Leif Svalgaard
Career Summary --
2009- : Team member on HMI {Solar Dynamics Explorer], Stanford University.
2006- : Member of NOAA/NASA Panel for prediction of Solar Cycle 24.
2004 : Visiting professor at the Solar Terrestrial Environment Laboratory
of University of Nagoya, Toyokawa, Aichi, Japan.
2000- : Free-lance developer, writer, and researcher
1999-2000: PentaSafe Security Technologies, Inc. (Houston, TX)
Senior Developer.
Developer of security-related software for the IBM AS/400 using highly
efficient MI (Machine Interface) code.
Developed the PentaSafe Password Manager product that checks encrypted
passwords for users against encrypted words from a large dictionary to
detect users with weak (i.e. "guessable") passwords.
Expert on AS/400 internals at the MI-level.
1994-1998: T.O.S.C. International, Inc. (Houston, TX)
Director of Development.
Responsible for development and maintenance of the ETK (Easy ToolKit)
Product. ETK is a large (1,000,000 lines) application written in Cobol. ETK
is an Application generator that generates Cobol code that will run on any
platform that has a Cobol compiler.
I have written more than half of ETK itself. As ETK's primary goal is to
generate business applications. I'm very familiar with business
applications, having served several times as a consultant for clients
producing such large-scale applications (e.g. at Sysco Foods, County of Los
Angeles, and others).
I have produced versions of ETK for most Cobol compilers on most platforms,
including the Micro Focus compiler on Unix (RS/6000, Sun, HP, ...) and on
PC, the IBM compilers on IBM/MVS/TSO/CICS, IBM/VM/CMS, IBM AS/400, and
others. Because of the nature of ETK, extensive knowledge of how to best
utilize the compiler on a given platform is required, and thus I have that.
Because the lower layers of ETK are written in 'system-oriented' languages
I have extensive experience with several assemblers, C, C++, and even MI
on the As/400.
Since ETK interfaces to any database, I'm knowledgeable in ISAM, VSAM,
RDBS's(such as DB/2) and others. Specifically, what ETK does is to generate
the database DDL and DML (such as SQL), thus requiring intimate knowledge
of the database particulars.
I'm also very familiar with generating and using screens in interactive
applications, including generating HTML-based webpages directly in your
Cobol programs. All of the above is now technically obsolete.
1992-1993: Quixx (now SPS) Corporation (Amarillo, TX)
Served as Chief Programmer for the Implementation of a major business
application to track engineering parts and assemblies for an electric
utility company (Southwestern Public Service Company, SPS). This project
was done with ETK on IBM/MVS/CICS with DL/I.
1984-1991: SEMA Group (Brussels, Belgium)
Responsible for development of ETK Cobol Development System on several
platforms, including many now defunct). SEMA Group is the largest software
company in Europe. I was also responsible for 'Methods and Tools'. I also
served as consultant for SEMA on several military projects.
1979-1984: Lockheed (N. Plainfield, NJ, and Clear Lake, TX)
Chief Programmer for development and installation of the largest Telephone
Directory Assistance System in the world - for New York Telephone Company.
1972-1978: Senior Research Physicist at Stanford University, CA,
With special responsibility for computing facilities at the Institute for
Plasma Physics.
1968-1971: System Programmer at computer manufacturer Regnecentralen A/S,
Copenhagen, Denmark.
1967 : Observer at 'Inge Lehmann' Geomagnetic Observatory in Greenland,
located at 78 degrees North, 40 degrees West.
1964-1967: Research assistant at Danish Meteorological Institute, and
teaching assistant at Institute for Numerical Analysis Univ. of Copenhagen.
------ Specific experience ------
1963 Programmed Geodetic Survey problems in Algol.
1964 Assistant at the Institute for Numerical Analysis Univ. of Copenhagen
- programming numerical/graphics problems mostly in assembler.
1965 Created the first program ever for automatic plotting of
Meteorological synoptic observations (detailed 'weather maps').
1966 Programmed simulator for the RC4000 computer on another computer
(GIER)for the purpose of system evaluation and early testing of system
software. The simulator was later used to debug the new Algol compiler for
RC4000 in advance of the machine being available.
1967-68 Participated (with Per Brinch Hansen) in the implementation
of the multiprogramming operating system - with supplementary file
system and Command Interpreter - for the Danish-built RC4000
medium-scale computer.
1968 PhD equivalent at University of Copenhagen in Geophysics.
1969-70 Project leader for the installation of an RC4000 computer with a
special purpose real-time operating system for the Danish Meteorological
Service.
