Martin ambigram
Navigation: Home
Home
Navigation: Portfolio
Portfolio
Navigation: Topics
Topics
Navigation: Photos
Photos
Martin Kleppmann - Profile

Portfolio

For latest information, please also see my blog, my projects on Github and my LinkedIn profile.

For a general overview, there are pages on my skills and my interests.

My work and education is quite diverse, and I find that it doesn't fit well into a traditional CV format. I am working on a nice graphical visualisation of the data below, but it's not finished yet, so for now I'm afraid there's just a big long list of projects.

Ept Computing / Go Test It

From April 2007 to date, in the category work

Founder of start-up doing cross-browser testing of web applications.

Bid for Wine

From April 2008 until December 2008, in the category work

Responsible for end-to-end product design and delivery for Bid for Wine, an eBay-like auction website for wines. Under a contract with my company Ept Computing.

Mydeco

From August 2008 until October 2008, in the category work

Developed improvements for Mydeco's parser for content scraped from other websites. Under a contract with my company Ept Computing.

Imense

From April 2008 until May 2008, in the category work

Developed an SMS/MMS interface to Imense's content-based image search engine.
"Martin is very easy to work with. If there is a practical solution to your problem he will find it, he is not afraid of background research and he tests things. I have been very pleased with the work carried out by Martin at Ept and have no hesitation in recommending him. Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, Expert." — David Sinclair, CEO, Imense

Velocix/CacheLogic

From September 2007 until May 2008, in the category work

Designed and developed large parts of Velocix Portal, a complex Ajax-heavy JavaScript web application. Under a contract with my company Ept Computing.
"Martin was a key contributor from concept to deployment on the first release of Velocix Portal (AJAX heavy website for CDN customers to control content distribution and report on usage). Energetic, fast learning, very bright. A pleasure to work with. Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, High Integrity." — David Ferguson, Chief Architect, Velocix

Supervisor for Corpus Christi College

From April 2007 until June 2009, in the category work

Giving supervisions (teaching in groups of max. 3 people) in computer science for current students of the college. Taught courses on lambda calculus, prolog, databases, and mathematics for computer scientists.

"Die Türme des Februar", musical

From May 1998 until March 2007, in the category music

Between 1998 and 2006 I wrote the words and music for a 3-hour musical drama called "Die Türme des Februar" ("The towers of February"). This work was first performed in Germany in February 2007. For the performance I co-ordinated the participating groups (drama, orchestra, 3 choirs – 150 people in total), gave artistic advice, organised public relations and funding. See www.dietuermedesfebruar.de for details.

Milestones/awards:

Postgraduate studies in composition

From September 2006 until March 2007, in the categories education and music

Studied composition and orchestration at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow, UK. Eventually withdrew from the course because it did not match my expectations.

Scholarships:

Simulation of colliding constrained rigid bodies

From October 2005 until May 2006, in the category research

Conceived, developed and tested an application to simulate the dynamic behaviour of interacting rigid bodies. Within strict time constraints, I succeeded in managing technical uncertainties while delivering a solution whose accuracy and flexibility exceeded the requirements. The solution uses a range of programming languages, libraries and techniques to make best use of existing work. The dissertation was marked best of its year and has been published as a technical report of the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory. It includes some previously unpublished mathematical tools.

Milestones/awards:

Conductor, Bene't Club Orchestra

From October 2004 until June 2006, in the categories music and leadership

I conducted four concerts with the The Bene't Club Orchestra, in programmes consisting of a mixture of romantic and contemporary works. The Bene't Club Orchestra consists mostly of undergraduate members of Corpus Christi College and aims to provide an opportunity to play orchestral music in an informal and pleasant atmosphere.

Milestones/awards:

JCR Webmaster

From April 2004 until June 2006, in the category other

I led a team of four in developing and maintaining the interactive features of the JCR web site, in particular the online room ballot through which students can choose their rooms for the following year. Our software runs reliably under high demand during the operation of the ballot and provides a range of useful features. We also provided support to 250 users. Unpaid project commissioned by corpusJCR (students' union in college).

Corpus Christi College Choir

From November 2003 until July 2006, in the category music

I was a bass in the Corpus Christi College Choir, singing in three services per week during term-time.

Milestones/awards:

Strange, thought the Boy

From January 2004 until April 2006, in the category music

I played the bass guitar in this alt-rock band along with Dmitry Sharapov (guitar), Ben Harden (guitar), Tess Riley (vocals) and Ben Irving (drums). We wrote a few songs which we played alongside good alt-rock covers in college bars around Cambridge from time to time. No recordings, unfortunately.

