Martin Uildriks journal
Differential GPS in Iraq
Who am I
I was born in the northeastern part of the Netherlands and lived in the small pittoresque city of Appingedam for most of my life. I highly recommend a visit for its wonderful historical setting and cosy character, as well as its location among the unimaginable flat surrounding landscape. I did my undergrad (Bachelor's in archaeology) at the University of Groningen (2005-2008), not too far from my home town, and went on to pursue two Master degrees at Leiden University (2008-2011): the first in Archaeology of the Near East and the second in Egyptology. In 2015 I started on a PhD in archaeology at Brown University's Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World. In 2017, I started on my M.Sc. in Computer Science at Brown's CS department, where I focus on developing field applications for archaeological practice and specifically the use of graphics in archaeological reconstruction.
Interests
I grew up with computers. My brother and I were always tinkering and toying with fine electronics and in fact he went on to become a technician. I never had the chance to integrate digital technology and computer applications in my archaeological career to a fuller degree until I came to Brown although I always kept experimenting and exploring the ins and outs of computers and digital electronics. In fact, in 2006 I put together my own sound studio in Appingedam through which I learned a lot about computer systems and sensors particularly related to audio recording.
Upon arrival at Brown I was presented with the opportunity to take CS courses and ended up taking the introduction classes in addition to my Ph.D. workload-- not an easy task I can assure you. After having taken a number of CS courses, I decided to apply to Brown's Open Graduate Education program, a particular route within the university system that would allow me to do my Ph.D. research and concurrently pursue a Master degree in a secondary field; I choose Computer Science as my secondary field. Digital technologies are slowly pushing the field of archaeology forward and I follow this push with great interest.
My Brown CS coursework consists of CSCI15/16, CSCI1320, CSCI1230/CSCI1234, and CSCI1600 through which I have learnt a lot already and hope to develop my skills in a way that the most recent technologies can be made available for specifically archaeological relevant research. In return I hope that exact fields such as Computer Science may benefit from understanding the wider application of new software and hardware to real-life situations and problems. During my coursework I developed specific interests in mobilizing technologies as well as graphics and visualizations, and with these combined resources I am interested in understanding applications of modern technologies to archaeological fieldwork.
Gear setup
Windows 7 (64-bit), i7@2.90GHz, 16GB RAM, SSD HDD
Experience
HTML, CSS, JavaScript
C, C#, and C++
Modeling and integrated packages for professional analysis:
CAD: AutoCAD, Civil3D, 3DS Max
Modeling: PhotoScan, MeshLab, Blender, Inventor, NetFabb
GIS: ESRI ArcGIS, ArcScene, QGIS, Surfer, SAGA
Subpages
Progress Reports: reports of goals, aims, and objectives for each of the three blocks in this class;
Activity Log: detailed account of my activities on a daily basis;
Notes: brief summaries and other details derived from literature review;