Dickson Tan

Email: dickson@u.nus.edu

Education

• 2014 - present:
  • National University of Singapore
  • BComp, Computer Science
  • Specialization: information security
  • Certificate of Distinction in Computer Security Focus Area
• 2011-2014:
  • Nanyang Polytechnic
  • Diploma in Business Management
  • Specialization: human resource management
  • GPA: 3.93/4.0

Work Experience

• Jan 2017 - present: commiter, TEAMMATES:
  • TEAMMATES is a free online tool for managing peer evaluations and other types of feedback for students. It is used by 160,000 students from over 1,200 institutions worldwide.
  • Collaborated on weekly releases by fixing bugs, providing code review and advising new contributors.
  • Contributions focused on reducing technical debt. E.g migrating Javascript codebase from ES5 to ES6 to improve code quality and take advantage of new features.
• May 2016 - July 2016: intern, IT Workplace Transformation & Delivery, Singtel:
  • Evaluated compliance of PCs on Singtel’s corporate network to security policies by using System Centre Configuration Manager (SCCM) 2012’s reporting tools, and followed-up on remediation of non-compliant devices.
  • Generated reporting data through SCCM infrastructure to facilitate Windows 10 migration.
• August 2013 - October 2013: intern, IBM HR:
  • Led research projects to compile information for evaluation of expatriate allowances and explore alternative recruitment channels
  • Reduced costs by successfully obtained government grants for initiatives promoting flexible working arrangements, training and workplace health.

Skills

• Programming languages:
  • proficient in C++, Java, Lua and Regex
  • intermediate python
  • familiar with D, HTML and Javascript
• Applied cryptography
• Laws related to information security in Singapore (CMCA, Electronic Commerce & Banking, data protection)
• System Security
• Basic Windows administration: Group Policy and SCCM 2012
• Accessibility
• LaTeX, with emphasis on typesetting math

Expert areas

• Security:
  • Authored a book chapter introducing cryptography to provide a working knowledge of the topic for students. The intention is for readers to be able to correctly use the tools provided by cryptographic libraries, and less so on its mathematical underpinnings.
  • Relevant TEAMMATES PRs: developed #6602 and identified and reviewed #7057
  • Relevant modules:
    • CS4236 Cryptography Theory and Practice: mathematical underpinnings of various symmetric and asymmetric crypto algorithms, implementing a smart contract on Ethereum, a platform that uses blockchains for trusted computing.
    • IFS4101 Legal Aspects of Information Security: laws in Singapore relevant for information security, responding to cyberattacks (emphasis on evidence collection and legal repercussions)
    • CS3235 Computer Security: selected topics in system security, web security and cryptography. Gave a lightning talk on SQRL, an elegant replacement for passwords using strong cryptography. It is in the public domain, and is nearing release.
    • CS2107 Introduction to Information & System Security
• Python:
  • Made small contributions to scikit-learn and python-telegram-bot library to learn the workflows of different projects and the tools used for large high-stakes python projects - due to Python’s dynamic nature, there is a much higher emphasis on using linting tools and unit testing.
  • Gave a lightning talk on property-based testing, a technique where test cases are automatically generated, and a function’s output verified against properties or assertions made about that function. Though it can be done in any language, Python was chosen for its conciseness and library support.
  • Documented observations on the workflow for Scikit-learn and ideas that can be applied to TEAMMATES.
• Functional programming, particularly ideas that can be applied to mainstream non-functional languages:
  • Gave a lightning talk on Phantom types, a technique where generics are creatively used to encode invariants into the type system for compile-time verification. It was first invented by functional programmers, but can be used in any statically typed language with generics. Some applications are compile-time enforcement of sanitization and proper usage of units of measure.
  • Gave a lightning talk introducing map, filter and reduce, which are higher-order functions typically used in functional programming. These are powerful higher-level abstractions than for loops or iterators, and can be used in any language with first-class functions for more concise code.
• Javascript:
  • Developed basic familiarity after developing/reviewing PRs for the TEAMMATES ES6 migration.
• Java:
  • Gained further experience from contributing tests for SE-EDU AddressBook Level 2 and Java-related TEAMMATES contributions, especially in improving code quality.