Iain R. Learmonth

I'm a recent graduate with a Masters degree in Computing Science currently employed as a Researcher at the University of Aberdeen in the area of Internet Engineering.

My first interaction with Debian was when I was ~7 years old and I purchased a full set of Debian Sarge CDs from the Internet. I didn't have Internet access in my bedroom, but having all that software ready to go on CD allowed me to dive right into the world of open source and I was instantly hooked.

Last year, I got an email regarding the Debian Med sprint and I was intruiged by this. Whilst I have no professional interest in Medical or Bioinformatics software, I have a personal interest in quantified self software. This interest along with the fact it was Debian-related and it was happening in my home city of Aberdeen was easily enough for me to go along and get involved.

I had a really good time during the sprint and thanks to Andreas Tille's packaging demo, came away with the ability to produce Debian packages. Andreas advocated me for Debian Maintainer at the start of September this year and at the end of September my application was accepted.

Since then, I've been lightly involved in the Debian Games team and heavily involved in the Debian Hams team, whilst continuing to ensure that my Debian Med packages remain up to date and in line with current policy.

Since joining the Debian Hams team I've completed 3 packages, and have around 5 packages in my queue for bugfixes, new upstreams and replacing obsolete packages with new ones. I've also been mentoring new Debian contributors via the debian-hams mailing list as Andreas once did for me, and plan to continue doing this for as long as there are those wanting to contribute to the Debian Hams team.

I have plans for a Debian Pure Blend for hamradio with a provisional target of stretch, along with a live CD based on the blend. These plans along with the ability to not need to find a sponsor for not only my own packages, now that I have demonstrated that I can produce quality packages, but also the packages of those I mentor, which I will hold to the same standard, form the basis of my reasons to apply for the role of Debian Developer.

In other parts of my life I am also a founding member of 57North Hacklab (the local hackerspace) and a member of the Open Right's Group's Supporter Council.