FrankLiu
Exploring the cosmos. Engineering the future.
Astrophysicist. Builder. Occasional hardware hacker. I study the cosmos by day and ship software at night.
001 / About
Who I Am
I'm a UCLA student studying Astrophysics and Mechanical Engineering — two fields that both come down to the same thing: understanding how things work and building better ones.
I got into astrophysics because space is the ultimate engineering problem. Somewhere along the way I started hacking on software too, and now I split my time between NASA simulations and Next.js projects. I like things that are technically hard and actually matter.
Outside of class, I founded an astronomy club, organized gaming tournaments, and built a radio telescope in my garage. I learn best by making things — always have.
University
UCLA
Major
Astrophysics + MechE
Based in
Los Angeles, CA
Current Focus
Full-Stack + Research
Also Into
Hardware & Telescopes
Ask Me About
Propulsion & Next.js
002 / Projects
Things I've Built
From radio telescopes to hackathon MVPs — a mix of research, hardware, and software.
Probservatory
Founded and directed an astronomy club at PRISMS, growing it to 40+ members. Organized weekly observation sessions, invited guest speakers, and ran astrophotography workshops — building a real community around space science.
Radio Telescope Build
Designed and constructed a fully functioning radio telescope from scratch during high school. Combined hardware engineering with astrophysics — from antenna design to signal processing and data analysis.
Mars Propulsion Study
Conducted a rigorous thermodynamic analysis comparing three Earth-to-Mars propulsion architectures using NASA Chemical Equilibrium with Applications (CEA) simulations. Visualized results in Python and compiled findings in a formal academic poster.
Hackathon Projects
Shipped multiple full-stack applications at LA Hack and other competitions under 24-hour time constraints. Rapid ideation, scoped MVPs, and live demos — learning to build under pressure and embrace creative constraints.
003 / Experience
Leadership & Impact
I build communities, lead teams, and make things happen — not just in code.
Founder & Director
Probservatory Astronomy Club
Built an astronomy club from zero. Organized star-gazing events, secured equipment, brought in speakers, and grew membership to 40+ students who genuinely cared about space science.
Lead Organizer
UCLA Gaming Tournament
Planned and executed large-scale gaming competitions at UCLA from the ground up — coordinating 100+ participants, managing brackets, handling logistics, and making sure the event actually ran smoothly.
Technical Director
Student Tech Organization
Driving technical strategy and architecture decisions, mentoring fellow engineers, and shipping production-ready projects that serve real users. Ownership from design through deployment.
004 / Contact
Let's Connect
Whether you want to talk astrophysics, collaborate on a project, or just say hi — my inbox is open.