Ph.D.

The working name of my Ph.D. project is the Web Information Sharing Project, or Whisper for short. I came to this project after realizing that most people (especially many of my friends outside of computer science) do not have easy access to version control systems for their work. I know a few people who have kept track of versions of their own Ph.D. Theses by uploading copies to free e-mail accounts (HoTMaiL, or Yahoo). It seemed there should be a way to provide version control for an individual that doesn't require a complex setup procedure, or any technical knowledge, or cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. Of course, that isn't enough for a Ph.D.; it's a technical problem, not a research question. But it started me thinking, and talking with others in my lab.

Over time, this idea has grown into an academic collaborative environment, with versioned file repositories for each user, personal digital library collections, small project support, and user communities. For all the details, visit the Whisper site. Eventually, the system will be opened to users outside my lab, but it is unlikely to be made available to the public at large until later in its development.

My advisor for my Ph.D. work is Jim Whitehead.