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About Me

Hi! I’m Dean Chen, a Software Engineer at Google in the San Francisco Bay Area, working on open-source AI Agent infrastructure (google/adk-python). Before joining Google, I studied Computer Science at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).

Outside of work, I enjoy vibecoding — spending hours turning random curiosities into interactive web apps, games, and digital experiments without feeling tired.

Why I Build What I Build (The Backstory)

Almost every side project on deanchen.me traces back to an offline obsession:

  • History & Geography Nerd (“Closet Liberal Arts Major”): I love history (especially China’s Northern and Southern Dynasties / 南北朝) and human geography — I probably would have majored in the humanities if high-school politics hadn’t been so hard to memorize. That obsession led to 江山时序 · Jiangshan Historical Atlas.
  • Non-Gamer Building a Game: I rarely play mainstream video games, yet I couldn’t stop building my own event-driven life simulator — 硅谷人生重开模拟器 · SV Life Reboot, modeling the real Silicon Valley grind from school selection and H1B lotteries to green cards and FIRE.
  • Travel & Miles Optimizer: I face a classic Bay Area paradox — I’m too lazy to drive an hour up to San Francisco for an event, yet I’ll happily research multi-stop layovers and snipe business-class award flights to Asia. That hobby inspired Credit Card Benefits Tracker.
  • Football & Messi Fan: Being a longtime Leo Messi fan naturally sparked World Cup Interactive Map.

关于我 · Beyond Code

  • 文化与审美：喜欢村上春树、诺兰、王家卫、王菲，以及喜剧脱口秀（土豆吕严）。平时通勤或空暇时更爱听播客、有声书、看 YouTube，或者找各种经典R&B的翻唱现场。
  • 旅行偏好：相比在美术馆和博物馆里快速陷入审美疲劳，更喜欢在伦敦或台北这样的城市街头漫无目的地溜达（Citywalk），回来偶尔兴起会写上 1500 字的长篇游记。
  • 日常节奏：常年保持健身的习惯；几乎滴酒不沾。比起热闹的酒局，周末更喜欢约三五好友吃顿好的，聊聊技术、段子或者捣鼓点有趣的副业项目。
  • 奇怪的技能树：对地理脉络、城市籍贯和各地高中有莫名其妙的好记性。

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