1971 Developed a multiprogramming system for the Data General NOVA
mini-computer to facilitate its use as a general purpose multi-peripheral
controller.
1972 Was invited to join the Institute for Plasma Physics at Stanford with
special responsibility for the computing facilities at the Institute.
1973 Developed the operating system and control software for the Stanford
Solar Observatory, patterned after the RC4000 monitor.
1974-75 Scientific computing jointly at Stanford and at the National Center
for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado.
1976 Special Representative of the US to the Soviet Union under the joint
Nixon-Breshnev Agreement on the Protection of the Environment. Had the
opportunity to familiarize myself with computing 'Eastern style'. Wrote
plotting software for several Soviet computers, including BESM-6.
1977-78 Numerical modeling of magnetic field structures in the solar
atmosphere and interplanetary space. Altogether more than 50 published
research papers spanning the decade 1968-78 (including journals such as
Nature and Science).
1979 Joined Lockheed to 'rescue' a large project for the development of a
computerized retrieval system for telephone directory assistance.
The first customer was to be Michigan Bell in Detroit.
1980-81 With Bo Tveden, redesigned the Directory Assistance System and
re-implemented it for the New York Telephone company. The system consists
of 20 networked midi-computers serving 2000 terminals, handling more than
2 million transactions per day. This system is still in operation and has
never gone down. Only one bug was found during more than 25 years of
operation.
1982 Extended the system with real-time update for subsequent installation
at the Defense Telephone Service in the Pentagon, Washington DC.
1983 Enhanced the system with an audio response capability where the system
itself takes over the voice response to the caller once the (human)
operator has completed the retrieval process.
1984 Joined SOBEMAP (Now SEMA Group), Brussels, Belgium, initially for work
on military communication projects.
1985 Definition of first version of Easy Toolkit (ETK) to allow SOBEMAP to
develop 100% portable programs (in COBOL). Implementation of ETK on Wang VS
and DEC VAX computers.
1986 Preparation of proposal for UK-Air (a large scale project for
coordination of the air defense of the United Kingdom). This project
included writing programs to simulate real-time systems such as disk
controllers and communications networks to evaluate response time and
loading characteristics.
Implementation (with Pieter Hintjens) of ETK on S/36, IBM PC, and
Data General MV.
1987 Consultant for SHAPE (den Haag, the Netherlands) on communications
systems for the Alternate War Headquarters for Allied Forces Europe.
Oversaw implementation of ETK for IBM 370/CMS with CICS.
1988 Implementation (with J-M Sacre) of ETK for IBM 370/MVS/TSO with
CICS and DB/2.
1989 Implementation of ETK on AS/400. Supported IBM, the Netherlands, with
MI-assembler expertise for AS/400 (data compression).
1990 Implementation of ETK on UNIX using MicroFocus Cobol. Prepared and
Gave courses on MI-programming for AS/400.
1991 Implementation of the ETK Application Maker. Porting of ETK to Bull
DPS7.
1992 Implementation (with Marino Stramare) of ETK on HP-3000.
1993 Implementation of ETK on Bull GCOS8 and on IBM OS/2.
1994-1998 At TOSC International, introducing ETK on the US market.
1994 Implementation of ETK on Bull GCOS8/TP8.
1995 Implementation of ETK on MS-Windows.
1996 Implementation of ETK (32-bit version).
1997 Implementation of the ETK Screen Vitalizer.
1998 Added Web/HTML support to ETK. ETK finally becoming obsolete as a
product, although the ideas and techniques behind ETK are universally
valid.
1999 Wrote PentaSafe Password Manager for AS/400 to detect weak passwords.
This involved detection of the password encryption algorithm as well as
finding out the internal structures for storing passwords and user IDs.
I was a "white hat" hacker in the finest classical meaning of the word.
2000 Started writing the "AS/400 Machine-Level Programming" eBook, see
http://www.leif.org/as400. Gave classes in MI for the AS/400 at COMMON.
2001 Wrote FTP-software for Palm-Pilot and software to up/download
Palm-Pilot databases to AS/400 databases with the necessary format
conversions. Also wrote the FAST400 program that gives users access
to superior interactive performance on their AS/400s, over and above
that provided by IBM.
2002 Returned to Space Physics. Collaborating with Ed Cliver at
Air Force Research Laboratory. Recent work can be found at
http://www.leif.org/research
2004 Visiting professor at the Solar Terrestrial Environment Laboratory
of University of Nagoya, Toyokawa, Aichi, Japan.
2006 Member of NOAA/NASA Panel for prediction of Solar Cycle 24.
2009 HMI Team member, Stanford University.
2012 Team Leader of ISSI workshop, Berne.
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