Mark Manuel Email & Phone Number

Ever since I was little, I've loved solving puzzles. Something about putting tiny parts or pieces of information together to create a coherent whole has always been immensely satisfying for me. It was only natural that once I discovered the glorious world of programming in late middle school, I ran with it. I learned the basics of OOP with Java and created my first "Hello World" application when I was 14. It was like magic. I felt like a wizard, typing out the runes to cast a fantastical spell. A year later, I created a billing application for an electronics store. I picked up C++ in my first year of college and created a wink-selfie desktop application. I took a lot of selfies that year.Studying Computer Science at Virginia Tech allowed me to experiment with a lot of cool hardware. I used Android Studio to create a Google Glass Voice Calculator. I quickly realized that I enjoyed seeing my code translate into real-world results and sought out internship experiences. My first summer, I worked at Zebra Technologies to create an image-processing application for a healthcare device. The following year, I had my first taste of Augmented Reality (AR), while working on an AR/Computer Vision project at the Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology. I was immediately hooked. I was fascinated by the idea of being able to interact with other people remotely as holograms and to share experiences with them. This fascination led me to continue my education onward to pursue a research-focused master's degree.I honed my skills in C# and Unity through my program, working on several AR/VR projects. These projects spanned the domains of healthcare, education, and training. In parallel, I worked on my remote hologram application and developed a prototype in 2020. By combining the body-tracking features of the Microsoft Kinect and the Mixed-Reality display of the HoloLens 2, I was able to connect two individuals as holograms across 4700 miles. Both individuals could hear and see each other move around in their rooms. I was overjoyed to be able to present this work at the HCI International 2021 Conference.I'm extremely grateful for all of the experiences that have helped me develop my passion for programming. Moving forward, I seek to continue sharpening my skills as a software developer who can bring impactful projects to completion. I wish to continue learning new software tools and frameworks to solve challenging real-world problems. I'm certain that my innate curiosity and passion for taking on tough projects will help me make a difference in people's lives.

Listed skills include Microsoft Office and Java.