About

I grew up between Ecuador and Spain, studied VR/AR in Barcelona, and came to Virginia Tech on a Fulbright to pursue a PhD in Computer Science. That’s where I discovered that the most interesting problems sit at the intersection of building things and understanding how people actually use them. So I started doing both.

FamilySong grew out of that approach. I designed the research, soldered the hardware, wrote the server code, and deployed the system in my own family’s home before asking anyone else to try it. That kind of end-to-end ownership shaped how I think about problems and how I look for solutions.

I spent over a decade teaching HCI, programming, and game design as a professor at ESPOL in Ecuador, while building and studying systems in the real world. I’ve since joined Virginia Commonwealth University as an Associate Professor of Computer Science, where I teach Computers and Programming and Introduction to Data Structures.

Outside of work, I build things. I’ve designed and wired networking, security, and IoT systems for two homes, including one I helped design and build from the ground up. I also spend time woodworking, tinkering with electronics, and maintaining a homelab. When I’m not building something, I’m probably on a tennis court, in the kitchen, or trying a new videogame.