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curriculum vitae:

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EDUCATION

University of California, Davis, CA

Anticipated Graduation: 2015

Ph.D Student in English


University of California, Irvine, CA

September 2009

Master of Science in Information and Computer Sciences
  with a concentration in Arts Computation Engineering


University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA

May 2007

Bachelor of Arts in English
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
     Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society
     Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society
     University Honors Program, magna cum laude

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

Nguyen, J. "Playing with my Avatar: Relationships and Role-Playing in Games." Irvine, California: Annual UC Irvine Department of Comparative Literature Conference - Play: Towards a Critical Concept, 4-5 Apr. 2008.

Nguyen, J. "Rendering Real Life and Virtual Fear: Structuring Play, Performance, and Horror in Lifeline." Orlando, Florida: The 29th International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, 18-23 Mar. 2008.

PROJECT DEMONSTRATIONS AND EXHIBITIONS

Nguyen, J. freak!. Irvine, California: ACE 2009 Thesis Show. 9-12 June 2009.

Noack, N., Lindtner, S., Nguyen, J., Hayes, G., "LoRy: A Locative Story Game to Encourage Playful and Social Learning." Chicago, Illinois: Conference on Interaction Design for Children, June, 2008.

HONORS AND AWARDS

Director's Fellowship: 2007-2008 Academic Year. Arts Computation Engineering: University of California, Irvine.
Dean's Research Award: Spring 2007. Office of Sponsoring Programs: University of the Pacific.
Edna Meudt Memorial Poetry Prize: 2006 NFPSP College/University Level Poetry Award. National Federation of State Poetry Societies.
Arlen J. Hansen Writing Prize and Scholarship: 2006. Department of English: University of the Pacific.

ACADEMIC WORK EXPERIENCE

Graduate Student Researcher, Digital Humanities Institute, UC Davis

Oct 2009 – Present

  • Performing research tasks to assist faculty participating in the Humanities Innovation Lab project
  • Serving as a staff programmer for the project

Teaching Assistant, English, UC Davis

MArch 2010 – June 2010

  • Served as a TA for two sections of 10C: Literatures in English III: 1900 - Present
  • Graded homework assignments and papers

Graduate Student Researcher, Department of Informatics, UC Irvine

Mar 2008 – July 2008
June 2009 – July 2009

  • Developed technical labs in order to teach high school students in the American Indian Summer Institute in Computer Science about game development and interactive storytelling using MIT’s Scratch software
  • Administered labs over the summer

Teaching Assistant, First-Year Integrated Program, UC Irvine

Sept 2008 – June 2009

  • Served as a TA for the year-long freshman course "Computer Games as Art, Culture, and Technology"
  • Proctored weekly labs or discussions (based on academic quarter)
  • Developed research and composition exercises and assignments
  • Graded homework assignments, papers, projects, and exams

Tutor/Grader, School of Engineering and Computer Science, U. of the Pacific, Stockton, CA

Feb 2006 – May 2007

  • Tutored students in fundamental programming, discrete mathematics, computing theory, and technical writing
  • Graded papers and assignments for fundamental programming courses, discrete mathematics, and computing theory

Literary Editor, Humanities Center, U. of the Pacific, Stockton, CA

Oct 2004 – May 2007

  • Solicited submissions for the university annual literary and arts publication, Calliope
  • Reviewed submissions and suggested edits with the rest of the literary submissions committee
  • Served as Editor-in-Chief for 2007 edition, managing a committee including three other students

OTHER WORK EXPERIENCE

Grant Writing Assistant, Research Development Office, Irvine, CA

June 2008 – Sept 2008
July 2009 – Aug 2009

  • Collected and compiled biographical and research data in preparation for research grant submission deadlines to NSF, NIH, CIRM, and other funding organizations
  • Organized events and meetings

Web Interface Analyst and Designer, DaVinci Business Graphics, Irvine, CA

Oct 2007 – Dec 2007

  • Evaluated and critiqued web interfaces for customer-oriented automated online processes such as general sales and custom product ordering
  • Designed web interfaces to increase sales and minimize customer confusion and error

Technical Writer, Vinothèque Wine Cellars, Stockton, CA

Apr 2007 – Sept 2007

  • Worked with manufacturer to develop user manuals, guidelines, and other documents for product launches and distribution
  • Maintained and updated the company website

Software Development Intern, Pac-West Telecom, Stockton, CA

May 2006 – Aug 2006

  • Developed and maintained a J2EE web application using Eclipse with JAVA
  • Interviewed clients regularly for user testing and feedback

Webmaster, Honors Program, U. of the Pacific, Stockton, CA

Sept 2003 – May 2007

  • Maintained and updated the program website on a Unix-based server
  • Worked with Perl to access PostgreSQL databases
  • Provided technical support to faculty, staff, and students in the Honors program

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts
Association for the Study of Literature and Environment
International Game Developers Association
International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts
Association for Computing Machinery

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Extensive programming experience in JAVA and C/C++
Experience in homebrew development for the Nintendo DS
Working experience in the JAVA 2 Enterprise Edition, .NET C#, Ruby, Perl, Prolog, Scheme, Pascal

15 June 2010