Curriculum Vitae - Charles McCathieNevile

Personal Details

Profile

I am interested in the development and use of a wide range of Web technology to solve problems that face individuals in their everyday lives. I have a very strong background in W3C standards, broad international experience working in places from Argentina to Zhongguo (China), and a good understanding of how both existing and new technology can be used effectively together.

I enjoy explaining and teaching about technology for other people's applications, learning about it, and applying it. I also enjoy the challenge of making solutions that take into account the very different situations that apply in different countries, continents and cultures.

Employment History

Current - December 1998 W3C (Quality Assurance, previously SWAD-Europe project, WAI)

• Review of W3C specifications
• Developing educational material around W3C standards
• Promoting conformance to W3C standards

May 2002 - October 2004 SWAD-Europe project

• Organising workshops and projects to promote and develop the Semantic Web in 4 languages
• Providing ad-hoc assistance to developers in various areas on how to use Semantic Web technologies

• Supervising student development projects
• Producing reports documenting deliverables for the European Commission
• Participation in WAI technical working groups

Current - October 2000 Fundación Sidar

Since January 2003 I have been the Vice President of the Fundación Sidar, an Ibero-american non-profit group working to support accessibility of the Internet for people with disabilities

• Learned Spanish, and to read Portuguese and Catalan
• Teaching accessibility to software and website developers in Spanish
• Technical expert in development of Sidar software such as Hera
• W3C Invited Expert, editor XML Accessibility Guidelines
• Representing Fundación Sidar in EuroAccessibility
  • Participation in technical discussion
  • Founding member of steering committee
  • Chair of technical task force on evaluation tools
• Presenting the Fundación and its work around the world.
• Setting up and maintaining the french language handitech discussion list on the topic of Web Accessibility, as part of Sidar's outreach and promotion of Web Accessibility

December 2001 - December 1998 Web Accessibility Initiative

• Staff Contact and Co-editor - Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines
• Staff contact for Protocols and Formats Working Group (review of all W3C specification work for accessibility)
• Representing WAI in the W3C's HyperText Coordination Group - the main coordination body for working groups in the area of interaction formats.
• Education and Outreach work - presentations, working with developers
• Editor of XML Accessibility Guidelines

Current - June 1997 Littleguy

Contract work, including

• Short-term consulting services for companies such as HiSoftware, UBAccess,, Morpheum. Novell...
• Web Accessibility review, planning and training for American Express, Victorian government, Mitchelton Winery and others
• Teaching accessibility to Web Design students at RMIT University
• Web design and accessibility consulting for Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne
• Web interface programming for RMIT Human Resources Group

1998 Sunrise Research

• Participating in Web Accessibility Initiative working groups
• Developing a web-style CD-ROM based database system for managing Literature and dictionaries for the Yolngu people of the Northern Territory.
• Working with the Yirrkala homeland schools in Arnhem Land, developing local knowledge networks and resource sharing systems.
• Teaching HTML and Web Technology certificate courses in Vietnam
• Teaching Web Design and accessibility
• Organising and completing commercial contracts

1997 RMIT University

Working as part of a research and development team on:

• Maintaining RMIT Web site, including identifying opportunities for the web to improve productivity, teaching RMIT departments to design and implement web sites, troubleshooting, prioritising tasks, dealing with technical and non-technical staff, members of the public, and anyone else who finds my email address, solving technical problems as they arise.
• Website design and construction, web-style CD-ROM design and construction.

Current - 1995 Feasts

Until 1999 approximately once a month, now twice a year, I organise medieval feasts and/or camping weekends, where 20 - 100 people spend a few hours or a few days as they would have 800 -1000 years ago. Feasts include medieval activities, food, clothing, music, camping equipment, etc.

1998 - 1990 School Presentation Days

As part of medieval re-enactment I have regularly organised and participated in presentations of medieval life in schools, including both lecture and hands-on style teaching on a range of topics.

January 1998 - February 1995 Bar work - Dan O'Connell Hotel

High pressure bar work (on St Patrick's day I managed 20-30 staff at a time, who serve an estimated 8000 customers in 6 hours. On a normal day I just serve a lot of people in a hurry, and make each of them feel that they are special), Being nice to people while I am physically removing them from the premises.

