FELLOWSHIPS, MENTORSHIP & INDUSTRY EVENTS
GDC University Scholar & Train Jam Developer Mentor (2018):
Selected as one of the five students sponsored by the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) to attend the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2018 in San Francisco. Participated in Train Jam 2018 - a 52-hour collaborative game development hackathon aboard an Amtrak train traveling from Chicago to San Francisco - where I built and shipped 'Tricky Tracks' (available on itch.io) and served as a peer mentor helping fellow developers debug and scope their projects.
Invited Academic Guest Lecturer - Game Development & Gamification (2015 - 2016):
Invited by the Computer Engineering faculty at Sinhgad College of Engineering and Cusrow Wadia Institute of Technology (Pune, India) to deliver multiple guest lectures to final-year engineering students. Topics included 'Introduction to 3D Game Development using Unity Engine,' 'Industrial Applications of Gamification,' and 'Game Systems Architecture & Documentation.'
Radio Astronomy, Astrophotography & STEM Outreach:
Licensed Amateur Radio Operator (Technician Class license, FCC Call Sign: K2EXO) conducting independent VHF meteor scatter radio astronomy and planetary astrophotography. Former active member and speaker with Astroclub, organizing public sky-watching events and delivering introductory astronomy presentations to school students.
Mathematical Theory-Crafting & Pre-Release QA testing:
Passionate about the mathematical modeling and optimization of complex game mechanics (aka 'theory-crafting'). Actively participated in closed Alpha/Beta technical tests for major titles - including World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and DOTA 2 - identifying and reporting critical edge cases and game-breaking bugs.
Large-Scale Gaming Community Leadership & Esports Organization:
Co-led a 200+ member gaming organization (game: World of Warcraft) and served as primary Raid Leader, directing real-time strategic execution, role coordination, and performance analysis for people in groups. Additionally, organized and directed collegiate LAN gaming tournaments with up to 150+ competitive participants (game: DOTA 2), designing tournament bracket progression systems, local network management, and prize distribution.
AWARDS & HONORS
Graduate Merit Scholarship Recipient - Rochester Institute of Technology (2016 - 2018):
Awarded a 30% merit-based tuition scholarship upon admission to RIT’s Master of Science in Game Design and Development program in recognition of prior academic excellence and technical portfolio strength.
Best Engineering Project Award - Cusrow Wadia Institute of Technology:
Awarded 1st place across 60 competing computer engineering student teams for architecting an automated, server-hosted academic assessment and scheduled grading platform.
2nd Rank - Sankalp Technical Paper Presentation - Cusrow Wadia Institute of Technology:
Awarded 2nd place at the Sankalp Technical Symposium hosted by Cusrow Wadia Institute of Technology for presenting research on Web Security and Security Vulnerabilities.