Philip Dasler

Philip Dasler

Recent PhD graduate from the University of Maryland department of Computer Science

Curriculum Vitae

Education

PhD in Computer Science, University of Maryland, College Park, 2020

  • Dissertation Title: Efficient Algorithms for Coordinated Motion in Shared Spaces
  • Focus: Computational Geometry, Algorithm Design, Computational Complexity
  • Advisor: David M. Mount

MS in Computer Science, University of Houston, 2011

  • Thesis Title: Playing Challenging Iterated Two-Person Games Well: A Case Study on the Iterated Traveler’s Dilemma
  • Focus: Computational Intelligence and Game Theory
  • Advisor: Predrag Tošić

BS in Computer Science, University of Texas at Austin, 2005


Work experience

Adobe, Inc.

  • Summer 2019: Data Science Research Intern

    Designed, implemented, and deployed an IoT ecosystem of low-cost LED indicators for guiding users to their destinations quickly, easily, and with minimal cognitive load. Conducted a multi-stage, exploratory study to determine existing navigational challenges and gauge user interest in various possible navigational solutions. Designed and implemented a mechanism for the rapid ingestion and preparation of map data. Created a central framework for integrating, controlling, and interacting with an ecosystem of mixed-fidelity devices. Evaluated the deployed system prototype using a mixed methods approach, including a controlled user experiment and semi-structured interview.

Locurio, Inc.

  • 2015 to present: Co-Founder/Technology Lead

    Co-founder of consistently highest rated escape room experience in Seattle. Led technology design for one of two escape rooms and consulted on technical implementation for the second. Designed interactive puzzles from concept phase to implementation and contributed to story design.

University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS)

  • 2013 to 2016: Graduate Research Assistant

    Worked on a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project to explore the theoretic and computational concerns involved in the deployment of large scale, autonomous vehicle systems. This research is motivated by the question of whether the field of algorithm design can contribute positively to practical engineering solutions, with the aim to identify fundamental optimization problems that are simple enough to be analyzed formally, but realistic enough to contribute to the eventual design of actual traffic management systems.

  • 2012 to 2013: Graduate Research Assistant

    Worked in the Computational Linguistics and Information Processing (CLIP) lab on a machine translation project that attempted to verify and refine translations through the comparison of back-translations with the original source text. This work involved the use and integration of an existing translation framework (cdec, developed by Chris Dyer) along with custom software for iterative comparison and translation refinement.

  • 2011 to 2012: Programmer

    Supported the Foresight and Understanding from Scientific Exposition (FUSE) Program funded by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) by creating tools in Python for the detection of emerging technical concepts within a large corpus of published scientific, technical, and patent literature. These tools include a naive Bayes classifier, a custom UIMA-Python interface, and a series of feature extraction and metric gathering programs.

United Space Alliance

  • 2007 to 2011: Computer Science Staff II

    Developed, supported, and troubleshot math models within a real-time simulation architecture for the simulation of complex avionics, mechanical systems, space craft dynamics and kinematics, and natural environment effects for the NASA-JSC CEV Avionics Integration Laboratory.

Multimedia Games (now Everi Holdings, Inc.)

  • 2006 to 2007: Mod Programmer

    Modified library of existing video slot-machine games to comply with various regional laws and requirements. Includes debugging game logic, framework, and hardware, as well as modifying finite state machine based logic.

Lockheed Martin Honors Graduate Internships

  • 2005: Ground Systems Support Team

    Created and maintained an Access database with a Visual Basic front end for creating, editing, tracking, and closing Mission Control Center Incident Reports.

  • 2004: Mission Support Section

    Translated and updated dynamics/kinematics modeling software for monitoring real-time Space Shuttle/International Space Station docking; includes translating from C++ and Fortran to Java and creating a Graphical User Interface for the resulting software.

  • 2002, 2003: Dextrous Robotics Lab (DRL)

    Completed various projects in support of Robonaut, the DRL’s humanoid robot, and the Dexterous Anthropomorphic Robotic Testbed (DART); includes creating and assembling power distribution boards and force feedback hand controllers, graphical interfaces for text-to-speech and dynamical control capabilities, and conducting demonstrations and similar minor projects for visiting K-12 students, researches, and lab guests.

  • 2001: Command System Section

    Provided software development and support for Real-Time Command Systems within the Johnson Space Center Mission Control Center.

  • 2000: Consolidated Space Operations Contract

    Updated software package and subsequent training documentation for the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, including a real-time telemetry simulation program.

Publications

Talks

Teaching

Training

  • Teaching at the Collegiate Level, provided by The Teaching and Learning Center at The University of Maryland, completed 2014
  • Entrepreneurship Essentials Program, provided by the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute at The University of Maryland, completed 2012

Service

  • International Workshop on Combinatorial Algorithms (IWOCA) Reviewer, 2018
  • Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG) Reviewer, 2018
  • International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP) Reviewer, 2015
  • Graduate Student Representative on Computer Science Department Education Council, 2014
  • Graduate Student Representative on Computer Science Department Council, 2013
  • South Texas Regional FIRST Lego League Robotics Competition Judge, 2000

Awards

  • Quest for Excellence Technical Achievement Award, United Space Alliance, 2008
  • Jack Seriff Presidential Endowed Scholarship, University of Texas, anually 2001 - 2005
  • Lockheed Martin Honors Graduate Internship, Lockheed Martin Space Operations, annually 2000 - 2004
  • Elite Team Award, NASA-JSC Automation, Robotics, and Simulation Division, 2003