jmedcoff/about

After writing python scripts in order to solve my physics homework during high school, I elected to pursue higher education in the field of computer science. My initial interest being in computational problem solving, I took a liking to mathematically founded courses like linear algebra and combinatorics. With a couple of research projects grounded in math but bearing a sense of practicality in my pocket, I picked up a math minor, studying algebra, analysis, and cryptology while making some good friends with shared interests. I also spent a good amount of time hanging out with engineers studying signals, musicians studying guitar and theory, and philosophers (arguing with classical utilitarians).

Upon graduation, I took a position with Ally Financial, designing and building solutions to automate payment and invoicing operations in the auto finance space. After five productive years advancing my skills and delivering for my employer, I took an opportunity with Kroger to work on accounting and finance tools. These days I serve as a business-focused developer and technical analyst, but my motivation remains grounded in my raison d'être as a creative problem solver and critical thinker. My technical interests still have their roots in applied mathematics: algorithms, language, functional programming, operations research, and statistics (the latter two of which are typically grouped together and labelled machine learning).

As a musician, I got my start with piano lessons during grade school, and eventually moved to drums and percussion. I became a band geek™, and played in jazz and marching ensembles as a pianist and snare, respectively. During my mid teens I got into electronic music production, and started making awful trance and dubstep, as was the trend at the time. Over a few years, I've honed my craft enough to make a pittance on self-released album sales, as well as joining NotThatRecords, where I co-run the label with NTG and Anplode, two like-minded musicians. At uni, I had the opportunity to study steel pan with Patrick Fitzgibbon, and classical guitar with Bret Hoag. These days, if I'm not slinging code, I'm probably working on writing music, or practicing one of the too many instruments I own.

Education, Certifications:


Work:

a crowd dancing at a concert
DJing before a moderate crowd at an underground festival
two people seated at a mixing desk
At 89.5 WAHS for an interview about my first album
a band of steel pan drummers performs
Taking a solo during a performance with the OU Pan Jumbies
a man presenting in an academic setting
Giving a talk on my research in cardiac electrophysiology