Grant Baxter

Systems Manager and Senior Teaching Fellow

Curriculum vitae

Grant Baxter has been employed at the Department of Design Studies since early 1996. His current position is split between IT manager and Senior Teaching Fellow.

His areas of expertise include:

• user interface design.
• software application development (Cocoa/Objective C, Java, RealBasic, etc).
• exploring new ways of exploiting feature convergence in the new generation of mobile computing devices (specifically the iPhone and iPad).
• Developing applications using the new web development platforms (Sproutcore and Cappuccino).
• Creating usable web sites.
• Developing database/script driven web sites and integrating MySQL/PHP with Flash based web sites.

He graduated from Otago in 1993 with a double major in Computer Science and Psychology and is currently studying to complete his MDes degree at Otago.

Area of expertise

• New uses for mobile technology and mobile device application development.
• Application interface development
• Web 2.0+ development
• Data driven web site development
• Educational software development.
  

Recent publications / projects

• The development and prototyping of an online system to evaluate competence in students of design, Laird, N., & Baxter, G., Proceedings of the Apple University Consortium Academic and Developers Conference, Apple Computer Australia
• Grade expectations: Assessing design thinking. The development of an online evaluation system , Baxter, G., & Laird, N., Proceedings of the Changing Face of Design Education: The 2nd International Engineering and Product Design Education Conference, TU Delft, Delft, The Netherlands
• Wicked problems and shared meanings: Evaluating design competence. The development and prototyping of an online system to evaluate competence in students of design, Baxter, G., & Laird, N., Proceedings of the International Design Education, Tradition and Modernity Conference, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India
• Intellectual Property, Authors: Mainvil, L., & Baxter, G. P., University of Otago, New Zealand Trade Mark No. 708867. This trademark for computer software and related services represents output of three years’ original research (2003–5). The innovative 5+ Your Way™ computer program is designed to motivate and enable adult New Zealanders to eat more fruit and vegetables. This unique software mimics the thought processes of a dietician trained in behavioural psychology and persuasive communication.
• Mainvil, L., Neave, B., Rigby, P., Leaity, K., Smyth, B., Horwath, C. C., Reeder, A., Hall, C., McKercher, M., Thomson, R., Wharemate, L., & Baxter, G. P. (2003). Tailored print communications: A multi-disciplinary team approach. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society of New Zealand, 28, (pp. 36).
• Database and web designer and programmer/designer of the internet survey engine for the POInz infant obesity study. Department of Women's and Children's health, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago.
• Co-development and co-delivery of 5 day iPhone programming course for Jade software (Christchurch centre), October 2009.

Membership

• Designers Institute of New Zealand (DINZ), associate member