Summary

I am a technical writer and researcher with expertise in cloud computing, cybersecurity, Web3, cognitive science, evolutionary biology, and the philosophy of mind. I bring a unique blend of industry knowledge, academic rigor, and creative thinking to my writing, research, and technical projects.

Experience

Bittensor | December 2024 - Present

Head of Technical Documentation

I mantain and develop the Bittensor docs.

Freelance Writer and Researcher | October 2023 – Dec 2024

  • Completed several contracts for technical documentation and white-paper projects.
  • Wrote for VentureBeat as an artificial intelligence specialist, focusing on agentic AI, IT automation, and AI governance.
  • Co-authored interdisciplinary publications on cognition and evolution:
    • “A Multi-Trait Embodied Framework for the Evolution of Brains and Cognition Across Animal Phyla” in Behavioral and Brain Sciences, co-authored with S. Coombs (Forthcoming).
    • “Animal Consciousness” in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, co-authored with Jonathan Birch and Colin Allen (Forthcoming/2024).

Cockroach Labs | Jan 2022 - Oct 2023

Senior Technical Writer/Cybersecurity Specialist

  • Researched and authored documentation and educational materials for CockroachDB and CockroachDB Cloud Platform.
  • Owned security-related topics and features including: public key infrastructure (PKI), identity and access management (IAM), rule-based access control (RBAC), single sign-on (SSO), OAuth, OpenID Connect (OIDC), encryption, and network security.
  • Researched and authored security and compliance guidebook for prospective customers.
  • Provided review and mentorship for more junior writers.

Forte | Mar 2020 - Dec 2021

Principal Technical Writer

  • Developed API documentation, tutorials, and educational materials on the Forte cryptoeconomics platform.
  • Owned all information architecture, research, writing, and editorial responsibilities for documentation.

Freelance | Jun 2018 - Mar 2020

Technical Writer, Security Engineer, and Consultant

  • Various Engagements with startups, including Vanta and Domino Data Labs.
  • Wrote documentation, implemented several small development and SRE projects.

Pivotal Software | Apr 2015 – Jun 2018

Technical Writer, Engineer, SRE

  • Contributed to BOSH core codebase, cloud platform security and reliability, and Cloud Foundry documentation.

Academic Positions | 2010 - 2014

  • Post-doc researcher at University of Utah, Indiana University.
  • National Science Foundation research grant.
  • Conducted research in theoretical foundations of cognitive science and published numerous academic papers.
  • Taught undergraduate and graduate classes.

Selected Publications

  • Trestman, M., Birch, J., & Allen, C. (Forthcoming, 2024). “Animal Consciousness.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
  • Coombs, S., & Trestman, M. (Forthcoming, 2024). “A Multi-Trait Embodied Framework for the Evolution of Brains and Cognition Across Animal Phyla.” Behavioral and Brain Sciences. Link and call for commentary
  • Trestman, M. (2023). “Energy and Expectation: The Dynamics of Living Consciousness.” Biosemiotics, 16(2), 269-279.
  • Trestman, M. (2018). “Minds and Bodies in Animal Evolution.” In K. Andrews & J. Beck (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Animal Minds.
  • Allen, C., & Trestman, M. (2017). Animal consciousness. The Blackwell companion to consciousness, 63-76.
  • Trestman, M. (2015). Clever Hans, Alex the parrot, and Kanzi: What can exceptional animal learning teach us about human cognitive evolution?. Biological Theory, 10, 86-99.
  • Trestman, M. (2013). “The Cambrian Explosion and the Origins of Embodied Cognition.” Biological Theory, 8(1), 80-92.
  • Trestman, M. (2013). “The Modal Breadth of Consciousness.” Philosophical Psychology, 27(6), 843-861.
  • Trestman, M. (2013). Which comes first in major transitions: The behavioral chicken, or the evolutionary Egg?. Biological Theory, 7, 48-55.
  • Trestman, M. A. (2012). Implicit and explicit goal-directedness. Erkenntnis, 77, 207-236.
  • Trestman, M. (2010). Goal-Directedness, behavior and evolution: A philosophical investigation. University of California, Davis.

Selected Presentations

  • “Sentience and Social Control: Coercion/Deterrence Behavior as a Model System for Sentience Studies” Foundations of Sentience working group, London School of Economics, November 2023.
  • “Communicative Violence and Control: Teleodynamics of Deterrence.” Free Brussels University, October 2022. https://youtu.be/P_8QhC0uqsM
  • “Flower communication in social bees: a case study in biophenomenology” Department of Psychology, Bilkent University, April 2021.
  • “The Cambrian Explosion and the Origins of Embodied Cognition.” International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, 2013.
  • “Space, Body, and Mind in Animal Evolution.” Konrad Lorenz Institute, 2012.
  • “Investigating the Phylogenetic Distribution of Consciousness.” International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, 2011.

Honors & Awards

  • National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (2012-2014)
  • Tanner Humanities Center Postdoctoral Fellowship (2010)
  • UC Davis Research Fellowship (2004, 2008)

Education

PhD in Philosophy, 2010 | University of California, Davis

  • Dissertation: “Goal-Directedness, Behavior, and Evolution: A Philosophical Investigation.”
  • Areas of Specialization: Philosophy of Cognitive Science, Philosophy of Biology, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Science.

Skills

  • Technical Writing and Documentation: Experience producing developer guides, API docs, short-form journalistic content, and book-length guides for tech audiences, as well as white papers and journal articles for specialist audiences.
  • Cybersecurity & Web3: Expertise in public key infrastructure, encryption, IAM, blockchain technology, and cryptoeconomics.
  • Cloud Computing and DevOps: Knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure), Docker, Kubernetes, and Terraform.
  • Philosophy and Cognitive Science: Published extensively on consciousness, cognition, and evolution.
  • Teaching and Public Speaking: Strong background in verbal presentation of technical material to audiences ranges from students to tech industry, to academic specialists.
  • Project Management: Proven ability to design, manage, and complete complex projects autonomously, delivering high-quality results on tight deadlines.
  • Programming: Professional experience writing code in Python, Golang, Ruby, and JavaScript. Deep knowledge of shell scripting and IT administration in cloud environemnts.
  • Mentorship and Team Collaboration: Skilled in providing constructive review and mentorship to junior writers, researchers, engineers and students.