Résumé — Jadrian Sardiñas

Introduction

With a deep background in computer science, mathematical modeling, and humane communication, I make immediate and lasting contributions to teams developing software for diverse purposes. My experiences as an interdisciplinary scientist, a teacher, and a self-taught programmer make me sensitive to the ways that other people — whether collaborators or customers — think and communicate, and lead me to document my work carefully. I love style guides, code reviews, literature searches, and long hikes in the woods. I thrill to tricky technical problems that require insight and teamwork to solve. I am committed to using my skills and privileges to make the world a more just, sustainable, and creative place, and I seek opportunities to work with people that share that commitment.

Software Engineering & Research

Research Consultant at Rhode Island Hospital (Bioengineering Lab, Orthopaedics Dept) — Providence, RI, 2013, 2016
- Diagnosed and resolved bugs in custom software triggered by topological artifacts in triangle meshes derived from MRI data. This enabled my client researchers to use a new and more sensitive technique for measuring cartilage thickness in pre-clinical trials for several years after my work.
- Built an extensible GUI application to allow non-programmers to use a custom software pipeline for MRI data processing.
Graduate Researcher at Brown University (Visualization Research Lab, Computer Science Dept) — Providence, RI, 2006–2015
- Designed a technique for model optimization in infinite-dimensional configuration spaces with both discrete and continuous parameters, supporting metaheuristics like simulated annealing.
- Created a mathematical model of brain structure and a GPU-accelerated algorithm to render synthetic MRI images from it.
- Collaborated across disciplines with scientists in Providence, RI; St. Louis, MO; Edinburgh; and Cape Town.
- Made frequent presentations, including over 25 one-hour talks given to my research group and others.
- Developed research software on Linux and Mac OS X in C/C++, GLSL, Python/Numpy, Matlab, and Bash.
Software Engineering Intern at Google — Cambridge, MA, 2011
- Designed, developed, and deployed the MapReduce back end of a customer-facing user interface for latency analytics, which went live on my final day.
Engineering Technician at Avid Technology — Tewksbury, MA, 2002–2008
- Researched and developed algorithms for video deinterlacing (machine learning), scene reconstruction (computer vision), and cryptographic steganography.
- Earlier projects included video codec evaluation; development of in-house codec testing workflow software; migration of the full corporate codebase to the Visual Studio .net compiler; software refactoring and optimization; software quality assurance; and network and hardware construction and maintenance.

Teaching

Instructor at Phillips Academy (Math/Stats/CS Dept) — Andover, MA, 2015–2016
- Taught AP CS, Software Design, Computer Graphics, and Data Structures.
- Designed the graphics course from scratch: a bottom-up approach in Python/Numpy and WebGL.
- Advised two teams, of three students each, on independent term-long projects: PACTF and Combinatorial Optimization.
- Co-instructed the outdoor learning program, Outdoor Pursuits, for two trimesters.
Visiting Instructor at Carleton College (Computer Science Dept) — Northfield, MN, 2013–2015
- Taught Intro, Data Structures, Discrete Math, Algorithms, and Software Design.
- Designed and taught an elective: Medical Image Analysis. Significantly redesigned Data Structures.
- Advised five student research assistants for two trimesters; advised three teams of seniors on two-trimester capstone projects; academic advisor for fourteen majors for one year. Managed undergraduate graders for most courses.
Instructor at Brown University (Computer Science Dept) — Providence, RI, 2013
- Taught Intro to Computation for the Humanities and Social Sciences and managed four undergrad TAs.
Teaching Assistant at Brown University (Computer Science Dept) — Providence, RI, 2008
- TA'd Virtual Reality Design for Scientific Visualization, including extensive virtual reality software support.
Undergraduate Teaching Assistant at Duke University (Computer Science Dept) — Durham, NC, 2004–2006
- TA'd Software Design, Computer Graphics, Numerical Analysis (grad-level), and Discrete Math. Taught one lecture for Computer Graphics.

