Simon likes using computers to solve real world problems and is a believer that a strong technical foundation should be a core competency in our rapidly developing, data rich world. At UNEP-WCMC he was the technical lead on the Protected Planet project, and is currently enjoying using Node.js to make mapping dynamic data sources as real-time and collaborative as possible for the latest Vizzuality projects.

The product of an unholy alliance between the Imperial College Computer Science MSc and Environmental Science BSc, Simon relishes the Gandalfian tone of K&R C, and has presented on the future of mobile technologies in conservation at the University of Oxford Biodiversity Institute, and on applied visualization at Forum for the Future. Despite this, Simon is an exceptionally bad horticulturalist, and has still not returned his DNA sample to 23andMe.