← Return to Home Gabriel Teixeira

17 moments, 3 chapters

My story

Chapter 01

A bit of S.T.E.M

Acronym for Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics

Gabriel Teixeira and his FIRST Lego League team on tournament day — My team and I on the day of the tournament

2018

Starting with robotics

In 2018, I participated in a robotics competition and fell in love with the idea of building technology for the future.

I learned valuable lessons about teamwork, programming logic, conditionals, variables, and functions.

Pong and Space Invaders game replicas coded in Java — Pong Game and Space Invaders.

2019

Games and programming

During the 2019 vacation, my love for games and the positive experience of programming robots led me to Java, to program games.

I dreamed of creating a game as big as Minecraft, so I turned to YouTube.

Even though I didn't manage to create my masterpiece, I learned a lot about programming by recreating dozens of classic games.

Creating Arduino circuits in Tinkercad — Creating circuits with Arduino in Tinkercad.

2020

When I Discovered Arduino

By researching a lot about programming on YouTube, I came across a video about Tinkercad – a virtual simulator for Arduino – and I became curious about how everything worked.

I had discovered a new freedom: within a frame, I could bring any idea to life using logic and circuits (even more freely than with LEGO).

I spent a good part of my free time in 2020 turning prototype ideas into reality.

2020–2021

Projects using Arduino

Turing machine circuit built in Tinkercad — Built after watching The Imitation Game.

Turing Machine Assembly | Computer Engineering Tinkercad ↗

Automatic coffee maker circuit with Arduino in Tinkercad — Because coffee keeps me running.

Automatic Coffee Maker Tinkercad ↗

Arduino digital door lock with password registration in Tinkercad — I forget my keys way more often than a number.

Digital Door Lock Password registration | Memory optimization Tinkercad ↗

First Arduino kit, lent by a robotics teacher — "My" first Arduino kit.

2020

A gift from my robotics teacher

My curiosity and attachment to Arduino captivated my robotics teacher, and he lent me his Arduino kit for 1 YEAR.

It was a true treasure chest for me.

Studying a math video lesson on a tablet — Using my tablet for the first time with a math video lesson.

2020

Pandemic, Mathematics, and Physics

The suspension of school classes was a defining moment: I had all the time in the world to focus on what really interested me.

For 8 months, I made a point of forgetting all other subjects and studying only mathematics, physics, and some chemistry topics.

These studies helped distract me from the chaos of the moment.

Homemade Newtonian reflector telescope with an aluminum foil mirror — Newtonian reflector telescope with a primary mirror made of aluminum foil.

2020

I also put theory into practice

Besides using Arduinos, in 2020, I also used my free time to create projects using the physics concepts I was studying.

One of these was a telescope, made with barbecue sticks, glue, a monocle, aluminum foil, a hand mirror, and many mistakes.

But it was definitely worth it; it was a time of much philosophy and reflection. Only those who have gone through it know how the feeling of smallness and transience makes you see life from a different angle.

Counting bacterial colonies on a Petri dish for a research thesis — Counting bacterial colonies on a PETRI dish for my thesis

2021

Pandemic & Scientific Research

At the height of the pandemic in 2021, I used my creativity in Tinkercad to create automation prototypes to avoid indirect contact between people and the spread of COVID-19.

This idea gave life to a research project that involved dozens of people and laboratories.

Printed circuit board of the Arduino automation prototype from the published research — The printed circuit board of the automation prototype that starred in the research.

2022

From enthusiast to researcher

The research storyline lasted 18 months and involved hundreds of challenges beyond technology.

The work was published in a Q2 level journal in 2022.

Read the paper, published as Gabriel Fagundes Teixeira Luz Silva ↗

Coding the front end of a web project — Coding the frontend of a project.

2022–2023

Aspiring Full-Stack Developer – 1.5 years

A little later, in December 2022, I started studying HTML, CSS, and JS along with PHP on the backend, to enter the job market.

I did some conceptual projects and learned about responsive layouts, DOM manipulation, and API integration. I also explored frameworks like ReactJS and CSS frameworks like Bootstrap and Tailwind.

I paused this experience in 2023 to bring InkPen – an edTech for school management – to life.

University of South Florida acceptance letter — Acceptance letter

2024

College years and the return to STEM

In 2024, I started my Computer Engineering course.

I paused my studies and projects in these areas to found a startup, but I intend to continue exploring this academic passion in the coming years.

Chapter 02

Adding the A

From S.T.E.M to S.T.E.A.M: design, architecture and entrepreneurship

Gabriel Teixeira sketching interface ideas in a notebook during a trip — Sketching some ideas during a trip

2019–2024

My Journey in UX Design, Interior Architecture, and Entrepreneurship

Turning user research into interface designs — Transforming Research data into Interfaces

2023

edTech, Figma, and social impact

When I founded my startup, I took on the challenge of being the UX designer for the team. I binge-watched courses to master Figma and soon realized how much I could impact society by building interfaces.

The success of UX projects in the team was so gratifying that I fell in love with the field.

Interior design of a house modeled in Blender — Building the interior design of a house with blender

2019

But I didn't start with interfaces (UI)

My journey in UX Design began in 2019 with interior architecture.

"Only those who understand the world can reproduce it in software."

This experience sharpened my vision to understand user needs and create pleasant environments.

Blender Portfolio ↗

Coding a website's front end on a laptop — Coding a Website

2022–2023

Some lessons in Frontend

I spent 15 months studying frontend stacks – ReactJS, Bootstrap, and Tailwind – and PHP on the backend.

Knowledge of frontend technologies helped me create more relevant and functional designs, while understanding backend allowed me to conceptualize features for software products more realistically.

In fact, this site and the Blender one were coded from scratch.

Gabriel Teixeira discussing project ideas with his team during a summer program — Discussing project ideas with my team during a summer program

2022

A bit of entrepreneurship

I was accepted into an entrepreneurship exchange program, and there, I realized how important words are.

During my time in Italy, I discovered that my true passion is solving problems and creating innovative solutions.

Whether in design, computing, or architecture, I love leading teams and turning challenges into opportunities.

Gabriel Teixeira with a group at an entrepreneurship exchange program

Dec 2022

Mixing it all together

That's how I started meeting with different users, identifying problems, talking to professionals from various fields, building presentations, leading teams, and designing interfaces.

Chapter 03

Full STEAM ahead

Tampa, USF, Lyra (YC X25) and Halten

This chapter is still being written.