2012/2013

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My first ever project I worked on with a team of engineers. My main takeaway was exposure to the engineering design process -- something I would become intimately familiar with over the next eight years. I Learned fundamental manufacturing techniques and common shop tools. I also was first introduced to different materials and their properties. This sparked my nagging desire to always be making things.

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The robot won first place in the International Collegiate MATE Competition. At the time, it was the most successful robot made by the team to date (also that's me in the photo below setting up props in between tests). 

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Here’s a fun fact: Our team was contacted the following year by the makers of the
Lionsgate movie, Spare Parts, requesting the use of our robot Leviathan in their film.
Starring Jamie Lee Curtis and George Lopez, the movie is based on the true story of
the first high school team to win the college-level MATE competition. We were told they
put an MIT label and an anchor on Leviathan and it was playing one of the losing
robots! Although our Leviathan ended up on the cutting room floor, our team name and
coach remain in the film’s credits.