BENJAMIN CARLSON
My Skills & Experience
ABOUT ME
I am a junior at Colorado School of Mines studying Computer Science with a focus in Data Science and a double minor in Mathematics and Physics. I have been programming since 2013 and am proficient in Swift, C++, Python, Java, and SQL. I have developed applications for iOS, Linux, and macOS with ongoing development on all of these platforms.

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
Professional Projects
SIEMENS GAMESA - SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INTERN
June 2020 - May 2021
Implemented a custom Python console for the BHawC Viz wind turbine simulator while improving the interface and refactoring the codebase to increase readability and reusability.
​Technologies Used-
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Python
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Qt
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VTK
LOCKHEED MARTIN SPACE - SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INTERN
May 2019 - April 2020
Created a program to allow SmartSat applications to communicate with the ground and the satellite's camera along with a program to act as the ground or camera for testing.
Technologies Used-
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C style C++
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Linux
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Raw Sockets
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Python Bindings
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Low Level Memory Management
HACKCU HACKATHON - 2ND PLACE
February 2019
Developed a web application with two other Mines students that, by placing three devices in a room, could detect all the devices in that room using WiFi, triangulate their location, and save their identifying information. My primary responsibility was to create a program that gathered the device data and passed that data to the webserver.
Technologies Used-
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Python
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Linux
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Network Interfaces
October 2018
Created an iOS application that would allow the user to take a photo, use image recognition technologies to identify the item, then open a corresponding Amazon product page.
Technologies Used-
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Swift
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iOS
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Clarifai API
FITTFINDER - SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INTERN
May 2018 - August 2018
Worked on an iOS application for locating fitness-related events nearby. My contributions resulted in a simpler code-base, much faster performance, and an 80% reduction in compile time.
Technologies Used-
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Swift
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iOS
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Git Integration via Bitbucket
PROJECT EXPERIENCE
Personal Projects
HARMONIZE APP (IN DEVELOPMENT) - LEAD DEVELOPER
July 2018 - Present
Creating an iOS application that allows users to find people looking for band members in their area. Developed a backend server with multimedia uploading capabilities, messaging, and notifications using a MySQL connector with Swift. This has been delayed due to conflicts with work and school but the app is built, not released.
Technologies Used-
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Swift
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iOS
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AWS
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MySQL
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REST API
MOCKSTOCK APP - LEAD DEVELOPER
June 2014 - Present
Developed my first iOS application as a stock market simulator that used real-time stock data with fake money to allow users to "trade" stocks without risking any money. This app includes custom graphs, a news feed, a watch list, and a portfolio with market open/close notifications. (This app is still on the iOS App Store; however, my previously used APIs are now removed. Because of this, the data is not very accurate, and the news data is scrambled. I have not been able to repair this since there are no longer any low-cost stock market APIs).
Technologies Used-
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Swift
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iOS
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Web APIs
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In-App Purchases
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Google Ad Integration
POTHOLE REPAIR ROBOT - LEAD DEVELOPER
November 2019
Engineered and programmed the electronics behind an automated pothole repair robot which would, using an array of distance sensors, detect a pothole, use an infrared heater to increase the asphalt's temperature to a hot enough level (measured by an infrared temperature sensor), fill the pothole, and compress the asphalt again. With a camera on the robot, the user could connect the custom iOS app to view all the sensor data, the camera view, and manually shut down the process, if necessary. The iOS app also functioned as an automated pothole reporter (if enabled) or a manual reporter for average consumers.
Technologies Used-
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Python
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Raspberry Pi
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Motor control
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Sensor data collection
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Live camera streaming
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Custom circuit board
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Swift
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iOS
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MySQL
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Custom backend server
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Wireless configuration for custom access points
June 2017 - August 2017
Developed a computer vision application while at the Frontiers of Science Institute to calibrate to users' skin tone, detect their hands, and overlay a spinning fireball where their palms are located that would update in real-time. I later added an extensible voice control interface to update the settings in real-time, such as rotation speed or enabling/disabling debug mode.
Technologies Used-
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OpenCV
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Python
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Google Speech Recognition
June 2017
Created an open-source program that used a motion sensor and a camera that, when the motion sensor is activated, the camera takes a photo and saves it. The program then texts the user that the motion sensor has been activated, so the user can open the custom iOS application, log in, and see the most recent photo as well as the time it was taken.
Technologies Used-
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Python
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Raspberry Pi
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Camera
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Motion sensor
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Swift
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iOS
June 2016
Developed a python program during the Colorado School of Mines SUMMET program which allows Mancala to be played in three different modes. The first mode is a console interface for playing Mancala with two players. The second mode uses an evolutionary algorithm to train a solution over a certain number of games, finding the optimal solution. Lastly, the third mode allows a user to play the optimal solution via the console.
Technologies Used-
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Python
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Evolutionary learning algorithm
EDUCATION HISTORY
August 2018 - May 2022
COMPUTER SCIENCE - COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
Cumulative GPA: 3.25
Major GPA: 3.45
I am pursuing a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science with a focus in Data Science, minoring in Physics and Mathematics.
PROFICIENCIES

SWIFT
Advanced - 7 years

C++
Advanced - 4 years

PYTHON
Advanced - 5 years

JAVA
Intermediate - 3 years

SQL
Intermediate - 3 years

IOS
Advanced - 7 years

LINUX
Intermediate/Advanced - 4 years