Hello

My name is Brian Mearns, and this is my website.

I'm a Computer Engineer living in Somerville, Massachusetts (just outside of Boston). I maintain this site as a hobby and to serve as a repository for various items of interest, related mostly to engineering and other techie stuff. Check out the work page to view some samples.

About me

I have a Master of Science degree in Computer Engineering from Boston University, which I got in May 2009. Before that, I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Northeastern Univeristy in 2007 with a Bachelor's Degree in the same.

My areas of study are primarily computer architecture, programming, and a bit of information theory. Lately I've been really into cryptography, due in no small part to Neal Stephenson's book Cryptonomicon, as well as a few classes on information theory I took at BU. I'm currently working on a set of software tools for steganography using a scheme I came up with to hide data in the order of a list (like a shopping list, track list, or the pallette of a digital image). I also have a draft of a paper I'm writing on the subject available for download: Factorial Number Systems and their Application to Steganography.

In the "professional" world, I'm currently doing microprocessor firmware engineering for embedded control systems. I also have industry experience with FPGA-based design, circuit design (primarily digital), and software application development. I'm not specifically looking for a new position at the moment, but for those who are interested, please feel free to view my resume.