Zaf studied Engineering and Computer Science at Oriel College in Oxford and Communication Design at Central Saint Martins in London. He has worked as a programmer for more than 20 years in the United Kingdom and Greece, both for large private companies such as ZDNet/CNET and for top academic institutions such as the National Technical University of Athens.

He currently creates software tools for scientists who work on projects for the European Space Agency.His areas of expertise include cyber-physical hardware and software systems emphasizing robust, modular, secure, and scalable software components, “phygital” experiences, image and video processing, internet applications, and content management systems.

Zaf also has extensive maker experience, participating in Maker Faires in New York, Rome, and Athens. Zaf has used his programming skills on a variety of science and art projects and stage performances, and in 2016, he was included in the European Top 50 Makers list.

In my conversation with Zaf, we discussed his projects and challenges, where he often finds himself in “un-documented” territory. Zaf is known for not being afraid to go where he has never been as a maker. We discussed his experiences as an exhibitor at three maker fairs, prime numbers, and the Turing Machine, and how he created his version of the machine based on Arduino.

We also talked about Arduino-powered video art and much more.In this first part of the conversation, Zaf discusses his background as a programmer and maker. He discusses his approach to programming in multiple languages, his software designs, and some of his projects.This was a conversation by geeks for geeks that I am sure you will enjoy.

This is Tech Explorations Podcast episode 6.