Meet Kristin Salomon: Maker, Engineer, and Speaker

Meet Kristin Salomon: Maker, Engineer, and Speaker

It still feels far away, but Signal is coming and we couldn’t be more excited to see what you – the community – bring to the conference in 2016. While we’re busy planning and preparing, we’d like to give you some insight into who you’ll meet May 24-25 at Pier 27 in San Francisco. And maybe you will find yourself inspired to join us on stage!

We invited Kristin Salomon to tell us more about her journey through the world of programming from disassembling hardware and creating early websites to speaking at a conference for the first time and this is what we learned.

Kristin is an electronics engineer at littleBits, a New York City based company that creates electronic building blocks that empower everyone to create inventions large and small. When she’s not designing hardware or programming for embedded systems, Kristin enjoys exploring the city, working on her photography, and volunteering her time by tutoring local high school students.

In her presentation last year, she introduced hardware into the Signal conversation and drew parallels between the littleBits system and software APIs. Kristin’s excited to share more of her work and can’t wait to see what’s in store for Signal 2016.

How did you end up in engineering?

I always thought I ended up in engineering because my older brother is an engineer. Like many teens I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do right before college, so I figured I’d try engineering out at least. But looking back on it now, I think I just had an affinity for tech and the Web. I tinkered and took things apart to try and fix them, like my old cell phone which I didn’t actually end up fixing… I made little paper and cardboard boats with my brother to see which ones would float down the creek near my house. I learned HTML and made one of those really bad 90s websites on Geocities – complete with misplaced iframes, animated gifs, spinning text, and a traffic counter. So when I started my engineering classes, the maker in me grew and it all just clicked! Needless to say, I stuck with the program and am still constantly learning new things.

What inspired you to take your keyboard from your desk to behind the podium? Or more simply, what inspired you to start public speaking?

When I was an undergrad I co-founded the first college chapter of the organization Science Club for Girls (SCFG) at Northeastern. It was not only my way of giving back to the Boston community, but also how I shared my passion for learning and STEM with others. When my proposal for Signal last year got accepted, I was a little terrified. I had never spoken at a conference before. But I remembered and was inspired by how I felt in my previous experiences, like at SCFG. Signal became the platform for me to share my passion for the work I do now.

What have you been working on lately?

Practicing my coding chops. A few weeks ago I came across Codingame, and I’m hooked on it. It’s a web platform that merges programming with video games – so awesome! I usually develop firmware in C, so it’s great for me to practice the language I know the best. But I dabble in JavaScript, so I’ve been using Codingame as a way to learn other languages too.

I also just started a few side projects, the first being a room or home monitoring system using reed switches, sensors, littleBits, and Twilio SMS. It’s not as epic as the littleBits Arcade I worked on for Maker Faire SF and NY, but I think it’ll be fun once I have it up and running. The second is a photo blog, but that’s still in its very early stages.

What are you most excited about for Signal 2016?

Signal was a lot of fun last year! It was great to see the different applications that software and communications are used for, especially in the social change realm. I’m excited about connecting with people, seeing what kinds of littleBits projects attendees might have created since last year, and using the talks as sources of learning and inspiration.

Do you have any advice for developers?

If you’ve never spoken at an event before and you’re thinking about submitting a proposal to Signal, just do it! Sometimes I don’t think we give ourselves enough credit for the amazing things that we work on and the stories we can share. Trust me, people want to listen. Speaking at Signal was such a great experience, especially for my first conference. I’m stoked about coming back for 2016!

The Call for Presenters is open until December 1st, 2015. Join the conversation and apply to speak today.

Editor’s Note: The Call for Presenters is now closed. But we still hope to see you in May. Register for the conference.