David R. Azari
Seattle, WA

 

OBJECTIVE

A summer research position in machine learning and/or distributed systems.  Hone research skills by working with leading professionals at a major research facility.

RESEARCH INTERESTS
  • Discovering knowledge in mixed-media resources.
  • Information retrieval, intelligent agents and the Internet.
  • Scalable algorithms for reinforcement learning.
  • Peer-to-peer networking.
  • Applications of data mining to intrusion detection.

QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS
  • Expanding computer programming skills in C/C++, Java, Prolog, and Perl.
  • Expertise with Windows NT, Linux, and Microsoft Visual C++ development environment.
  • Experience with commercial DBMS systems (SQL Server, Oracle), using XML to exchange data over the Web.
  • Proficient with several flavors of Unix, including Linux, HP-UX, Irix, AIX, Solaris, OSF1.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Research Assistant: 6/01 – present. University of Washington Computer Science. Investigate applications of reinforcement learning to mobile robotics with Dieter Fox.  Use Q-Learning to derive a policy for allocating a robot’s visual resources, especially with regards to problems within the robotic soccer domain.

Teaching Assistant: 9/00 – 6/01. University of Washington Computer Science.
Compose, administer, and grade all homework assignments and programming projects for an undergraduate artificial intelligence class (Fall ’00 with Pedro Domingos).  Manage project teams in a senior capstone course in embedded system design (Winter ’01 with Gaetano Boriello).  

Research Assistant: 6/00 – 8/00. University of Pennsylvania Computer Science.
Investigate the “Action-Transition Policy Gradient” (ATPG) reinforcement learning algorithm, as conceived by Lyle Ungar and Greg Grudek at the Univesity of Pennsylvania.  Successfully apply it to the problem of conserving power in wireless systems.  Code a simulation and formulate a research paper with the results. 

Teaching Assistant: 1/00 – 6/00. University of Pennsylvania Computer Science.
Help formulate machine learning curriculum for an undergraduate artificial intelligence class. Grade homework assignments and programming projects.

Software Developer: 6/98 - 8/99. Tripwire Security Systems, Portland OR.
Worked with a team of software engineers in the task of rewriting Tripwire, a security tool that detects intrusion via integrity checking. Actively participated in a large-scale C++ project. Performed research in order to facilitate the development of Tripwire, particularly in the areas of operating systems, cryptography, and distributed systems. Helped scale Tripwire from a single-machine application to an "enterprise" solution, which supports centralized reporting, updating, and dispatch of Tripwire daemon programs. Completed primary design of the authentication scheme between console and daemon. Implemented SSL channel encryption for Tripwire applications.

EDUCATION

University of Washington, 9/00 – present.
Ph.D. program in Computer Science & Engineering.

University of Pennsylvania, 9/99 – 8/00.
M.S. in Computer & Information Science.
GPA: 3.8

Lewis & Clark College (Portland, OR), 9/93 - 6/97.
B.A. with honors in International Relations. Minor in East Asian Studies.
Major GPA: 4.0 Cumulative GPA: 3.9

HONORS & AWARDS
  • Lewis & Clark College Dean's List, Fall 1993 - Spring 1997.
  • Member, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.
  • Completed honors thesis entitled: "The Language Trap: effects and implications of the use of euphemism during the Vietnam War."
  • University of Pennsylvania, awarded University Fellowship for study in Computer Science.
  • University of Washington, awarded Engineering Fellowship.