Education
- 2006 – Master of Applied Science, The University of British Columbia, Electrical and Computer Engineering
I completed my master’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. My master’s thesis proposed changes to the new H.264 video standard to increase efficiency and also a transition scalability scheme (H.264 extended layer on a MPEG-2 base layer) for cable operators. My supervisor for my degree was Dr. Panos Nasiopoulos, who was part of the original team that brought the digital video disc (DVD) to the world.
I graduated with a perfect GPA – all “A”s in my academic courses, as well as my thesis and presentation.
- 2000 – Bachelor of Applied Science, The University of British Columbia, Engineering Physics
Engineering Physics was one of the only degrees offered at UBC that involved a full five years of academic study instead of four. As a result, it was thought to be the most difficult undergraduate degree offered in western Canada. The degree involved completion of many difficult physics courses (quantum mechanics, solid state physics, nuclear physics), as well as a combination of mechanical, electrical and computer engineering courses.
I graduated with an “A” average, and completed my degree under the Chancellor’s Entrance Scholarship.
Honours and Awards
- 2011 – Patent US7958276B2, Automatic configuration of peripheral devices
- 1995-2000 – Academic Dean’s List, The University of British Columbia
- 1995 – Chancellor’s Entrance Scholarship, The University of British Columbia
- 1995 – Full Scholarship, Simon Fraser University (Turned down to attend UBC)
Work Experience
- 2008 – 2017, BraveNewCode Inc., Co-founder and Lead Developer
I was one of the original co-founders for BraveNewCode Inc., a Canadian software company that initially designed and built WordPress websites for clients. Some of our clients were Juno award winning musician Matthew Good, country music star Jessie Farrell, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, and one of Vancouver’s largest software companies, Vision Critical.
We developed two popular WordPress plugins, WPtouch and WordTwit. WPtouch was voted the #1 plugin for all of WordPress in 2009, and WordTwit was voted #3. WPtouch was acquired by SureSwift Capital Inc. in October of 2016.
- 2004 – 2008, CounterPath Solutions Inc., Principal Engineer
I was originally hired to add video capabilities to CounterPath’s (formerly Xten Networks) flagship voice over IP product. After adding video, I helped acquire a few key contracts, including Yahoo! and British Telecom. I was then promoted to one of two principal engineers in the company: I was responsible for overseeing the entire suite of voice over IP products and for acting as a mentor for the other engineers. I eventually took over lead development of the company’s media stack (audio and video) which was licensed to companies such as Yahoo! and used in over 100 million active end points.
- 2001 – 2002 JDS Uniphase Inc., New Product Introduction (NPI) Product Engineer
I was responsible for the manufacturing line where JDSU’s most advanced and experimental products were being developed. These included Bragg-grating based tuneable dispersion compensators, laser welded thin-film optical filters, and a MEMS-based optical cross connect. My role was to oversee the manufacturing process for each product and help convert it into an active and profitable product.
- 2000 – 2001, JDS Uniphase Inc., DWDM Product Engineer
I was responsible for the manufacturing of fibre-optic components used in networking. I was responsible, from an engineering perspective, for approximately $500,000 USD of revenue per week.
I was given two promotions within my first year (with a corresponding 50% increase in salary) and was promoted to the New Product Introduction group in 2001 to help bring JDSU’s most important products to market.
Publications and Presentations
- 2013 – Presentation, “Commercializing WordPress Plugins”, WordPress Sydney Meetup – Sydney, Australia
- 2011 – Presentation, “Going Social – Social Media Enhancements to WordPress Websites”, WordPress Vancouver Meetup, Vancouver, Canada
- 2009 – Presentation, “The State of the Mobile Web”, WordCamp Portland, Portland, Oregon
- 2006 – Journal Paper – “An Efficient Statistical Intra-mode Prediction Method for H.264“, Signal Processing and Information Technology, 2006 IEEE International Symposium on, pp. 803 -806, aug., 2006.
- 2006 – Masters Thesis – Joint MPEG-2/H.264 scalable coding and enhancements to H.264 intra-mode prediction
- 2004 – Journal Paper – “Multimodel Fine Resolution Ensembles for Short-Range Forecasts in Mountainous Terrain”, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Recommendations
- Jason Fischl, Remind Inc., VP of Engineering
“Duane worked in my team at CounterPath. He was the author of our our media stack (audio/video). His expertise in this area is world-class and we were very lucky to have him. He works well with other engineers and does extremely well with customers. Duane is a great team player and is willing to chip in and work on whatever it takes to get the job done. I would whole-heartedly recommend him.”
- Sean O’Neil, Video Analytics and BIDirector, Software Development
“Duane is one of those unique engineers who sees the big picture. He has the capacity to solve very complex abstract problems quickly and aggressively. He is an expert in the areas of video and audio processing. He is a great team player and is always willing to pitch in to help the team or to teach someone how to solve a problem.”
- Martin Kuplens-Ewart, EventMobi, Product Manager
“Duane has a marvellous analytical mind that allows him to conceptualize large problems, explore a variety of opportunities, then crystallize and effectively communicate solutions that reflect deep insights into technical architecture, user behaviour, and future expansion.”
