Dave Abercrombie
   dave@aber.us | 408-777-0700 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveabercrombie/

Summary

Extensive background in document and print technologies, image compression,
OCR, file formats and standards, front-end applications, and many other
technologies.  Passionate about creating solutions and contributing to
highly-performing backend algorithms.

Core Strengths

Windows, Linux, UNIX, OSX, C, C++, CSH, Perl, PHP, Python, JavaScript, desktop
applications, web site administration, email spam filtering, and much more.

Professional Experience

Electronics For Imaging (EFI) - 17+ years - 4/04 to 7/21 in Fremont, CA;
Staff Engineer

* Developed a system that allows a scanner and printer to behave like a copier.
* Improved various Variable Data Printing technologies, notably making PPML the
  first to be fully compliant with the PODi graphics standard.
* Supported a parallel processing engine for a multi-server print engine
  delivering over 2000 pages per minute.
* Incorporated Adobe's RIP engine as a second path to process PDF documents.
* Contributed to an interface with inline spectrophotometers (ILS) for various
  vendors.
* Owned a RESTful desktop application using wxWidgets to assist in monitoring
  and correcting the color quality of printers in a print shop while instructed
  from and reporting to a cloud application.



Consulted 1+ years - 12/02 to 4/04

Implemented automated stitching of a panorama image sequence.


Xerox & Scansoft - 7 years - 10/95 to 12/02 in Palo Alto, CA; Staff Engineer

* Key contributor to several programs that brought Mixed Raster Content (MRC),
  JBIG2, and TIFF-FX into Xerox & Scansoft products.  When folded together,
  these technologies produce files roughly ten times smaller compared to
  previous methods.  Products include Pagis Pro, TextBridge, FlowPort II, and
  libraries reused across organizations.
* Developed the proprietary file format XIFF, and I/O library for storing MRC
  documents with JBIG2 compression.
* Aligned XIFF with emerging standards TIFF-FX and ITULab, and implemented a
  TIFF-FX library as proof-of-concept while collaborating with the standards
  team.
* Enhanced several document processing tools such as: automated image
  enhancement, photograph detection, and Hierarchical Vector Quantization.
* Architected an optimized implementation to simultaneously generate multiple
  output renditions of PDF, TIFF, and TIFF-FX using pre-compressed JPEG, CCITT,
  and JBIG2 components.


Caere Corporation - 3 1/2 years - 1/92 to 10/95 in Los Gatos, CA;
Senior Engineer

* Helped create new and innovative ways to improve the OCR accuracy of the
  flagship product.
* Various features added include: character and word accuracy measurements,
  word-based character recognition using dictionaries and trigrams, neural net
  integration and tuning, X-window tools for tracking OCR decisions during
  debug, and automatic page orientation.
* The accuracy measurement improvements became instrumental in deciding changes
  and decision thresholds, and became a broader neural network for the whole
  OCR implementation.


Sperry/Unisys/Paramax - 6+ years - 8/85 to 1/92 in Salt Lake City, UT;
Research Engineer

* Lead developer for a team researching data compression algorithms for image
  data, focusing on Vector Quantization (VQ) for image compression.
* Wrote software tools to interface with video hardware prototypes, key in
  bringing in awards on several multi-million dollar contracts.
* Supported various research in data compression for Adaptive Huffman,
  Lempel-Ziv Welch, and Arithmetic Coding.
* Produced several algorithms complementary to VQ compression including: tree
  search methods and extensively non-uniform binary trees, codebook design
  research, classified vectors, readability of compressing bank check images,
  and encryption algorithms.

Education

B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Utah with an emphasis in signal processing, stochastic processes, and computer design.
Senior Thesis was titled Extension to the Human Visual Model.