Howdy. My name's Garand (@gttyson), and I've been a core protocol engineer at SDF for almost three years now. I work a lot on making sure the Stellar network has the fastest, most efficient validators possible.

So far, I've built a custom database designed from the ground up for blockchain called BucketListDB, helped parallelize Stellar's overlay networking layer,  and designed the State Archival protocol.

Before SDF, I was actually one of David Mazières' students at Stanford, researching Operating System and firmware security.

When I think about "Building Better," I always want to approach problems from fundamental first principles and not just copy whatever shiny new trend has captured the industry's attention. Just because everyone else is doing something doesn't always mean it's a good idea. Just my opinion.

When I'm not programming, you'll find me exploring the Sierras in the winter or running around music festivals in the summer.

This week, I'll be taking over the @Stellarorg channel. Keep your eyes out for how I Build #BetterOnStellar.