Who is Robert Redwood? That's a rather difficult question to answer properly without you meeting me, but I'll give it my best shot.

I live in Brighton and Hove, on the south coast of England, and have done since I was small. Brighton's a lively town in a great location, sitting between the seaside (not much sand I'm afraid) and a beautiful area of countryside called the South Downs. With two universities, it's got a young demographic, and one of the highest retention rates for students of any UK town. People come to Brighton, people like Brighton, people move to Brighton, people work in Brighton. I'm kind of the odd one out since I was here anyway. I studied Computing and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Sussex.

I like cycling, playing tennis and skiing. I owned a chinchilla for several years, and I eat most kinds of cheese. Vital as those things are however, I'm guessing what you're really interested in is my personality. ('No!', I hear you cry, 'Talk more about the cheese!')

I'm honest and frank - I tell it like it is. I'm not afraid to admit fault, but if I believe something is right, I'll stand by it. I've got strong convictions about the things that are important to me, but when it comes to the peripheral stuff I'm quite laid back, and tend to go with whatever best serves those around me.

I love learning and teaching, and find the two rarely sit very far apart. For myself, I really enjoy discovering a new technology or technique, or solving a problem I haven't run into before. Helping someone else with their own issue is just as satisfying though, and there's nothing quite like seeing the lights come on as someone finally 'gets it' and can move on with what they were doing after you've explained something.

I could list particular skills that I have, but in honesty the fact is that my skills are whatever they need to be. I learn fast, and have a natural talent for understanding and explanation. I really enjoy problem solving, which is the heart of the reason I love programming. I've got a very analytical, objective mind, which means I tend to see the end from the beginning. If someone presents an idea, I can almost immediately highlight all the potential problems and pitfalls, as well as objectively reviewing the idea itself. This means that my own creativity compliments a spontaneous, visionary colleague well.

I work diligently, and I go by my own standards, not what other people think of me. I always have, since almost invariably my own personal targets have been higher than those imposed on me by others. This passion for excellence is borne out by my excellent academic record. For me, getting an A* because that's the grade people would see was never the point - I'd set my eyes on the mark that I wanted to achieve, completely regardless of grade boundaries, and work to get there.

I obtained top grade A-Levels in Computing, Maths, Chemistry and Physics, and enjoyed the latter three. Maths and chemistry for example challenged and pushed me in an exciting way, allowing me to explore new conceptual ground and think in different ways. The only reason that I didn't really enjoy computing at A-Level was that there was nothing new to discover there. I started computer programming early, around 14 years ago now, and have loved it ever since. I'd also had ample time to dabble in a whole range of areas, from 3D modelling and rendering and game programming, to network structure and administration.

My academic history culminated in my degree at the University of Sussex. This was a great chance to finish full-time education with a flourish, as well as explore a new phase of life by moving out of home to live with friends in student accomodation. (If you've ever lived in student accomodation, you'll understand that this is a very fast way to learn about a whole new side of life!). My award winning dissertation from my final year can be found here.

Alongside university, I also ran a business that combined building websites and software for other people with maintaining my own flagship website, www.easyelements.com. Easy Elements attracts thousands of people every day who want to download free Photoshop brushes, or learn more about using Photoshop Elements.

Anyway, there's always much more I could say, but the unlimited space which the Internet affords us serves as a reminder that we need to be concise. My suggestion? If you want to find out who I am, there's no better way than to meet me. How do you convince me to meet you? Well you could always buy me some cheese...