Hey I'm Zach, known online Groverburger or Grob. Welcome to my site!
Some things I'm doing currently:
Software engineering lead at NASA Ames Research Center on the SHERPA team, researching rover path planning and space applications using AI and POMDPs.
Leading the software engineering effort at Ghost Army Engineering.
I'm all about simulations, graphics, AI (LLM and classical). I enjoy programming in Lua, Julia, and JavaScript. If your interests overlap with mine, don't hesitate to connect!
Some of my favorite things I've built:
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Vector Prospector
Arcade action roguelite with simple, precise movement. Released on Steam published under SpinAttack Studio, LLC.
g3d
Simple and easy to use open-source 3D library for Lua/LÖVE. Over 600 stars on GitHub.
Into the Castle
Fast-paced action platformer with tight controls. Made in 48 hours for Ludum Dare 48.
Mermaid Princess
Chess board game auto battler where you save the Mermaid Princess. Made in one week for LÖVE Jam 2025 with my friends Miles and Violet on art.
Florp Farming
Shake tree, get apple, feed florp, get gem, profit. Made in 48 hours for Ludum Dare 47. Placed 34th out of 721 entries.
You Are Person Guy
Puzzle game where you possess creatures and use their powers. Made for GMTK Game Jam 2023, collaboration with my friend Zungryware.
Starshot
Fast-paced procedurally generated first person shooter where you have to beat each level in under 15 seconds. Collaboration with Zungryware.
Quadris
Stack blocks, clear lines. Now in 3D with added polish, written in JavaScript. Using my Jazz game framework.
Sapling
Graphical editor for syntax trees for use in the field of Linguistics. Used by professors at UCSC and University of Washington. Runs in the browser, written in JavaScript.