I'm Liam Foot

I was always very interested in solving problems. From a young age, I would disassemble and re-assemble any devices I could get my hands on, to learn how they worked. Electronics, furniture, whatever was around.

In my early years of secondary school, I didn't have academic interests. It wasn't until I eventually paid some attention to Physics and Maths that I started to find such interests. I credit this to my mother, and to the fantastic teachers I had - it was their enthusiasm and incredible teachings that set me on the academic path. Without their help, I feel as though I never would have been able to progress in the way that I did.

Maths and Physics often go hand-in-hand, and so I grew quite fond of both subjects, but preferred the practical side of them, which made me more interested in Physics and Mathematical Mechanics.

The first things I remember enjoying about these subjects were the ability they gave me to calculate practical things. For example, calculating how much easier it is to open a door when pushing further from the hinge, or calculating how long an object will take to hit the ground when dropped. These were very interesting to me, offering a window into the physics of the world, and granting a greater understanding of the world around me.

When I finished my A-Levels, studying Physics at a university felt like a natural progression for me. I sent all 5 of my applications to the same university, for the same course. Thankfully, I wasn't rejected, and began studying at the University of Sheffield in 2013.

I enjoyed studying there. As someone hungry for more knowledge, it was amazing to look through the department and see all of the offices. Almost every lecturer was actively involved in research, discovering new things in their own fields. There were corridors of experts in so many areas, and it was amazing to think that I could ask them about cutting-edge developments that most others would not be aware of, or not understand.

In my third year, I began my first of three Medical Physics projects. I remember sitting in a room with the other 5 students stuyding this specialization and reading the sheet of available projects. When I read about a project which required developing new treatments using virtual reality, I knew that was my calling. I took the first year of the project with my lab partner, Jaspreet.

This project was very interesting for me, and is what lead to the Tessella Prize. Through this project, I discovered programming in C#, and became so infatuated with the language that I took it a lot further than the project required. In my own time, I've since studied ASP.NET full stack web development, app development for iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, related Microsoft stack technologies such as SQL Server and Windows Server, and more.

I feel that this was a natural progression of my interest in problem solving. The ability to program useful software is a skill that I love developing.

I am currently working on a high-fidelity open-world multiplayer VR game. The high fidelity applies to visuals, interaction, and immersion. A game such as this cannot simply exist, because at this scale, everything has a high performance cost. I spend my time making the game, but also making foundational systems that enable its existence. These systems have to be optimised to the microsecond. Unity's Burst compiler and profiling tools, coupled with Data Oriented Design, both are very useful in achieving the performance requirements for this game to exist. This is a very exciting and unique project, and I look forward to revealing it when I feel it is ready to show off.

If you would like to contact me, please visit the contact page.