Kosmoi (science, nature, and technology). Wrote and commissioned articles on educational topics. Developed maintenance utilities, style sheets, and other web support. Integrated XML feeds.

Managing Editor of Web Developer's Virtual Library
Employer: internet.com Location: Charlottesville, VA Dates: 3.98 - 3.99
Duties Operated WDVL.com - one of the web's most popular web developer sites; articles and links (internet.com). Wrote and commissioned articles on web development. Coordinated remote staff and authors from home office. Liaised with head office in Westport, CT. Grew site's monthly page views from 1 to 3 million, resulting in much-increased advertising revenue.

Web Consultant, Editor and Webmaster.
Employer: Self Location: Lanham, Washington DC Dates: 2.95 - 2.98
Duties
Designed and built web sites for clients. Founded Web Developer's Virtual Library (WDVL.com). Wrote and commissioned articles on web development. Developed content, maintenance utilities, style sheets, and other web support. Presented advanced HTML & CGI tutorials at many conferences, including two tutorials in the International World Wide Web Conferences series. Sold WDVL to Mecklermedia (now internet.com).

Principal Systems Engineer at HEASARC
Employer: Hughes/STX (Raytheon) Location: NASA/GSFC, Washington DC Dates: 3.93 - 8.95
Duties
Research and development of heterogeneous analysis and data base environments to provide generic software tools for astronomers, esp. an interactive web site to query astronomical satellite data. Group leader for 6 programmers. Monitored the technical performance of staff in the group; reviewed deliverables & enforced applicable standards & procedures; provided presentation of the group's activity in the monthly review meetings; performed annual reviews & recommended salary actions.
Web projects: W3Browse Query astrophysics satellite data and deliver products (e.g. images) (paper). RPS Remote Proposal Submission system (abstract). WebStars Astrophysics in Cyberspace (paper). StarChild A Learning Center for Young Astronomers (proposal). Gatewayed several astronomical tools to the WWW. Founded & led Space Science Web Group. Created A Basic HTML Style Guide. Presented work on XVT & WWW at the ADASS conferences (III and IV). Made several presentations about the WWW at GSFC.

Head of Data Acquisition Group
Employer: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility Location: Grenoble, France Dates: 11.90 - 3.93
Duties Allocated and monitored tasks of 4 programmers. Developed GUIs for beamline experiments, attenuator, & slit control. Implemented software & documentation standards; developed documentation utilities & a standard ESRF style. Founded Software Practices Group & led the development of General Programming Standards. Wrote Software Development Manual. Introduced SPR (Software Problem Reporting) system. Developed an application framework to support GUI development. Rewrote Proteus user interface toolkit to facilitate porting classical applications to X-windows on UNIX workstations.

Senior Software Systems Engineer
Employer: Space Telescope Science Institute Location: Baltimore, USA Dates: 8.88 - 5.90
Duties Developed user interfaces for HST scientific operations. Enhanced the Proposal Entry Processor software, e.g. addition of Solar System Target List. This system is the astronomer's primary interface for specifying proposed observations & ensuring that the proposals are syntactically correct & apparently feasible. Wrote HST Resource Usage Tool. Attended US National Conference on Software Reusability. Liaised with European colleagues.

Senior Software Systems Engineer
Employer: Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility Location: Garching-bei-München, Germany Dates: 7.85 - 7.88
Duties Developed user interfaces for HST scientific operations. Designed and developed STARCAT to allow astronomers to browse the HST Archive and to request images stored on optical disks. Developed a user interface toolkit, Proteus, to support STARCAT & other applications worldwide. Led ESO working group on software standards, & the European Space Information System (ESIS) working group on User Interface Requirements.

JET Software Consultant
Employer: Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics Location: Garching-bei-München, Germany Dates: 6.83 - 6.86
Duties
JET was the world's largest magnetic confinement fusion experiment which aimed at confirming the scientific theory of fusion and the scientific feasibility of nuclear fusion for power generation.
Designed and developed user interfaces and control and data acquisition software for plasma diagnostics; installed and commissioned at JET.

Software Consultant
Employer: Tractebel Locations: Brussels, Belgium, and JET, Culham, UK Dates: 4.78 - 5.83
Duties Extended display management, database, & monitoring systems for Doel 3 nuclear power stations [FORTRAN on Gould SEL with RTM OS]. Transferred to JET, Culham, where I designed and developed real-time and interactive components of the control and data acquisition data base system (CODAS).