Computer Science at Cambridge

From October 2003 until June 2006, in the category education

Undergraduate degree in Computer Science at Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge, UK. Achieved a high first class. Additional subjects: Physics, Maths.

Milestones/awards:

Zivildienst, Sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst

From September 2002 until June 2003, in the category work

Mandatory community service (Zivildienst, alternative to military service) full-time for 10 months at the Sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany. Work included care for people with psychiatric problems (visiting them at home, helping with everyday tasks, assistance in counselling sessions), secretarial duties by phone and in person, and occasional manual labour. Gained experience in communication, exercising patience and care, and dealing with local administration.

"Kryptopathen" electronic music project

From August 2001 until September 2003, in the category music

I was one of the 5 members of the Kryptopathen electronic music project, along with Jan Kettler, Alex Heß, Johannes Hauser and Philipp Scholz. We produced an album called "Limited Edition".

Milestones/awards:

Burstday/THG Abiband

From September 1999 until July 2003, in the category music

I played the bass and did background vocals in two bands with partially overlapping line-up, including Jan Kettler (guitar/vocals), Marcel Krüger (vocals), Alex Hesse (guitar), Philipp Scholz (keyboards), Johannes Hauser (keyboards) and Dan Pfeiffer (drums). We wrote and recorded a number of songs and played a variety of gigs.

Secondary school: Theodor-Heuss-Gymnasium, Aalen, Germany

From September 1994 until July 2002, in the category education

I attended a German state school for 8 years (instead of the usual 9, because I took exams one year early).

Awards:

Road traffic simulation "trafficiency"

From July 2002 until April 2005, in the category research

. Development of a software package to help engineers designing road systems. My role: Lead developer and manager of a team of 4 people. Included research to create a behaviour model, real-time 3D graphical output (OpenGL-based), user surveys. We were awarded prestigious prises in the German national science competition "Jugend forscht" in 2003. For this project I also filed a patent for a system to simulate the behaviour of car drivers. Joint project with Johannes Hauser, Alex Heß and Patrick Dietrich.

Milestones/awards:

Blender manual

From July 2003 until October 2003, in the category other

Blender is an open source modelling and rendering package for 3D graphics. I wrote two chapters, which were praised for their quality, for the Blender user manual. The user manual provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction and reference to all aspects of the software. It has been translated into nine languages and has been published in print.

Computer strategies for 5-in-a-row ("Morphion")

From July 2001 until June 2002, in the category research

Development of a program for research into strategies and tactics for the board game "5-in-a-row". As a team of 3 people, we secured an impressive fourth prize on the national level of the science competition "Jugend forscht" in 2002. Joint project with Johannes Hauser and Alex Heß.

Milestones/awards:

Web developer, NRC GmbH

From August 2000 until December 2001, in the category work

Paid work on various projects, including Linux webserver maintainance, maintainance/development for the official website of the town Aalen (Germany) including a proprietary internet chat server, webdesign, and translation of German websites into English. Gained experience in databases, scripting languages and internet protocols.

School magazine "Spion"

From October 2000 until April 2002, in the category leadership

Technical director and assistant editor of the school magazine "Spion"; wrote reports, political comments and editorial articles; acquired sponsors and advertising.

National and international computer science competitions

From September 2000 until May 2002, in the category other

Milestones/awards:

Simulation of a State

From February 2000 until September 2000, in the category leadership

Member of the core organiser team for this massive school project, in which all pupils and teachers were citizens of a simulated "state" for three days. Included a parliament, government and jurisdiction, a currency, and an internal economy with production, consumption, salaries and welfare/income support. During the months of intense preparation I worked on the design of the economic and financial cycle, and communicated to 900 pupils and teachers. For the three days of the project, I was elected Home Secretary and was responsible for organising the police.

MIDI viola

From August 1996 until April 1999, in the category research

Development and construction of a hardware-based device to pick up the notes played on a Violin or Viola, and transmit them to other devices via a standard MIDI port. Included research into pickup technologies, construction of a Z80-based computer from scratch and design, layout, routing, etching and soldering of all circuit boards. Entered into competition "Jugend forscht" in 1999.

Milestones/awards:

Fachhochschule Aalen

From August 1999 until November 1999, in the category work

Developed an Alumni database for Aalen University.

Electronic magnifying glass

From August 1995 until February 1996, in the category research

Development and construction of a camera-based "electronic magnifying glass" as aid for visually impaired people. Entered into competition "Jugend forscht" in 1996.

Altar server

From October 1993 until June 2002, in the category leadership

Weekly services in Catholic church over 9 years, later including training of new altar servers. Participation in annual charitable carolling event, leading groups of children.