I'm Shawn, but people who can't remember that know me as Rainbow. I am currently an Android developer at Tinder and was previously at Stride Health working on their expense and mileage tracking app. I'm very interested in Kotlin Multiplatform, but haven't found the chance to really dig in yet.

In addition to my professional work, I have an Android app that I created created from scratch and personally maintain called HoloCanon. Holocanon is a simple database/checklist for canonical Star Wars content. It is currently available on the Google Play store, and the code can be found on GitHub. You can find information about HoloCanon and my other personal projects under the Personal Projects tab above.

In December 2019, I completed my PhD in mathematics at the University of California, Davis. My work was in the field of DNA topology/computational knot theory under Mariel Vazquez of the Arsuaga-Vazquez lab.

Also, I used to host a radio show called Music Eclectica at the Davis community radio station, 95.7FM KDRT, where I share my varied tastes in music with the world.

In addition to my academic and professional work, I have a few personal projects:

HoloCanon (Android App: Play Store, GitHub)

This is an Android app I wrote to help myself keep track of what canonical Star Wars media I have and haven't consumed yet. I decided to flesh it out and release it for my fellow nerds, and it has been well-received so far. The core of the app is the listing of a database of canonical Star Wars content (novels, movies, TV shows, comics, etc.) with the ability to filter, sort, and check off items with three different checkboxes corresponding to user-defined parameters. I personally use two of the checkboxes for "completed" and "wishlist" so I can filter out things I've aleady read or watched, or filter in things that have piqued my interest more than others.

This app was originally written when I was first learning Android development. I periodically work to update it to better practices, but unfortunately it's still not quite up to the quality of my normal day-to-day work.

Untitled Video Game Project (Multiplatform?)

I recently got the urge to try to find a new RPG with a job system in the vein of Final Fantasy V (which is a highly underrated entry in the series as far as I'm concerned). I was surprised and disappointed to discover that there only a small list of games with in-depth job systems. Inspired by the success of indie games such as Stardew Valley, I decided to try my hand at my own interpretation of a job system-based JRPG-style game (with some strategy-game twists, if my current ideas pan out). It is in extremely early stages, but I'm using it as a good excuse to learn Kotlin multiplatform (which admittedly, may be a questionable choice for a video game) and dabble in some pixel art.

Knot Theory

My main PhD research was in the field of knot theory. I have explored cubic lattice links, as well as grid diagrams using Markov chains to determine the behavior of expected writhe as these links get larger. Additionally I have proven a version of the Frisch-Wasserman-Delbruck conjecture for grid diagrams (publication pending).

Much of my Markov chain work was written in Python, then later converted to Java. I wrote the framework for working with grid diagrams from scratch, but it was influenced by Gridlink written by Marc Culler. My code for grid diagrams can be found on GitHub. I have not yet cleaned up the code for use by others, so feel free to e-mail me if you wish to use it. That way I can modify the command line interface to actual user needs.

Publications

A Symmetry Motivated Link Table - Using writhe data gathered from Monte Carlo sampling of links in the simple cubic lattice, we presented a way to choose a standard isotopy class for links with minimum crossing number 9 or less. This should aid in the communication of future research where link symmetries may be important.

PhD Dissertation

Link Nomenclature, Random Grid Diagrams, and Markov Chain Methods in Knot Theory - PhD dissertation giving a canonical link nomenclature and exploring some random knotting methods, particularly in the context of grid diagrams and lattice links.

Master's Thesis

Covering Regions with k-Transmitters - Master's thesis exploring the k-transmitter problem, which is an extension of the art gallery problem.

Posters