Scientific Analyst
Employer: Wimpey Laboratories Location: Hayes, MX, UK Dates: 9.75 - 3. 78
Duties Supported users, specified requirements, designed, documented & programmed civil engineering applications. Constructed scientific laboratory database systems, e.g. off-line storage of test results for graphics plot. [FORTRAN on PDP 11's with RSX/11M OS, & on ICL 1900's with GEORGE 3 OS].

Alan Richmond • Newhouse Farm • Stretton Grandison • Ledbury HR8 2TP

Previous page: Resumé

Employer:	Self	Location:	Herefordshire, UK	Dates:	8.2004 - present
Duties	Created Curious Minds. Located suppliers. Website uses OScommerce. Added products. Created graphics. Advertising and promotion, esp. Google AdWords.

Employer:	internet.com	Location:	Charlottesville, VA	Dates:	3.98 - 3.99
Duties	Operated WDVL.com - one of the web's most popular web developer sites; articles and links (internet.com). Wrote and commissioned articles on web development. Coordinated remote staff and authors from home office. Liaised with head office in Westport, CT. Grew site's monthly page views from 1 to 3 million, resulting in much-increased advertising revenue.

Employer:	Hughes/STX (Raytheon)	Location:	NASA/GSFC, Washington DC	Dates:	3.93 - 8.95
Duties	Research and development of heterogeneous analysis and data base environments to provide generic software tools for astronomers, esp. an interactive web site to query astronomical satellite data. Group leader for 6 programmers. Monitored the technical performance of staff in the group; reviewed deliverables & enforced applicable standards & procedures; provided presentation of the group's activity in the monthly review meetings; performed annual reviews & recommended salary actions. Web projects: W3Browse Query astrophysics satellite data and deliver products (e.g. images) (paper). RPS Remote Proposal Submission system (abstract). WebStars Astrophysics in Cyberspace (paper). StarChild A Learning Center for Young Astronomers (proposal). Gatewayed several astronomical tools to the WWW. Founded & led Space Science Web Group. Created A Basic HTML Style Guide. Presented work on XVT & WWW at the ADASS conferences (III and IV). Made several presentations about the WWW at GSFC.

Employer:	European Synchrotron Radiation Facility	Location:	Grenoble, France	Dates:	11.90 - 3.93
Duties	Allocated and monitored tasks of 4 programmers. Developed GUIs for beamline experiments, attenuator, & slit control. Implemented software & documentation standards; developed documentation utilities & a standard ESRF style. Founded Software Practices Group & led the development of General Programming Standards. Wrote Software Development Manual. Introduced SPR (Software Problem Reporting) system. Developed an application framework to support GUI development. Rewrote Proteus user interface toolkit to facilitate porting classical applications to X-windows on UNIX workstations.

Employer:	Space Telescope Science Institute	Location:	Baltimore, USA	Dates:	8.88 - 5.90
Duties	Developed user interfaces for HST scientific operations. Enhanced the Proposal Entry Processor software, e.g. addition of Solar System Target List. This system is the astronomer's primary interface for specifying proposed observations & ensuring that the proposals are syntactically correct & apparently feasible. Wrote HST Resource Usage Tool. Attended US National Conference on Software Reusability. Liaised with European colleagues.

Employer:	Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility	Location:	Garching-bei-München, Germany	Dates:	7.85 - 7.88
Duties	Developed user interfaces for HST scientific operations. Designed and developed STARCAT to allow astronomers to browse the HST Archive and to request images stored on optical disks. Developed a user interface toolkit, Proteus, to support STARCAT & other applications worldwide. Led ESO working group on software standards, & the European Space Information System (ESIS) working group on User Interface Requirements.

Employer:	Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics	Location:	Garching-bei-München, Germany	Dates:	6.83 - 6.86
Duties	JET was the world's largest magnetic confinement fusion experiment which aimed at confirming the scientific theory of fusion and the scientific feasibility of nuclear fusion for power generation. Designed and developed user interfaces and control and data acquisition software for plasma diagnostics; installed and commissioned at JET.

Employer:	Tractebel	Locations:	Brussels, Belgium, and JET, Culham, UK	Dates:	4.78 - 5.83
Duties	Extended display management, database, & monitoring systems for Doel 3 nuclear power stations [FORTRAN on Gould SEL with RTM OS]. Transferred to JET, Culham, where I designed and developed real-time and interactive components of the control and data acquisition data base system (CODAS).

Employer:	Wimpey Laboratories	Location:	Hayes, MX, UK	Dates:	9.75 - 3. 78
Duties	Supported users, specified requirements, designed, documented & programmed civil engineering applications. Constructed scientific laboratory database systems, e.g. off-line storage of test results for graphics plot. [FORTRAN on PDP 11's with RSX/11M OS, & on ICL 1900's with GEORGE 3 OS].