:warning: Under construction :construction: :construction_worker:

Hi, I’m James!

From a young age, I loved building and creating. In my childhood, that manifested in intricate Lego structures and family woodworking projects. In college, I studied Mechanical Engineering, spending many days and nights in the machine shop and electronics lab. Early in my career, I designed and built next-generation 5G wireless antenna systems. Later on, I helped to develop and deploy autonomous earth-moving robots.

Along the way, I discovered and cultivated a passion for building systems at the intersection of hardware, software, and the cutting edge of what is possible. Most importantly, though, I am excited by getting those systems out of the lab and doing useful work in the real world.

In my current professional role, I collaborate with an extremely talented and multidisciplinary team at Autodesk Research. We are investigating and building adaptive robotics systems for the manufacturing and AEC industries. On any given day I could be writing hardware drivers or robotics infrastructure code, manipulating CAD models, reading research papers, or helping robots interact with the world around them in the lab. This is a sweet spot of hardware/software systems that push the boundary of today’s technical limits.

Outside the office (or whatever that means in this post-COVID-19 era), I love being active, especially in nature. Lately, that means long hikes or climbs in the Sierra Nevada. Rock climbing is another sweet spot for me, where it is physically and mentally challenging and requires constant learning, creativity, and preparation. It also helps that, aside from the climbing gym, outdoor climbing venues are some of the most beautiful places on Earth.

When not climbing, I can be found wandering the Potrero Hill neighborhood of San Francisco or reading. When not eating salads at home, I can be found scouring the Bay Area for pizza that doesn’t insult my NY-native sensibilities or a burrito that can live up to Honest Tom’s from Philly. I’m open to recommendations on either, but please submit a CV with your food critic credentials so I can determine if you can be trusted.

This site is an experiment. A random assortment of posts and musings. Feel free to follow along and reach out!