Education

PhD in Computer Science, Brown University — Providence, RI, 2015
- Dissertation: A Multi-Scale Model of Brain White-Matter Structure and Its Fitting Method for Diffusion MRI.
  Committee: David H. Laidlaw (advisor), Peter J. Basser (NIH), John F. Hughes, and Benjamin J. Raphael.
ScM in Computer Science, Brown University — Providence, RI, 2008
B.S. with Distinction in Computer Science, B.S. in Mathematics, Duke University — Durham, NC, 2006

Mentoring

Co-Lead Mentor for Code for Philly — Philadelphia, PA, 2016
- Mentored a cohort of 12 early-career software developers in the DatJawn project.
- Designed a 20-week curriculum in version control theory, distributed systems, and software development.
Academic Mentor at New Urban Arts — Providence, RI, 2009–2011
- Mentored approximately a dozen high-school students in math and science at an open-door urban community art studio.

Skills

Programming and Markup Languages

Professional: C/C++, Kotlin, Matlab, Python/Numpy, SQL, LaTeX.
Proficient: Java, compliant HTML, CSS.
Familiar: GLSL, Make, Bash, Javascript, Go, PHP, Perl, SVG, SuperCollider, Processing.

Software and Libraries

Professional: Debian/Ubuntu Linux, Mac OS X.
Proficient: Windows XP, Eclipse, Visual Studio, Photoshop, Inkscape.
Familiar: OpenGL, JUnit, Git, Subversion, CVS, ClearCase.

Publications & Presentations

Journal Papers

A. Gongvatana, R. Cohen, S. Correia, K.N. Devlin, J. Miles, H. Kang, H. Ombao, B. Navia, D.H. Laidlaw, and K.T. Tashima. “Clinical Contributors to Cerebral White Matter Integrity in HIV-Infected Individuals”. Journal of Neurovirology, 17(5):477–486, 2011 .
R. Boller, S.A. Braun, J. Miles, and D.H. Laidlaw. “Application of Uncertainty Visualization Methods to Meteorological Trajectories”. Earth Science Informatics, 3(1–2):119–126, June 2010 .
D.F. Keefe, D. Acevedo, J. Miles, F. Drury, S.M. Swartz, and D.H. Laidlaw. “Scientific Sketching for Collaborative VR Visualization Design”. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 14(4):835–847, Jul–Aug 2008 .

Refereed Posters, Workshops, and Invited Talks

J. Miles and D.H. Laidlaw. “Predicting DTI Tractography Uncertainty from Diffusion-Weighted-Image Noise”. Poster at ISMRM 2012.
R. Boller, S. Braun, J. Miles, and D. Laidlaw. “Application of Uncertainty Visualization Methods to Meteorological Trajectories”. Talk at NASA/AGU Earth and Space Science Informatics Workshop, University of Maryland, Baltimore County. August 2009.
J. Miles. “A Specialized Inter-Curve Similarity Measure for Agglomerative Diffusion MRI Streamline Clustering”. Invited talk at the NIH Section on Tissue Biophysics and Biomimetics. May 2009.
J. Miles, R.A. Cohen, and D.H. Laidlaw. “Tradeoffs in Supersampling of DTI Metrics”. Poster at ISMRM 2009.
J. Miles, D.F. Keefe, D. Acevedo, F. Drury, S.M. Swartz, and D.H. Laidlaw. “Teaching Science in Virtual Reality with a Freehand 3D Illustration”. Poster at IEEE InfoVis 2007.

Instructional Workshops

J. Miles. “Regular Expressions, Text Processing, and Web Scraping”, a two-hour Python tutorial for research librarians at The Humanities and Technology Camp, New England at Brown University. October 2012.
J. Miles. “Fibbly Math Patterns”, a one-hour classroom workshop for elementary- and middle-school–age students. Facilitated ten sessions total in Damariscotta, ME and Philadelphia, PA. November 2011 – January 2013.
A. Gongvatana, J. Miles. “Diffusion MRI: Theory and Practice”, a three-hour workshop in the Biostatistics Program, Department of Public Health, Brown University. October 2010.