Mario Casciaro is a software engineer and technical lead with a passion for open source. He began programming with a Commodore 64 when he was 12, and grew up with Pascal and Visual Basic. His programming skills evolved by experimenting with x86 assembly language, C, C++, PHP, and Java. His relentless work on side projects led him to discover JavaScript and Node.js, which quickly became his new passion. In his professional career, he worked with IBM for several years-first in Rome and then in the Dublin Software Lab. At IBM, Mario worked on products for brands such as Tivoli, Cognos, and Collaboration Solutions, using a variety of technologies from C to PHP and Java. He then plunged into the adventurous world of start ups to work full time on Node.js projects. He ended up working in a lighthouse, at D4H Technologies, where he led the development of a real-time platform to manage emergency operations.