1994 - 2 Boxer programming - Sunrise Research Laboratory

Resarch using Boxer as a language for teaching computer science in schools (Blackburn High School year 10 and 11, Carey Grammar School Year 7). Boxer programming support for a project undertaken by Cielito Barita as the major component of her Master of Business Information Technology degree at RMIT.

1992 - 1991 TV/Video Delivery and Installation - Self Employed

Self employed, but mostly working with a stable group of stores. Delivery driving - scheduling, juggling time and space. Tuning people's TV, showing them how to program their video, plugging their Hi Fi together.

I have also worked in many part time jobs while studying

Database construction and data entry, exam marking, toilet cleaning, sculpture conservation, cook, furniture restoring, piano moving, acting, desktop publishing, gardening, tutoring, dish washing etc.

Computer skills

Web Standards

I am extremely familiar with the Web standards of W3C including XHTML/HTML and CSS, the standards produced by WAI (WCAG, ATAG which I edited, UAAG, XAG for which I am the editor, EARL for which I have written a lot of documentation including specifications for all current implementations), the Semantic Web standards for RDF and OWL, as well as the XML family of standards, SVG, SMIL, the VoiceXML standards, and have some familiarity with MathML, Web Services and Security standards, etc. As a member of the W3C Team and of the WAI protocols and Formats Group I have read most specifications published by the W3C, and personally know at least one internationally recognised expert in almost any W3C area of work.

Accessibility and usability

I have extensive experience researching, teaching and assessing accessibility and usability of the web in four languages. I am particularly interested in interfaces and applications for non experts.

Programming

I have some experience programming in a number of environments. I have worked on specialised databases in a combined Java/PERL system, for Web access, graphics and office productivity packages in Boxer (a language under development at UCBerkeley), and performed a variety of programming tasks in other languages.

PERL, PHP,, Java, JavaScript and other Web programming

I have written form-processing programs in PERL, a database of images, texts and an associated dictionary as a Java applet, simple Javascripts, and the casual payments entry system for RMIT - data-entry and pay calculation modules for a payroll system covering approximately 750 employees.

Computer Graphics

I am familiar with graphics packages and can efficiently create or adapt graphics where desired. I also understand the technical requirements for graphics to work effectively on the web, and can efficiently adapt existing graphics to meet those requirements, including accessibility requirements.

Other computing skills

Familiarity with a wide variety of environments, applications, and a number of languages. I have experience in rapidly learning and using advanced features (Macro programming, etc) in a variety of software packages, including word-processing, database languages, graphics applications, translation packages, etc. I have worked on Macintosh, MS Dos, Unix, and Windows platforms, as well as platforms like BBC micro systems.

General Skills

Languages

My written and spoken english is excellent. As a university educated native speaker I have learned to read and write complex, mellifluous and literary english, and as an educator I learned to write simple clear english.

I also speak, read and write very good French and Spanish, fair to good Italian, and Latin. I have conversational German skills, and have learned a little Swedish, Finnish, Arabic and Japanese. I enjoy learning languages.

Technical collaboration

I have worked in a number of groups of various types, contributing to different areas including group management and technical development.

Research

Effective search skills using Internet, library, journal indexing and other resources. Ability to initiate and carry out extended research projects. The ability to learn new skills quickly whenever required.

Communication (written and oral)

Teaching computing skills to people from a wide variety of backgrounds: from Primary students to Tertiary academics. Collaborating with corporate management, clerical and 'coal-face' staff to design and complete projects under pressure. Complex customer relations under pressure (tactfully removing aggressive drunks from pubs and making other customers happy about the friendly environment, at the same time).

Organisation

Planning and overseeing a variety of projects concurrently. Co-ordinating people with limited time (for example volunteers), divergent goals (for example competing companies), and a wide range of skills to maximise the collective output of a group.

Responsibility

Handling large amounts of cash, performing tasks under pressure which require perfect accuracy (Cash transactions, 'mission critical' computer system adjustments, etc). Ensuring clear and transparent reporting of the activities of a group working in sensitive areas such as accessibility.

