Alan B. Scrivener
abs@well.com
(714) 289-1554
[address available by return email]

skills

Pre-sales technical support, software development (object-oriented and structured programming), software porting and optimization, creating and delivering technical presentations, hands-on customer training, trade-show demos and fielding of technical questions, systems administration, clear technical writing.

applications

Design and implementation of enterprise software, including user-interface, database access, intranet/internet, and client-server components over local and wide area networks, for personnel, production tacking and e-commerce applications. Scientific computing and 2- and 3-dimensional visualization, especially Geographical Information Systems (GIS), earth resources mapping, planetary imaging, high-energy electromagnetic simulations, computational fluid dynamics including aerodynamics and meteorology, computational and ab initio chemistry, multispectral 3D imaging including non-destructive testing, geology sample analysis, and ground-penetrating imaging for mining and security use, medical imaging for diagnosis and treatment planning.

languages / operating systems

Java, C (K&R and ANSI), Objective C, C++, SmallTalk, FORTRAN 77, many assembly languages, UNIX (all System V, BSD and OSF variants), MS-DOS, Windows 3.1, 95 & NT, Macintosh Systems 6, 7 and 8, Rhapsody (Apple), Mach (NeXT).

development tools

Symantec Visual Cafe Pro (Java/GUI), WebObjects, Next/OpenStep, X Windows X11, PHIGS+, PEX, Application Visualization System (AVS) and AVS/Express.

hardware

IBM PC and clones (x86 and Pentium); Macintosh; NeXT "black cube"; Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) all models since Iris; Sun Microsystems SPARC series (SunOS and Solaris); Hewlett-Packard 700 series; IBM RISC System 6000 series; Digital Equipment Corp. DECstation 5000 & Alpha models; Data General Aviion.

experience

Apple logo Apple Computer Inc.'s Enterprise Software Division (headquartered at One Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014), formerly (prior to Feb. 1997) NeXT logoNeXT Software Inc. (headquartered at 900 Cheasapeake Dr., Redwood City, CA), a producer of object-oriented software tools for enterprise client/server and intranet/internet applications, as systems engineer (pre-sales) in the Irvine sales office (18301 Von Karman, Suite 1000, Irvine, CA 92612) provided technical support for sales teams calling on large commercial accounts selling WebObjects and OpenStep application development tools (for Java, Objective C, C++ and C), and operating systems software, developed by NeXT. Job evaluation and bonus compensation based on software revenue in the western region of North America; after joining Apple this region produced strong revenue and growth during the last 3 quarters of Apple's fiscal '97 (ending in September 1997), contributing to WebObjects being rated the number one enterprise intranet tool by IDC. This ex-NeXT software revenue also contributed to the Apple recovery, and the doubling of Apple's stock value during the same period. (November 1996 to November 1997)

ObjectF|X logo Object|FX Corporation (headquartered at 2515 Wabash Ave., Suite 100, St. Paul, MN 55114), a producer of object-oriented geospatial visualization tools for client/server and World Wide Web (WWW), as systems engineer (pre-sales) in the Irvine sales office (2030 Main Street, Suite 1300, Irvine, CA 92614) provided technical support for SmallTalk-based software development tools for Geographical Information System (GIS) functionality as application components in network environments connecting desktop clients to database servers. (April 1996 to November 1996)

AVS logo Advanced Visual Systems, Inc. (headquartered at 300 Fifth Ave., Waltham, MA 02154) , a visualization software producer: as systems engineer (pre-sales) in the Irvine sales office (2102 Business Center Court, Suite 130 Irvine, CA 92715) provided technical support for salespeople of 3D graphics software development tools (for C and C++) for UNIX and PC deployments. Duties included UNIX, Mac and Windows system administration, programming and operating demos, technical presentations and assisting customers with software design and debugging. Job success was measured by sales in the southwest US. In 1994 the salesperson I supported made the biggest sale in company history ($1.8 million) and in 1995 that salesperson was highest over quota (%110). (August 1992 to April 1996)

Kubota logo Kubota Pacific Computer Inc. (headquartered at 2630 Walsh Ave., Santa Clara, CA 95051) a manufacturer of graphics supercomputers: as senior systems analyst (pre-sales) in the Santa Monica sales office (120 Broadway, Suite 203, Santa Monica, CA 90401) ported and tuned prospects' computational benchmarks in FORTRAN and C for performance on a symmetric multiprocessor architecture with vector math unit, used prospect data in scientific visualization demos, wrote graphics demo programs, prepared and gave technical sales presentations and customer training sessions, planned and executed trade and road shows, administered office/road demo systems, and wrote RFQ technical responses. I was hand-picked for this job out of a field of 6 western SEs, when Kubota purchased the Stardent hardware line. (January 1992 to August 1992)

Stardent Computer Inc. (headquartered at 85 Wells Ave., Newton, MA 01581), a manufacturer of graphics supercomputers: as senior systems analyst (pre-sales) in the Los Angeles sales office (5757 Century Blvd., Suite 450, Los Angeles, CA 90045) duties identical to Kubota (above); was voted systems analyst of the year for western U.S. two out of three years and sent with spouse to Sales Club. (February 1988 to December 1991)

Rockwell logo Rockwell International's Space Station Systems Division (12214 Lakewood Blvd., Downey, CA 90241), a manufacturer of manned space vehicles: as consulting programmer working with a colleague designed and implemented an interactive key-frame animation package in C to run on a real- time 3-D graphics system; as staff computer graphics programmer designed and implemented software tools in C and used these tools to produce simulations and videotapes of space station assembly as well as other space vehicles and mechanisms. (October 1985 to February 1988)

GTI Corporation's Computer Graphics Division (10060 Willow Creek Rd., San Diego, CA 92131), a manufacturer of real-time 3-D interactive graphics systems: as applications engineer (pre- and post-sales) worked with customers to resolve graphics software problems, wrote graphics demo programs and gave presentations with them; as software project leader wrote specifications for the user interface to graphics system software, managed software development teams to implement, enhance and maintain internal real-time software of graphics systems; and as documentation manager hired and trained technical writers for hardware and software and established documentation guidelines and version numbering systems. (January 1983 - May 1985)

conferences / publications

training

education

UCSC seal
University of California at Santa Cruz
: Majored in Information Sciences. Major courses included: game theory, probability, simulation, control theory, communication theory, and 3-D perspective computer graphics. Electives included: calculus, physics, statistics, economics, linguistics, technical theater (lights and sound), psychology, seminar leading and writing. Taught a course in "Whole Systems," acted in summer theater, edited college newspaper for two years. (Sept. 1971 to June 1975; Jan. - June 1977)

Last update: 17-Dec-1997 by ABS.