sharons.site

I was interviewed by the University of Calgary Faculty of Science to reflect on my undergraduate experience and share my advice for new and prospective students.

• Class of 2019: Sharon Wang didn't follow in her geologist parents' footsteps

This was my first time performing aerial silks at a public event. It was both nerve-wracking and thrilling to perform my routine right on Bank Street, in Ottawa, Canada.

Thank you Aerial Antics and Glowfair 2019 for having me!

In 2019, I filed my first patent "Deferred bytecode class verification in managed runtime environments" as part of my work at IBM, on the OpenJ9 Virtual Machine team.

The patent describes a way to speed up Java runtime startup, through an optimization on bytecode verification, which is a process that occurs during runtime startup. It describes deferring a part of the bytecode verification to a later stage, or if we're lucky, skipping it completely, to reduce time spent in startup. This gives way to faster startup of Java applications.

• View patent application "US20210081220A1" on Google Patents

As of October 2021, I am officially a named inventor on a published patent!

The patent number is different than the original one from filing the patent because filing a patent and having the patent issued are separate events, often years apart in time. Once the patent is issued, that new patent number is the official one that can be cited and referenced.

• View patent "US11150915B2" on Google Patents
• View PR implementing this optimization

Building on the previous invention for deferred bytecode verification, I filed "Bytecode verification using class relationship caching".

This patent describes a way to cache class relationships during the bytecode verification of an application's initial run, so that subsequent runs of the same application can benefit from previously cached class relationships. Subsequent runs of an application do not have to repeat the linear bytecode process already conducted in the initial run, speeding up the bytecode verification process and thus application startup.

• View patent application "US20210157552A1" on Google Patents
• View PR implementing this optimization

Towards the end of 2019 (while I was working on the OpenJ9 Virtual Machine team at IBM), I filed my second patent "Bytecode verification using class relationship caching". Finally, after almost 3 years, it has been issued! This is my first patent that I'm the first named inventor for :D

Figure 5 (control flow diagram) and Figure 6 (example code and corresponding bytecode) in the patent documents are directly based on diagrams that I created, translated into patent doc format by patent lawyers.

• View patent "US11403075B2" on Google Patents

I wrote my first blog post, which gives an overview of the implementation behind the patent "Deferred bytecode class verification in managed runtime environments".

• "Relationship verification… Let's get lazy!"

Awarded by IBM for technical innovation in the OpenJ9 Java Bytecode Verifier, as the principal contributor to the development of Class Relationship Verification, giving way to start-up time improvements that provide important performance enhancements in modern cloud environments.

• LinkedIn Post

Elliot and I built Akita: Get Involved in Web Monetization With or Without the Price Tag for the Grant for the Web x DEV Hackathon and won a runner-up prize!

Akita is a browser extension that gives users insight into their involvement with Web Monetization. It seeks to increase awareness and improve understanding of Web Monetization by providing individuals with helpful resources and insight into their online browsing.

In addition, Akita allows for more inclusive access to Web Monetization by enabling engagement with Web Monetization without having to commit money.

• Submission Post
• Hackathon Winners Announcement

After getting acquainted with Web Monetization through building our hackathon project Akita, Elliot and I came across Betawork's "Let's Fix the Internet" hackathon and felt that the hackathon theme was a great fit and participating in it would be a good way to continue our journey with Web Monetization.

For this hackathon, we built A Web Monetization Story: An interactive, story-based Web Monetization tutorial for online creators.

It's a website that seeks to help creators understand how simple it is to enable Web Monetization on their own sites. The Story of Auden and Chicken aims to engage users and help them relate to — and understand the purpose of — Web Monetization.

It includes a simple drag-and-drop tutorial to show the basic steps needed to get Web Monetization running on a site.

• Submission Post
• GitHub Repo
• Hackathon Winners Announcement

1 of 36 mid level grant awardees for the inaugural Grant for the Web Call for Proposals, for the Akita project (co-created with Elliot Evans), a continuation of our hackathon projects (Grant for the Web x DEV and Betahack "Let's Fix the Internet") along with a website and community outreach activities.

Mid level grants were funded at between $15,000 and $50,000 USD. Many of the projects in this category focus on experimenting and prototyping at the platform level, building monetization tools, and conducting research into how Web Monetization can benefit specific communities.

• Mid-Level Grantees Announcement

Selected as the Runner-Up for the Best Web Monetization Innovator of the 2020 Noonies.

• 2020 Hacker Noon Noonies Awards Announcement

I (Science) formed a team at the 2017 Calgary Interprofessional Challenge with Katie Ayer (Law), Ai-Men Lau (Social Work), Anna Li (Engineering), and Victoria Chang (Medicine). I don't think any of us knew each other previously, and it was pretty cool that we were all from different faculties.

Together we pitched an app "AccessABLE" for tracking the Access Calgary bus, an accessible transit service, to reduce wait times and improve the booking experience. For the pitch, I built a prototype in Powerpoint, mimicking a smartphone interface, with screens for the reservation flow and a map view to view the current location of the bus.

We ended up winning 1st Place!

• How might we improve accessibility for people with mobility issues in Calgary?

With the same team from the 2017 Calgary Interprofessional Challenge, we decided to pitch our app concept "AccessABLE" at the 2017 Pitch Clinic Pitch Off Competition.

We ended up winning 2nd Place, receiving in-kind consultation prizes to take our idea further.

• Winners Announcement

While studying at the University of Calgary, my peers and I were selected to compete at VHacks 2018, the first Hackathon at the Vatican in Rome, Italy.

We developed DUO Collegare, a platform to connect organizations and volunteers to inspire action, rather than just dialogue. The goal was to bring people from diverse backgrounds together, to work towards a common goal: social good.

I focused on the frontend of the platform, using Express, Handlebars, HTML and CSS. We were awarded 1st Place in the Interfaith Dialogue category, as well as the La Croix prize.

Press Coverage

• UCalgary News: "UCalgary team claims top prize at international Vatican hackathon"
• Recognized at Alberta Legislature
• Wired: "Inside the Vatican's First-Ever Hackathon"
• Times of Malta: "Would Jesus hack? - Gege Gatt"