stevefan1999

Conducted research on network coding theory and explored its practical applications in distributed storage systems, wireless communications, and content distribution networks. Developed and optimized high-performance string matching algorithms leveraging Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) techniques to achieve significant throughput improvements in pattern recognition tasks. Investigated hardware acceleration strategies for BATS (BATched Sparse) codes, identifying performance optimization opportunities through systolic array architectures and FPGA implementations for real-time encoding and decoding operations. Engineered SIMD-accelerated Galois Field arithmetic operations utilizing Intel GFNI (Galois Field New Instructions) and SIMDE (SIMD Everywhere) library, achieving an average performance improvement of 30% with peak gains of up to 2x in computational throughput for error-correcting code implementations.

Spearheaded the Rust integration of the BATS (BATched Sparse) network coding framework, combining both Rust and C++, driving the adoption of memory-safe systems programming practices for high-performance network protocol development. Architected and developed a POSIX Socket Compatibility layer for the BATS protocol, enabling seamless integration with legacy applications. Successfully demonstrated interoperability by integrating with EScp (ESNET Secure Copy), a high-performance file transfer tool for large file transfer. Designed and implemented a distributed file transfer system utilizing gRPC as the inter-process communication protocol, establishing a robust and scalable interface between the frontend file transfer application and the backend file transfer manager middleware for efficient task orchestration and status monitoring. Managed software quality assurance processes including bug triage, resolution, and maintenance of GitLab CI/CD pipelines to ensure continuous integration and automated testing workflows for reliable software delivery. Championed the adoption of Development Containers (Dev Containers) across the team, standardizing development environments to improve onboarding efficiency, eliminate "works on my machine" issues, and ensure reproducible builds. Authored comprehensive technical documentation using Astro framework with Starlight theme, creating an accessible and searchable knowledge base for internal and external stakeholders. Led the infrastructure modernization effort for an existing smart lamp post IoT project under HKSAR government, orchestrating the migration from Ubuntu 20.04 to 24.04 LTS, including troubleshooting complex network configurations and ensuring zero-downtime transition. Contributed to Microsoft's open-source MSQUIC library, debugging and implementing modifications to enable reliable operation in extreme network conditions with packet loss exceeding 20%. Prepared and submitted upstream contributions to the official Microsoft repository.

Infrastructure & Distributed Systems: Architected hybrid cloud infrastructure using k0s (on-premises) and AKS (cloud) with Pulumi/Terraform IaC. Spearheaded migration to HashiCorp Nomad, achieving 10x deployment velocity improvement. Deployed 10+ distributed services including Rook/Ceph storage, Elasticsearch, and RabbitMQ. Performance-Critical Software Refactor: Led architectural transition to event-driven system with object storage backend using C#, Redis, RabbitMQ, and MassTransit. Achieved 3x performance improvement through memory management and concurrency optimization. Network Architecture & Security: Designed multi-cloud VPN connectivity (on-prem/Azure/AWS) using IPSec and BGP routing. Implemented Zero-Trust architecture with Wireguard-based Netbird VPN for 30+ devices. Led first security audit with HashiCorp Vault for secrets management and SonarQube for static analysis. Database Optimization: Optimized SQL Server performance through index analysis, table normalization, and query execution tuning, achieving 50% query improvement and 5x storage reduction via automated maintenance procedures. MLOps & Observability: Introduced Kubeflow and Ray for scalable ML pipeline orchestration. Established observability stack with Grafana, Prometheus, and Loki for performance profiling across distributed systems.

Worked on the dashboard integrations with some features of gateware and firmware using Rust, Python, Qt 5, and Linux (NixOS).

Pioneered the design and development of a cloud-native virtual laboratory platform at PolyU, implementing a microservices architecture with horizontal auto-scaling capabilities to dynamically accommodate fluctuating workloads and ensure high availability during peak academic periods. Orchestrated the production environment deployment utilizing Ansible automation with k3s lightweight Kubernetes distribution on VMware vSphere virtualization infrastructure. Implemented Rook-Ceph as a distributed storage solution, providing resilient and scalable persistent storage for containerized workloads. Re-engineered and modernized a laboratory provisioning system forked from ShinyProxy, executing a comprehensive architectural migration from Docker-based container orchestration to a fully Kubernetes-native deployment model, enhancing scalability, resource utilization, and operational maintainability. Successfully delivered and maintained the virtual lab platform serving over 500 active users across the Department of Computing, Department of Applied Mathematics, and School of Accounting and Finance, enabling remote access to computational resources for coursework and research activities.