introducing dave west

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introducing dave west

Prof David West
Hello FRIAM community,

My name is dave west.  Some relevant factoids about me:
   My undergraduate education was in Asian Philosophy (mostly Buddhism
   and Taoism and their intersection) and Mysticism at Macalester
   College in St. Paul Minn.
   I have been a professional software developer since 1968 and an
   academic since 1988.
   Returned to school in 1985 at the University of Wisconsin at Madison,
   earned MA in cultural anthropology, MS in computer science, and a
   Ph.D. in Anthropology (de facto cognitive science with a dissertation
   committee of three anthropologists, two computer scientists,
   psychologist, and linguist).
   First use of complexity ideas was in my doctoral dissertation -1988 -
   where I was proposing a model of cognition called vTAO (virtual
   Topographic Adaptive Organism).
   First publication was in AI Magazine (1989), a two part article on
   metaphors of mind.
   Became an academic at University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN - not
   Virgin Islands alas) advanced to Professor, move to NM to start new
   program in IT at New Mexico Highlands (just in time for them to go
   bankrupt and deal with a string of interim presidents).  Finally
   succeeded in starting a radically different software degree only to
   have Manny Aragon arbitrarily cancel it in order to get rid of
   "carpetbagger faculty."
   Currently working with the College of Santa Fe to create
   fundamentally (some of the radical differences at Highlands will wait
   a few years at CSF) different program in software development,
   including BA degree in software dev, MBA in software dev (will
   eventually be an MFA), and a MBA in technology transfer and
   innovation management.
   Book published, Object Thinking, by Microsoft Press Professional,
   2004
   Book underway, Developing Systems, (reinventing software development
   using complexity metaphors if not theory, agility, and art)

have attended two Friday AM meetings about two weeks ago, will be back
again next week.

davew