Gent Semaj
@gsemaj / @datah4zard / @ycc
whoami
I am a software engineer based in Washington state.
I specialize in systems design, game programming, and binary reverse engineering/exploitation.
I got my bachelor's degree in Computer Science & Engineering from Ohio State in 2023, where I was president of OSU Cyber Security Club.
Currently, I'm a full-time engineer at Microsoft working on the Xbox operating systems team.
I am also enrolled in graduate studies in Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Washington.
what i've done/am doing
ble rev undergrad thesis
I wrote an undergraduate thesis on emulating bare-metal Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) firmware for vulnerability analysis, under the advisement of Dr. Zhiqiang Lin.
manufacturing research
I helped write a manuscript at the Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence (CDME) about predicting failures in laser powder bed fusion manufacturing.
matlab tooling
I created some (now lost) MATLAB tools for the Biomedical Research Lab at Case Western Reserve University to make analysis of time-series medical data easier.
openfusion
I helped bring back one of my favorite childhood online video games, Cartoon Network's FusionFall, by being a main contributor of the open source server emulator OpenFusion (which I am currently rewriting in Rust!)
buckeyectf 2022
I helped run BuckeyeCTF 2022, a capture-the-flag (CTF) style hacking competition for university students. I authored several challenges in a variety of categories (including web, forensics, reverse engineering, and heap exploitation) and helped with competition logistics & infrastructure.
first tech challenge
I often volunteer and mentor for FIRST Tech Challenge, a nationwide hands-on high school robotics competition, to get students excited about engineering. You should, too!
custom keyboard
I am in the process of creating my own custom split mechanical keyboard from scratch. I'm making the schematic and PCB layout myself in KiCad, and I plan on writing my own firmware for it (in Rust, of course).
6502 breadboard computer
I've been following along with Ben Eater's tutorial on building a fully functional 6502 computer system on breadboards using the kit he sells on his site.
open source
I contribute to all kinds of open source projects, from small utilities like OpenRGB to larger projects like the Rust standard library.
music production
I am trying (and failing) to learn digital music production with a MIDI keyboard I bought off Amazon so that one day I may be deemed worthy by the great Iglooghost.
grade school projects
I made a LOT of embarrassingly crappy Java games, Minecraft mods, and FTL: Faster Than Light tools/mods under a variety of aliases in grade school, and it's how I got to where I am today 😄
roguelites
I'm always finding time to play indie roguelite video games like Enter the Gungeon, Slay the Spire, and Wizard of Legend, but I'm also a big fan of the Pokémon and Animal Crossing franchises.
japanese
I started practicing Japanese on Duolingo during the COVID-19 pandemic and even made a (now retired) leaderboard for me and my friends to compete on.
chess
I was a founder of my high school's chess club but am horrible at chess.
froge
I made a glorious Discord bot named froge.
