Portfolio & Field Notes · Est. 2026

Welcome,
this is Nomad444
— a drifter at work.

I take blue pills to build by day, then switch to red pills and dive down the rabbit hole at night.

— after Morpheus, The Matrix (1999)

See the work → Browse the shelf
01 — About

A short introduction.

Nomad444

I'm Lu (Sophia) Liu — designer, engineer, occasional poet. I'm currently in the transition of being a solo business builder. Also would like to explore Venture Capital field. I've spent the past several years designing high-rise buildings.

Outside the work itself, I keep this site as a kind of public notebook. Below the professional record you'll find what I'm reading, listening to, watching, and the poets I wrote. I find the personal stuff says as much about how someone works as the work does.

If we haven't met yet, I'd love to. Best way to reach me is over here.

02 — Selected work

Things I've made.

001

PlotGround

A platform collects firsthand testimonies from people whose jobs are being reshaped by AI.

IOS
Full Stack & Product Design
 002

Midtown Motors

A car dealer website to manage the operation of a car dealer store; group project in college course.

Backend
03 — Resume

Where I've been.

Experience

Senior Engineer

Thornton Tomasetti

2021 — 2024

Chicago, IL

Structural Engineer

B-cubed Engineering

2021

Westport, CT

Design Engineer

McNamara Salvia

2018 - 2021

Miami, FL

Intern

Clark Nexsen

2017

Raleigh, NC

Startup Bootcamp Attendee

Beta University

2025

Palo Alto, CA

Candidate (Keep in touch program)

McKinsey & Company

2025

Education & etc.

M.S., Computer Science (OMSCS)

Georgia Institute of Technology

2026 — Present

M.S., Civil Engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology

2016 — 2017

B.A., Civil Engineering

Tianjin University

2011 — 2015

UI/UX Design for AI Products

Stanford University

2025

License

Professional Engineer License (Civil Engineer)

Publication

Ultra-low cycle fatigue of tensile weld detail of typical steel beam-to-column connection.

Theoretical and Applied Fracture Mechanics., 86, (Part B), 187-196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tafmec.2016.07.003

Skills

Python, Figma, C++, Java, R, SQL, Matlab, AutoCAD, Revit, Sketchup, Etabs, SAFE, SAP 2000, RAM Concept, RAM Structural Systems, RAM Elements, RISA-3D, Blue Beam, Mathcad.

Download PDF ↓
04 — On the shelf

Books that rearranged me.

Philospphy

Meditations

Marcus Aurelius

Is it a must-read to INTJ? Reflection, contemplation, order, divinity… Love it since 15 years old.

Business

Thinking in Bets

Annie Duke

Is life a bet as well? Just dive in to pool and roll the dice. Her other two books are also on my list: Quit, How to Decide.

Fiction

My Brilliant Friend

Elena Ferrante

Friendship, love, social stratification. Most touching part to me: mother-daughter twist and turn.

Psychology

The Myth of Normal

Dr. Gabor Maté

Love Dr. Gabor's interviews and books. Always feel a huge swirl of compassion from his expression.

Philosophy

Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Friedrich Nietzsche

First read at 17 years old. Different inspiration every time.

Novel

The Glass Bead Game

Hermann Hesse

First read in high school. Didn't quite understand the entire book but felt it extremely sensational.

Metaphysical

Tufti the Priestess

Vadim Zeland

“Remember! Reality's an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold! Byeeee!” – Bill Cipher Gravity Falls tv show

Psychology

King, Warrior, Magician, Lover

Douglas Gillette and Robert L. Moore

I don't think it only applies to male. It's the manifestation of human psyche.

05 — On rotation

Music in heavy rotation.

Techno

Panthoen

Argy

Easily drag me into the dance mode.

Phonk

ODIUM

Lxst Cxntury

On loop while working.

Classic

The Seasons, Op. 37a: VI. June. Barcarolle

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Favorite for meditation and night walk.

Symphonic Metal

Nemo

Nightwish

Love since 14 years old.

Jazz

noir

is it sunday?

I hate how much I like all their songs, though probably they are generated by AI.

Art pop avant-garde baroque

Berghain

Rosalía

Sensational! I love the MV.

High-Tech Minimal / Tech House

Never stop danding

Boris Brejcha

Favorite DJ all the time.

Alternative/Indie Folk

Rule #15 - Four Aces

Fish in a Birdcage

Grab a drink on a Saturday night and play their songs on loop.

06 — Watching

Channels worth your time.

Productivity

Ali Abdaal

@aliabdaal

Hacks to build your own life system.

Interview

Lex Fridman

@lexfridman

Favorite interview channel.

Science

3Blue1Brown

@3Blue1Brown

Encyclopedia of math and CS.

Entrepreneurial

Dan Koe

@DanKoeTalks

My online mentor of solo business.

Health

Andrew Huberman

@Andrew Huberman

My go-to videos for personal develoment and emotional growth.

Healing

The Path to Moksha

@thepathtomoksha

Always heeals my unrested soul.

Business

The Diary Of A CEO

@TheDiaryOfACEO

Learning a lot from the interviews. Favorite episode is the one with Shaolin Master Shi Heng Yi.

Vlog

Goobie and Doobie

@GoobieAndDoobie

Just like my online brother. Like his authenticity.

07 — In verse

Poets I keep returning to.

Indian-Canadian · 1992–

Rupi Kaur

on female grwoth

Growing pain as a girl.

the irony of loneliness is we all feel it at the same time

Ecuadorian-American · 1988–

Yung Pueblo

on the healing and inner growth

His poems touched my heart gently.

loneliness will not go away if we remain far away from ourselves

African-American · 1979–

Nayyirah Waheed

on the self-love

Minimalist and low-key

expect sadness like you expect rain both cleanse you

American · 1977–

Maggie Smith

on the relationship of body and soul

Sharp observation with tenderness

You ask me what I'll miss about this life. Everything but cruelty, I think.

08 — Elsewhere

Find me here.

09 — Contact

Let's talk.

I read everything that lands in my inbox, and I reply to most of it. Tell me what you're making, what you're stuck on, or which of the books above you'd want to argue with me about.

hello@nomad444.com
Replies in 24–48h Open to remote Open to good conversation