Brian is co-founder and managing partner of Bluebuzzard, a Chicago-based software firm founded in 2004, which specializes in Web-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) for the hospitality industry. At Bluebuzzard, Brian leads product management, operations and full-stack development efforts. 

A technology entrepreneur, consultant, speaker, teacher and author with more than 20 years of experience, he has led new product development and software engineering initiatives for some of the world's largest and most progressive companies in hospitality, retail and manufacturing.

He is the co-author of Rails for .NET Developers, published by Pragmatic Press in 2008.

 

• BS, 1996, Computer Information Systems, Indiana University

• Partner and CTO, Bluebuzzard Technology Group, Inc., 2005-present
• Lead Software Architect, Euromarket Designs, Inc. (Crate and Barrel), 2004-2006
• Director, Applications Development, Applied Decisions USA, Inc., 2001-2004
• Practice Manager, TAP Management, Inc., 1999-2001
• Practice Manager, Symmetry Corporation, 1997-1999
• Senior Consultant, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, LLC, 1996-1997

Introduction to Software Development (ENTR-451-0)
This course is geared to provide technical literacy for non-programmers who will be founders, employees, or consultants to "tech-enabled" organizations. This is a survey-style course that is very hands-on - students will learn the essentials of coding by creating websites and basic software applications that manipulate data and work across today's platforms and devices. Students will: * Build their own website and deploy it on a variety of platforms, including tablets and mobile devices, using modern web development tools and techniques * Achieve working proficiency with the web programming languages and related open-source technologies, using it to build simple web applications * Gain exposure to open-source business initiatives from Facebook, Google, and other major contributors to the languages and frameworks shaping modern software development * Learn to manipulate and consume data with SQL, open datasets, and APIs Students should expect to spend 6-8 hours a week on coding projects and take-home exercises. There is no final exam. All students must have a modern Mac or Windows computer for completing homework and in-class projects. Detailed instructions on setup will be provided prior to the first day of class.