sharons.site

🌟 highlights

Here are some highlights in my journey.

πŸ“œ Second Patent Published & Accepted by USPTO

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

🧭 Joined Interledger Technical Steering Committee

I was invited to join the Interledger Technical Steering Committee alongside some incredible technologists and community members.

As a team, we seek to improve the RFC and proposal processes for standards and projects in the Interledger ecosystem.

Some areas of focus include:

  • feedback intake process
  • deliberation on requested changes
  • overall technical community experience

πŸ“œ First Patent Published & Accepted by USPTO

Back 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.

Patent processes tend to take a while, but alas, I am officially a named inventor on a published patent!

πŸ₯‰ Best Web Monetization Innovator: Runner-Up

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

πŸŽ– Outstanding Technical Achievement Award

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.

πŸ’° Awarded $20,000 USD Grant

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.

πŸ₯ˆ 2nd Place in "Let's Fix the Internet" Hackathon

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 β€” and understand the purpose of β€” Web Monetization.

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

πŸ… Runner-Up in Grant for the Web x DEV Hackathon

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.

πŸ“œ Filed Second Patent

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

πŸ“ Published First Blog Post

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

πŸ“œ Filed First Patent

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.

πŸŽ“ University of Calgary Grad Spotlight

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.

πŸ’ƒ Performed Aerial Silks for the First Time

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.

Thank you Aerial Antics and Glowfair 2019 for having me!

πŸ† Won Top Prizes at the Vatican Hackathon

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

πŸ₯ˆ Won 2nd Place at First Pitch Competition

Pitched AccessABLE at the 2017 Pitch Clinic Pitch Off Competition

🚌 Developed Accessible Transportation App Prototype

Won 1st Place at the 2017 Calgary Interprofessional Challenge.