Our Sponsors
Special Thanks To
Mentors
Team 694's successes are not without the help of our mentors. We are extremely thankful for the help they provide to us and it is due to the valued contribution of each mentor that Team 694 has been able to change lives throughout its history.
Team 694 would like to thank any individual who has mentored us in the past, including the following people:
Rafael Colón
Rafael gives his time generously all year long. Our team is able to work in our school’s lab until nine at night after school, on weekends, and throughout school vacations only because he is willing to be with us. Rafael is so completely dedicated that three years ago, when he sustained a life-threatening injury in our lab, he not only called us every day to see how things were going, but also made the robotics lab his first stop after being discharged from the hospital. Rafael's spirit that “robotics is your home away from home" has become the Stuypulse mantra.
As a teacher, Rafael knows how to guide members without doing their work for them. He starts off the day with a team-wide meeting where everyone, from president to newbie, figures out exactly what to do, how to do it, and what is needed to accomplish it. By holding us strictly to our deadlines, we are taught time management skills. More significantly, Rafael emphasizes teamwork above victory. When tempers flare in the lab, he reminds us that what we'll remember years from now are the people we worked with, not the matches we won.
James Lonardo
Jeanne Boyarsky
Jeanne Boyarsky volunteered in 2010 as a Java programming mentor in addition to her volunteering at JavaRanch. She has not only provided invaluable guidance with code, but also has kept us organized, and helped lead us to our Innovation in Control award in 2010.Robin Blumberg
James Carpino
Paul Desiderio Sr.
Tom Ferguson
Tom Ferguson is an engineer with years of experience. He serves as Vice President of Engineering at Cox and Co., the industry leader in aerospace design. He exhibits a polite personality and is a responsible leader. He has a will not of iron, but of aluminum honeycomb. And he is one of the most beloved and respected mentors of the Stuyvesant Robotics Team. Tom Ferguson has inspired generations of engineers on the team. Tom's deft understanding of many mathematical and physical concepts in engineering is invaluable to us when we design and build our robot. He encourages us to use abstract formulas and laws to determine concrete requirements and limitations in our designs
Mel Hauptman
Stephen Hilton
Colin Holgate
Catherine Kunicki
Ron Kunicki
Dedicated, resourceful, precise, compassionate, funny, - who is this jolly ole mentor who never fails to show up to save the day? None other than engineer and "father of the team," Ron Kunicki. Not only has his easygoing nature captured our hearts and minds, his dedication to FIRST has given him an essential role on our team. When asked why he was so committed, he replied, "With team 694, my mind continues to be entertained, and sometimes I even have to go home and research the problems the team asks me." Whatever the reason, Ron's leadership and dedication have become a vital part of the team.
Robert LaMarca
Adam Leeb
Joe "The Beast" Ricci
Joe Ricci is a FIRST success story. He joined the team in its second year, and since then, he's never left. While attending medical school, he has devoted more hours to our team than any other mentor, parent, or member in the eight years he has been with us. On graduating in 2003, Joe acquired a heightened sense of purpose, responsibility, and integrity that contributed greatly to his success in medical school and his research pursuits. As one of the driving forces behind our team, he strives to foster in us the same values that FIRST instilled in him.
Mark Cohen
Mark helped our team become more wired than ever. He repaired and then donated several laptops to our marketing and programming departments, which greatly increased the productivity of both. Mark also modified several desktop computers for the animation team‟s use.
Dan Lavin
Dan Lavin was integral in helping us use this year‟s new control system. He pored over manuals with us and contributed to everything electronics-related, including wiring signal lights and bringing in old security cameras to scrap for potentiometers. He was key in learning how to use the new camera and make precise movements in autonomous mode.
Robert Lin
Robert was our head animation mentor in 2009 and made our fledgling animation team one of the strongest contenders for the Autodesk Visualization Award. He taught members the ins and outs of 3ds Max and encouraged the team to come up with their own models, a feature unique to Stuypulse‟s submission.
Jim Potter
James Potter was invaluable to the engineering department this year. In the words of President Seth Berg, “When I first saw him, I thought he was an old mentor who decided to come back.” Jim jumped right into the robotics spirit, attended numerous meetings and competitions, and offered innovative solutions that greatly improved the robot, such as the empty cell holder.