Vlad Tanasescu

Research Associate

School of Arts, Culture and Environment, The University of Edinburgh, UK

Researcher on the AHRC funded project titled 'Cultures of Legibility: Emergent Urban Landscapes in Southeast Asia'. A project focussed on the representation of the complex forms of settlement that are emerging in the wet-rice agricultural landscapes surrounding the mega-city of Jakarta, Indonesia. The outputs document the limitations of official macro-scaled planning maps in recording these areas, and diagnoses alternative styles of representation that various private sector and community actors have developed.

Outputs include:

• Two international and national exhibitions, "Open City: Designing Coexistence", at IABR Rotterdam, and "Open city: Jakarta"
• Collection and annotation of 93 video interviews and 965 questionnaires of inhabitants of the peri-urban Jakarta
• Statistical analysis of a thousand questionnaires using qualitative methods and SOMs

Research assistant and student

KMi, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK

As research assistant, then as a student I worked on the DIP European FP6 project. My main contributions were to integrate lifting and lowering mechanisms for SWS technology, which allowed to design and implement a prototype GIS-based emergency application using Semantic Web Services, in collaboration with BT and the ECC. The resulting application received an award and was finalist at the Semantic Web Challenge. The project was described as an "outstanding success" by reviewers, and the WP including the GIS application, as "exemplary".

Software Developer

VTVirtual Technology, Vevey, Switzerland

As main software developer, I contributed to all new developments, including custom ERP applications for pharmacy and fitness centres as well as Web programming. I evaluated and introduced new technologies in the company, such as version control, last generation programming languages and development tools, and took part in the training and supervision of new employees.

Student Teaching Assistant

EPFL, Ecublens, Switzerland

As student teaching assistant I corrected copies, marked them and interacted with students.

Web programming Trainer

Ecole-Club Migros, Lausanne, Switzerland

Teaching Web programming (HTML, CSS, JavaScript and ASP) to classes of 10 to 20 adult learners.

Web development and R & D

BMC, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland

Web development and R & D at BMC, an IT Consulting and Service provider company. I was in charge of designing and developing the Web aspects of their main product, the ERP Arizona. As part of this I developed a secure card client registration system that was installed in 27 pharmacies, and a Web time management system installed in the same network.

Intern: Software Development

Unicible, Lausanne, Switzerland

During the summer of 2001, I worked as a member of the support team of the Triple'A banking application at Unicible, a Bank IT Service provider in Switzerland.

Aikido, Caving/Potholing, Filmmaking