Hard Work

Ability to work long shifts, perform physically or mentally demanding work. (And I can reach the top shelf.)

Learning

I have learned a wide range of skills and languages as required. I am a fast learner, and enjoy the challenge of mastering something new.

Travel

I have worked as a professional courier, driven more than 100,000 miles (150 000 km) in a year, and travelled approximately 250,000 miles (400 000km) per year for over five years, to every continent except Antarctica.

Education, training

Most of my education and training has been self-motivated, and informal. Although I am regularly invited to speak to professional associations and students of Computer Science, Library Science, and regularly teach Accessibility to web developers and software developers, I have no formal qualifications or training in those areas. Instead I have learned about Accessibility, the Semantic Web, Web Standards, Information Management and Usability through work experience and collaboration with experts. I first worked in computer accessibility in 1983 doing a short job for Barson Computers, in Australia, and have had the opportunity to work extensively with international leaders in my various fields of expertise. Similarly I learned Spanish and Italian entirely from collaborating with people in those languages.

I am used to learning about technology before there are standard courses available, and developing those courses myself to present new technologies to non-experts. For example I produced some of the first discussion papers about using Scalable Vector Graphics and Semantic Web applications to support accessibility.

My formal educational background at university level is in humanities, and at school level mostly in sciences:

1999

Bachelor of Arts (Hons) with First Class Honours. I completed my honours degree in Medieval History at the University of Melbourne, supervised by Associate Professor Anne Gilmour-Bryson.

1987

Victorian Certificate of Education (Completion of High School): Chemistry, English, French, standard Mathematics, advanced Mathematics, and Physics (with Latin, completed a year early. Normally 4 or 5 subjects are attempted.) St Michael's Anglican Grammar School, St Kilda (Australia).

1986 - 1982

Scholarship student, Geelong Grammar School.

I hold a current, internationally valid driver's license and a boat operator's license

I have held several basic qualifications

• First aid
• Life saving (pool supervision and water rescue)
• Cross country ski instructor

Achievements

Some of what I consider my major achievements include:

• Becoming Vice President of la Fundación Sidar and leading participation in groups such as the EuroAccessibility Consortium.
• Teaching myself sufficient French, and Spanish to work easily in those languages, and enough italian to work).
• Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines becoming a W3C Recommendation
• Creating the first example of Accessible font design and usage in SVG
• Being invited to work at W3C, and moving to the USA to take up the position.
• Being appointed as a Research Associate to the faculty of engineering at Monash University.
• Completing my Honours degree with First-Class Honours.
• Setting up and 'fostering' the Medieval recreation society Nordmannia, a group of people who, despite no formal recognition of membership have managed to be recognised in Melbourne as one of the best-organised and most successful Medieval groups, putting on large-scale public events of very high quality. (Two examples are a medieval feast for 200 people, of five courses, served as a sit-down meal with drinks and entertainment, organised in one week, and the 1999 Australasian Medieval Convention)
• Teaching the first Vietnam National University Certificate of World Wide Web Technology course (Hanoi) - the first course of its kind in Vietnam.

Hobbies

I have a range of interests outside my normal technology work:

Medieval Re-enactment:

I set up the group Nordmannia, a historical re-enactment society, and take an active part in the group. This involves research into material culture of the medieval period, and learning to make and use reproduction artifacts, as well as passing on what I have learned - skills such as blacksmithing and bookbinding, dance and dressmaking, as well as more traditional knowledge of medieval art, lifestyles and history.

Languages

I can work comfortably in French or Spanish as well as English, and can work in Italian. I have at various times had conversational ability in German, Japanese, Swedish, Finnish, Vietnamese, Icelandic, Greek, and have learned to read several other languages.

Horse riding, cycling, skiing, sailing and bush walking

I am a keen Horse rider, and enjoy extended trips by any of the above means

Cooking

I am a keen cook of both historical and a wide variety of modern cuisines. This enables me to learn more about cooking and indulge my eclectic tastes in food at a sensible price, as well as being an enjoyable social activity.

Travel

I enjoy travelling to any place, meeting people, and experiencing a range of local cultures. I have been to every continent except Antarctica, and visited around 35 different countries, most of them many times, and most of them both for work and pleasure.