Research and Personal Projects

As young as I can remember, I have always been drawn towards computers and mechanical objects.
Growing up I possessed a curious engineer's mindset and continued to ask myself one simple question when exploring the world around me.
"How does that work?"
This question has formed the foundation for the projects I have undertaken, sparked my passion for self-learning and has further deepened my enthusiasm for all things centred around Information Technology.

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Software Development

Developing Mobile applications for iOS Devices

Since I was introduced to software development in 2016 by a high school teacher, I have continued teaching myself how to use the programming language Swift and the Apple Ecosystem to create and deliver applications to help people in day-to-day life.

One application that I have developed currently in a closed beta is a study utility application called TestMi. The goal of TestMi is to instantly generate palm cards based on the indentation of bullet points in any word document the user selects, which is stored on Google Drive. This project is very important to me as I have continued to utilise this tool throughout my studies before exams and closed-book quizzes. The app has also saved me valuable time from creating the palm cards myself.

Another application I am currently developing is a cumulative shift earnings tracker called Hourly Hero. This application is designed for casual workers on an hourly wage to track their earnings by the second. This app will allow for Apple Watch compatibility to work alongside the standalone iOS application.

Electronics Repair

Computers, video game controllers & consoles and iPhone displays

Since a very young age, I have been fascinated by how electronics work and the various components of a device work together. This means that when an electronic device stops working, I instinctively take this as a challenge upon myself to repair the device and save it from contributing to the 140 000 tonnes of electronic waste generated in Australia annually.

Below is a list of some of the larger repair projects undertaken:

Xbox 360 Console - The device was not powering on. I disassembled the console and cleaned it. This miraculously fixed the issue, and the console powered it on.
iPhone 6s Plus Screen - The glass on the front display had broken. I ordered a replacement screen and swapped the display to a new one, solving the issue.
Xbox One Controller - Sugary Liquids damaged the controller making buttons unusable. Fixed the controller by dismantling the controller, soaking the plastic components in isopropyl alcohol, delicately cleaning the board with the same liquid, and reassembling the controller.

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Computer Building

Component selection, building, upgrading, troubleshooting

One late night in 2014, I came across a video on YouTube titled something along the lines of "How to build your very own computer from scratch". This video sparked a passion in me for computing. I began to research and teach myself in my free time as much as possible about building and customising my very own computer. After only a couple of months of research, I went out and purchased the components necessary to build my very own computer from scratch.

This skill and my passion for computing are now utilised daily in my current position at Nanosonics. I have built several other computers since teaching myself this skill both commercially (e.g., Cyrius Media Group) and privately for friends and family.

My experience in building computers and knowledge of how the various components interact has allowed me to develop the skill to be able to quickly and efficiently diagnose and troubleshoot hardware issues on a computer and when possible, repair the problem.

What will I teach myself next?

I am currently working towards completing the following online courses in order to continue to up-skill myself:

1) Undertake the AWS Educate Course

2) Enhance my cyber security skills by undertaking training at Hack the Box Academy

3) Undertake the Harvard University Introduction to Computer Science