My background and personal interests encompass a commitment to the symbiotic fusion of art and science, music and electronics, the rational and the subjective.

I was born in Virginia and raised in North Carolina, but currently reside and work in the wonderful San Francisco Bay Area.

Education:

Stanford University, Stanford, CA

M.S., Electrical Engineering, April 2006

Coursework: EE201A, EE261A, EE263, EE265 EE273, MUS154, MUS220A,
MUS220B, MUS220C, MUS250A MUS320, MUS420, MUS421, PSYCH221

North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
B.S., Computer Engineering, December 2002, Summa Cum Laude
Minor: Music Composition

Relevant Coursework: Electric Circuits I, II; Fundamentals of Logic; Advanced Programming in C++; Physics for Engineers I, II; Data Structures; Discrete Math; Linear Systems; Microelectronics; Design of Complex Digital Systems; Signal Processing; Elements of Control; Embedded Systems Design; Machine Learning; Piano; Music Theory I, II; Music Literature I, II; Twentieth Century Music; Music Composition with Computers

Senior Design Project: Gestural MIDI Controller

Colorado State University, Summer 2002

Work Experience:

Senior Audio DSP Engineer, Sennheiser Research Laboratory
Palo Alto, CA April 2006 to Present

Research in Digital Signal Processing (DSP) applied to transducers

Design Engineer I, Analog Devices, Inc.
Greensboro, NC January to December 2003
San Jose, CA January to December 2004

Digital design of optical DVI extender; hardware and algorithm design of high-resolution graphics card;FPGA design prototyping

Co-op, Analog Devices, Inc.
Greensboro, NC January 2000 to August 2001
Provided support for the application, design, and manufacture of high-speed A/D converters

Drafter / Surveyor, Anderson & Associates
Greensboro, NC August 1997 to June 1999
Civil Engineering: Drafting of land surveys in AutoCAD

Park Attendant, Greensboro Parks & Recreation
Country Park, Greensboro, NC August 1994 to June 1996
Various responsibilities including boating dock supervision and roller hockey referee

Publications:

Gary W. Elko, Jens Meyer, Steven Backer, Jürgen Peissig
Electronic Pop Protection for Microphones
IEEE Workshop on Applications of Signal Processing to Audio and Acoustics
October 21-24, 2007 - New Paltz, New York

E. Berdahl, S. Backer, J.O. Smith III
If I Had A Hammer: Design and Theory of an Electromagnetically-Prepared Piano
International Computer Music Conference
September 5-9, 2005 - Barcelona, Spain

Patent

System and method for synchronous clock re-generation from a non-synchronous interface

Activities:

Member of:

Audio Engineering Society [AES] (in the news...)

International Computer Music Association [ICMA]

Acoustical Society of America [ASA]

In my "spare time": surfing, snowboarding, playing with my cat "Fluppha",
hearing live music, and of course, ripping away on a guitar!