The son of former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki who was found dead inside his dorm at the University of California, Berkeley, was remembered by some of his educators as an “incredibly intelligent” mathematician and leader who had ideas on how to use AI and nanotechnologies to cure cancer.
Marco Troper, 19, who was found unresponsive last Tuesday of what his grandmother believes was a suspected drug overdose, received a heartfelt tribute from Professor Freedom Cheteni, who served as a mentor to Troper and his cousins when they were middle schoolers.
“With profound sadness, my most extraordinary moonshot kid, Marco Troper whose light, leadership and love will never diminish unexpectedly died,” Cheteni wrote.
“Marco and I were working on his most inspiring idea to cure cancer leveraging nanotechnologies and Ai the last six years,” he added alongside several photos and videos of a young Troper and his cousins.
The dean of Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School, where Troper was a student before starting college this past fall, shared some of his successes with SFGate, including how he led the school’s hackathon and served as a tutor to other students.
“He was incredibly intelligent, curious, and creative—often showing up to class and community events with a bright smile and an infectious energy, said school head Than Healy.
Healy goes on to describe Troper as “an avid mathematician and computer scientist, he relished tackling challenging problems.”
His grandmother Esther Wojcicki also said he was destined for greatness.
“He was everything you could have wished for in a son and a grandson,” Esther Wojcicki told SFGate. “He was destined to make a difference, it’s heartbreaking.”
Police found no signs of foul play at the scene, leading Wojcicki, who is often referred to as the “Godmother of Silicon Valley” to believe the teen died from a suspected drug overdose.
“Kids in college, especially freshmen and sophomores, experiment with everything. I think this was an experiment that went wrong,” she told the Palo Alto Daily Post.
Wojcicki remembered her grandson as “the most kind, loving, smart, fun and beautiful human being” in a touching tribute shared online.
“Our family is devastated beyond comprehension,” Wojcicki wrote in a post on Facebook Wednesday.
Troper, a promising math major, was in his second semester at UC Berkeley and a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity. His grandmother described him as an “all-around athlete” who enjoyed playing all kinds of sports.
“Marco’s life was cut too short,” Wojcicki added. “We are all devastated, thinking about all the opportunities and life experiences that he will miss and we will miss together.”
A toxicology report to confirm Troper’s cause of death will take up to 30 days,
Susan Wojcicki married her husband David Troper in 1998 and they share five children.
She was appointed CEO of the famed video platform in 2014 and named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people the following year.
Susan Wojcicki resigned from her position — and 25 years with the company — in Feb. 2023 to “start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects.”