About the Author

Scott Sheppard ([email protected]) has worked for Autodesk for 26 out of the last 28 years depending on if you count acquisitions and dot coms:

• Scott was a software developer working on the HOOPS 3D graphics system as part of Ithaca Software when the company was acquired by Autodesk. [3 years]

• After the acquisition, Scott was a software development manager for a few Autodesk products including Heidi, WHIP!, Volo View, and Buzzsaw — including when his department was spun out as buzzsaw.com and then reacquired by Autodesk two years later. [10 years]

• In pursuit of a lower cost of living, Scott left the Bay Area for Scottsdale, Arizona and worked for Océ as the software development manager for Océ Plan Center — an online digital plan room. [2 years non-Autodesk]

• Upon returning to Autodesk but working from home in Scottsdale, Scott served as a DWF Technical Evangelist working with Autodesk partners on DWF-related applications and created the Beyond the Paper blog. [1 year]

• For the subsequent year, Scott toiled as an Engineering Project Manager for DWF-related projects. The team was going to create an Autodesk-developed Navisworks competitor, but the project was killed when Autodesk acquired Navisworks. [1 year]

• After that project, Scott worked as a Software Development Manager of the team that released:
  • Project Freewheel (3D viewing in just a browser),
  • Autodesk Freewheel (production version of Project Freewheel),
  • Project Draw (2D diagramming),
  • Boomless Chameleon (iPad-based virtual reality),
  • Wiimote Navigation (navigating CAD data via game controller),
  • Project Showroom (3D rendering on demand), and
  • Project Twitch (running CAD on remote servers with low latency)
  technology previews via Autodesk Labs. [2 years]

• Scott returned to the Bay Area and became the Program Manager for Autodesk Labs — sharing technology previews obtained from the product development teams, blogging about them, monitoring and measuring customer feedback, and reporting back to the product development teams on the viability of the technologies based on the volume and sentiment of the customer feedback. See blog post. [8 years]

• Scott is now a Program Manager in Autodesk Research working with Autodesk product managers to help Autodesk researchers transition new technologies into production-worthy cloud-based services using the Autodesk Forge platform. See blog post.

Scott earned his undergraduate degree in Computer Science from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (Does anyone remember Honeywell Multics?) and a Master's of Science, Computer Science degree from Arizona State University (ASU) in software engineering.

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Disclaimer

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• The postings on It's Alive in the Lab are my own personal opinions and do not represent Autodesk's view in any way. In addition, my opinions are subject to change. By definition, a blog is a chronology of information - including opinions. As a result, you should consider that out of date blog postings may not necessarily reflect my current opinion on a given topic.

• Although this blog is not the official Autodesk opinion, endorsement, or recommendation, It's Alive in the Lab is authored by an Autodesk employee. This approach provides direct contact between customers and Autodesk personnel most familiar with our newest technologies. It is an effective method in breaking down the barrier that separates Autodesk customers from Autodesk developers. In addition, blog readers get content that, although more informal, is more timely.