Mentors and Supervisors
As a team, we deeply thank the people who teach us. EastBots wouldn't succeed as much as we have without those who devote their time to help our student members learn and develop, both as students and as people.
Mentors and Supervisors
As a team, we deeply thank the people who teach us. EastBots wouldn't succeed as much as we have without those who devote their time to help our student members learn and develop, both as students and as people.
Steve Tell
Steve is a founding mentor of the Eastbots, having been recruited by our original self-motivated students in the fall of 2012 before our rookie season. He has coached robot design, garage machining, power wiring, but especially enjoys teaching about sensors to help students make robots that respond to their environment. For the last several years he has also volunteered as a FIRST robot inspector at local competitions. When not doing FIRST, Steve is a Senior Research Scientist in the Circuits Resarch Group at NVIDIA corporation. He lives in the ECHHS district in Chapel Hill with his wife Rose and dog Marconi.
Bradley Nemitz
I am a math teacher and mentor to the Eastbots at East Chapel Hill High School. I student-taught at ECHHS while studying math and education at UNC Chapel Hill. After graduating, I moved to Richmond, Virginia where I taught for 5 years and met my wife. We moved back to Chapel Hill for her study Public Heath at UNC and I returned to East. We have two dogs, Ash and Maple, who love to sniff and run around our backyard. I am very into board games like Agricola and Power Grid and I try to be out on my mountain bike (and sometimes road bike) as much as possible. I enjoy playing music and play guitar for the East faculty band. I do photography and often take photos for the Eastbots. Though I've done some programming some and can understand what's going on with our programming team, I feel most at home with the mechanical team, as I'm used to working on cars, bikes, and house projects.
Jeff Alguire
Jack of all Trades, Master of Some. I grew up in a small island town in Southeast Alaska. I have been a stage set designer and set builder for many many years, as well as a residential carpenter. I have always been curious about how things work. That includes a desire to tinker and deconstruct things and rebuild them for my own purposes. I will be the first to admit that I am not good at it and still have a lot to learn.
Amalan Iyengar
Hi! I'm an Eastbots class of 2016 Alum and have been mentoring since the 2018-2019 season. I finished my Bachelor's in Computer Science and Master's in Electrical Engineering from NC State and currently work at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab.
Jessica Buday
Jessica is a native of Chapel Hill and was a student at Orange High School, Class of 2003. She has a BS in Biochemical Engineering from the University of Georgia, and has spent her career working in various roles in pharmaceutical manufacturing - technical engineering support, project management, automation and operations leadership. She is currently the Strategic Accounts Director for Corning Pharmaceutical Technologies. In her free time, she enjoys reading, live music, traveling, and hiking with her husband Shawn and dog Ziggy. She advocates for gender parity and inspiring women to enter STEM fields, and serves on the Southeast US regional board of the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association.
Eimy Rivas Plata (Dr. R)
Hey guys! My name is Eimy Rivas Plata and the team knows me as Dr. R. I am a teacher at ECHHS and mentor to the Eastbots. Originally from Peru, I moved to Chicago where I got my PhD in Biology, and then to the Carolinas thinking academia would be the place for me, which wasn't! I transitioned to public school and fell in love with it (did I mention I've been teaching since I was 17?). Teaching runs in the family, and it's apparently a genetic condition we carry ;). I have taught all audiences you can imagine (all over the place), but my favorite so far has been high school (for real!). Outside of school, I lead a running club called Pacers. I also love gardening, playing video games, watching horror movies, and cooking! Our family grew quite some this year; we now have two dogs (Chloe and Kowalski) and two kitties (Augustine and Hermes), and we are taking care of a friend's cat (Lucian). Fun fact, according to Ryan Huang's projection (software member), I will have over 14 kids (human and fur-babies) by 2030, and if that includes robotics kiddos, it will be over 200!
Leadership and Officers
One of our team’s core principles is that a student-run leadership model is highly successful in achieving student inspiration and professional development. With this principle in mind, we have continued to iterate on our leadership structure each year. Changes are made by the current leadership group and the team’s mentors just before the annual election in May. Other changes to our organization, such as membership requirements, are made by the leadership group and approved by the team each August when the team handbook is updated. Currently, our leadership is comprised of seventeen student managers, leads, and directors.
Dharma Chari-Letts
Hi! I am currently the President and Technical Project Manager of the Eastbots. I'm in my senior year, and my job is to oversee day to day operations and ensure everyone has something to do. Outside of robotics, I love rowing, launching rockets, and playing the drums!
Vanessa Lin
Hi! I’m Vanessa, a senior at East. This is my 3rd year on the team and I will be the Outreach Director for the upcoming season. My job is to get the team involved with the community and to create more opportunities to inspire STEM. Outside of robotics I love crocheting and baking!
Mikhail Saeed
Hi! I am a senior here at East, and this is my second year on the team. I am our FGC Coordinator so I help set up and coordinate meetings and mentor our assigned team in FIRST Global Challenge. Other than my interest in STEM I enjoy swimming and watching soccer.
Keerthi Madhavapeddi
Hi! I’m a junior and our team’s fundraising lead this year, so I raise money through writing grants, getting sponsorships, etc. Aside from robotics, I enjoy reading and spending time outdoors.
Wesley Li
Hello, I am a Junior at East and I am currently the design lead of the team. My role in the team is to lead robot mechanism design and help new members with learning design. I'm also a member of the mechanical team. I enjoy the process of designing robots and make it real. Outside FIRST, I am a combat robotics competitor and a drone enthusiast. In my spare time, I love working on useless DIY gadgets purely for fun!
Yinan Feng
Hi! I'm a senior at East and I am the ERC Lead for this upcoming season. My role is to help design and organize the East Robotics Competition this year. Outside of robotics, I also enjoy karate, reading, and baking.
Ozzie Hassel
I'm a senior at East and the programming lead for Eastbots. Besides working on code and training new programmers, I like playing guitar, going to the gym, and watching movies.
Katherine Freeman
Hi! My name is Katherine, I'm a senior at East and the current marketing lead for the Eastbots. In my free time I love to read and hanging out with my cat!
Ethan Kirtly
Hi! I am currently a senior at East and the design lead for the Eastbots!
Jon-Luke Sadowsky
Hi! I'm Jon-Luke and am currently the shop manager for the Eastbots!
Justin Perera
Hi! I am currently a junior at East and the Jr. electrical lead for the Eastbots!
Phillip Kirtley
Hi! I am currently a junior at East!
Lingzheng Liu
Hi! I am currently a senior at East and the mechanical lead for the Eastbots!