Michael Pilquist

Michael started programming on an IBM AT using the BASICA programming language. In college, he was introduced to Standard ML but entered industry and focused on C++, Java, and C#. It would be nearly a decade before he returned to functional programming.

Michael has been using Scala since 2009, when he was convinced to give it a try by listening to Dick Wall and the Java Posse. He was initially drawn to Scala as a better Java and quickly adopted functional programming practices.

Michael is an Engineering Fellow at Comcast, where he is responsible for the end to end architecture of video distribution systems. Michael introduced Scala at Comcast, gradually transitioning organizations from enterprise Java with Spring to functional programming flavored Scala. The adoption of functional programming in these organizations directly led to more resilient systems that were easier to evolve to the changing needs of the business.

Michael is the author of many functional open source libraries including FS2, Scodec, and Simulacrum and he's a co-maintainer of many other libraries including Cats, Cats Effect, and Skunk.