Zach Havens

I'm a(n)

About

Computer Science Masters Student - University of Manitoba.

Researching how to improve the security and privacy of online banking applications for older adults and their close others/caregivers through tranparent yet subtle behavioural nudging.

I'm currently a Computer Science Masters student at the University of Manitoba working with Dr. Celine Latulipe in the HCI Lab. Prior to that, I was a Software Engineer at Google for 5 years where I worked on a low-level distributed consensus application (Chubby). I've got a passion for everything computer science related, but I have a particular affinity for older adult support in interfaces, network security, and distributed/networked computing. That being said, I'm always excited to learn new skills and concepts wherever I can!

  • Age: 31
  • Degree: Masters
  • Email: havensz@myumanitoba
  • City: Winnipeg, MB

Resume

Summary

Zach Havens

Curious and enthusiastic masters student researching interfaces for older adults and their caregivers.

Education

Master of Science in Computer Science

Sept. 2021 - Present

University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB

  • Advisor: Dr. Celine Latulipe
  • Focus Area: Older Adult Privacy in Online Banking

Bachelor of Computer Science Honours (Co-op)

Sept. 2011 - May 2016

University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB

  • Cumulative GPA: 4.22 / 4.50
  • Awarded the Program Medal for Highest Standing in an Honours Program, Faculty of Science
  • Degree specializations in HCI & Computer Graphics, Networks and Security

Teaching Experience

Sessional Instructor, Computer Science

Sept. 2023 - Present

University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB

  • COMP 1010: Introductory Computer Science - F'23, F'24
  • COMP 1020: Introductory Computer Science 2 - W'24
  • COMP 3010: Distributed Systems - S'24

Professional Experience

Software Engineer

August 2019 - August 2021

Google Inc., New York, NY

  • Drove integration or safe encryption of Paxos database formats
  • Aided in design and implementation of end-to-end checksum coverage
  • Owned and led improvement of scaling and usability in an end-to-end load test framework
  • Part of a group designing and implementing new low-dependency APIs for distributed consensus primitives

Software Engineer, Tools and Infra.

September 2016 - August 2019

Google Inc., New York, NY

  • Worked directly with developers to improve release processes and increase release stability
  • Designed and implemented an end-to-end load testing framework for an eventually-consistent proxy service
  • Provided strong cultural leadership and expertise around testing and other development best practices
  • Mentored new team members from onboarding through to independent project leadership

Software Development Engineer Intern

May 2015 - August 2015

Amazon, Seattle, WA

  • Performed a full refactoring of our web UI to use AngularJS
  • Educated team members on the new AngularJS-based UI to facilitate development
  • Integrated new services and security measures into the service

Research Papers

Publications

  • Proxy Accounts and Behavioural Nudges: Investigating Support for Older Adults and their Financial Delegates.

    Zach Havens and Dr. Celine Latulipe Graphics Interface '24

Ongoing Research

Graduate Course Research

  • Human-AI Interaction: Exploring Input Modalities for Collaborative Storytelling (w/ Raquel Thiessen)
  • Computational Geometry: Convex Hulls: Comparing Theoretical and Practical Runtimes (w/ Danika Passler Bates)

Undergrad Course Research

  • Cryptography: Collision Attacks on MD4 (w/ Vanessa Reimer)
  • Security: Exploiting Shellshock (w/ Vanessa Reimer)