Welcome to Tigers and Lotus

---

Hello! I am Viraj Chhajed; @virajcz on the internet. Most recently, I was an engineering intern at Merge Labs, where I wrote software for device orchestration and high-throughput data handling, and contributed to hardware for thermal control. I recently finished my undergrad in Computer Engineering at UCLA. Before this, I co-founded a startup in Boston that built lab infrastructure to scale bioelectricity research and engineered redosable AAVs to combat the neutralizing antibody problem; the company is backed by Founders Fund, LJV, Soma Cap, Balaji Srinivasan, and more. A more comprehensive list of my past work can be found here.

I have many identities, but I like to think of myself as a generalist, an engineer, and a problem solver. My values are: (1) Wu Wei–ed ascendance and mastery, (2) connection and community, and (3) sovereignty and honour. I enjoy adventures and training my body and nervous system. Right now, I am a novice learning to sail and meditate.

Much of my free time is spent reading and thinking about cognitive sciences, philosophy of mind and language, machine learning, evolutionary biology, and mythology. I care deeply about reducing suffering and also about raising the ceiling of our capabilities. I see technology---especially neurotech and biotech---as one of the most powerful tools we have for doing so.

---

Github viraj-cz | Twitter @virajcz | LinkedIn virajchhajed | Mail virajcz@ucla.edu | Goodreads virajcz

---

"If god seems further away, ask---who moved?"