Featured Projects
Teer →
Teer Inc is a nonprofit my friends and I are running. I'm helping direct the Generation Match program, which aims to combat senior citizen isolation due to the pandemic. We've partnered with a nursing home and high school to match isolated senior citizens with young volunteer penpals.
BlockFund →
BlockFund is a decentralized autonomous organization that leverages blockchain to pool community funds and allow for transparent voting and engagement. I did most of the frontend development for BlockFund among a team of three others at Stanford University's TreeHacks 2021. Out of 2,000 hackers, our team of 4 won two awards.
Most Impactful Hack
Best Hack using Alchemy API
Grosseries →
Grosseries is a virtual reality game that shows everyday shoppers how their buying choices can drastically impact the world around them. I helped develop Grosseries among a team of three others at UC San Diego's SD Hacks 2021. In under 36 hours, with no prior VR/Unity experience, I had to learn how to use Unity to create the world and write scripts in C# to deteriorate the environment on command. Out of 500 hackers, our team of 4 won four awards.
Best Sustainability Hack
Best Hardware Hack
echoAR Challenge Winner
Wolfram Alpha Prize
Interests
Computer Science
I started programming when I was about 7 years old in HTML and CSS. Here's one of the first websites I have ever made. I'm most comfortable with all things JavaScript/TypeScript (and Sass/LESS for stylesheets.) My preferred tech stack is MongoDB, Express, React, and Node, but I'm always willing to switch things up (e.g. Postgres instead of Mongo.) While my current focus is frontend engineering, I still dabble in lower-level projects and data projects that involve C, C++, Python, and Assembly. When I was younger, I was really into reverse engineering on Windows using programs like OllyDbg, x64dbg, IDA Pro, etc. as well as game development on Roblox in Lua. I'm always open to adapting my skillset to any new frameworks/languages.
Film/Art
Film is a medium through which I try to convey nostalgia and impermanence. I am fond of candid shots, especially ones featuring nature, settings from my childhood, or settings that imply constant change—e.g., a city or town. I film using a 1974 Minolta XL-400 on Kodak Super 8mm film rolls, as well as a 2008 Flip Mino F360B while I wait on film to be developed and digitized. You can find some of my work on Instagram: @marcusfrancofilm
Religion/Philosophy
I could honestly talk about this for hours on end. I'm a big fan of Hellenistic philosophy (Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Skepticism) as well as Eastern religion (Buddhism, Taoism, Jainism, Sikhism, etc.) I'm agnostic, but am closer to theistic than atheistic. Most of my values are inspired by the philosophies and religions I have named above. If we ever strike up a conversation, I really encourage you to share a bit about your spiritual journey!
Effective Altruism
I believe that humans are intended to cooperate with one another and that it is within my purpose to do the most I can for others. I've done effective altruism fellowships at Stanford University where I dove deep into the topic of how to do the most good most efficiently through weekly discussions and varied reading materials. I still have a lot to learn however, and am always hungry for more knowledge in this domain. If you've got a cool piece of media related to this, I'd love to hear about it!
Entrepreneurship
I like building things, and the building and scaling of a profitable business idea is no exception. I have several ideas I try to jot down, but they never typically come to fruition because I get concerned about the opportunity cost of spending my time on an idea that is not guaranteed to succeed. This doesn't typically stop me from starting, but it does tend to stop me from finishing.
Music
Music is one of the things that most consistently brings me joy in life. I love playing the piano, despite honestly sounding terrible. I have a really strong sense of nostalgia that encourages me to play. Lots of songs from my childhood bring out such emotion in me, and I love to translate that to the keys of the piano. I also compose and have released my own electronic music. I love music for the main reason that it is very powerful in conveying emotion.
Diversity
As a Latino, diversity and inclusion are things that I deeply value. I cherish a broader range of experiences and stories in any environment, and I believe we need to continue taking strides to ensure that this is a social norm.
Freelance
I'd love to build you a website! Let's talk about it: marcus@is.cool.lol