Short Bio for Alex Fritze
- Born 1971 in Berlin, Germany.
- 1990-1995: Physics student at the Freie Universität Berlin
- 1995/96: MSc in
Optoelectronic and Laser Devices at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh and University of St. Andrews
in Scotland (Dissertation topic: "Flip-chip bonded GaAlAs-GaAs multiple quantum well modulators")
- 1996-2002: PhD in Physics at Heriot-Watt University, looking at integrating optoelectronic devices such as VCSELs
(Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers) and photodetectors with high-speed electronic chips, the idea
being to leverage optics for inter- or even intra-chip data communication.
(Thesis topic: "Integration of Optoelectronic Devices, Electronic Circuitry and Optical Waveguides"
[View as PDF (Size: 4MB) | View abstract])
- 1998-2003: Software developer at Crocodile Clips Ltd.,
Scotland. Here I developed the
Crocodile Physics
optics simulation component,
much of the Mozilla-based
Crocodile Mathematics program and the company's Tomcat/Struts/PostgreSQL-based customer portal.
As part of the Crocodile Mathematics project, I also wrote much of the current
native Mozilla SVG implementation
[project home |
contributed code |
resources], as well as several other bits of Mozilla enabling technology (XTF, JSSh).
- 2003->: Mozilla-based application-development. Some consulting, then at Joost, now at 8x8.
- First successful software project: My first 'commercially successful' piece of software was a
printer driver for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum written in Z80 assembler, which I sold maybe 10 copies of in 1984 (on then state-of-the-art Microdrive cartridges!).
- Worst software disasters: Many, but I'd rather not talk about them ;-)
- Current main projects:ZAP
- Other pet projects: Oni, an orchestration language inspired by Orc
- Computer-related interests: Mozilla-as-application-platform, metaprogramming related things, such as
metaobject protocols,
Haskell template metaprogramming and
multi-stage programming. Recently I've become more interested in process calculi (lambda calculus) and
structured concurrent programming as embodied by Orc.
- Favourite editor: I've switched from XEmacs to Emacs!!
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