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 Rampart Communications.
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!
Allison Bluj
My name is Allison Bluj and I started working with Teams 4795 and 4861 during the 23-24 season. I teach in the engineering department at East Chapel Hill HS. I enjoy mentoring FRC Robotics because students have the opportunity to develop and master a range of technical and non-technical skills that are important for success later in life. I also enjoy seeing students apply some of the things we have learned in the engineering course to a real-life problem. FRC games are exciting and challenging. With the FRC teams here at ECHHS I like working with the new members on Beastbots. There's so much to learn and Beastbots is a great place to get started.
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.
Justin Perera
Hello! I'm Justin, a Senior at East, and president of the Eastbots! My job is to plan and oversee everyday operations and make sure everyone has something to do. In my free time, I love playing valorant, ultimate frisbee, or 3D printing stuff!
Nitya Sharma
Hi! I’m a junior at East, and this is my second year on Eastbots. I’ll be serving as the Outreach Director for the upcoming season. I aim to strengthen community connections, lead outreach events, promote STEM awareness, expand our team’s impact beyond competitions, and represent the team externally. Robotics is professionally run and has a great balance between teamwork and hands-on experience—making it incredibly rewarding. I also enjoy contributing technically and working on code. Outside of robotics, I love playing the drums, journaling, and swimming!
Justin Chang
Hi! I'm Justin, a Senior at East Chapel Hill High School. I am the Fundraising Lead for the 2025-26 season. One thing robotics has taught me is how to use a CNC router. A few things I like to do in my free time is play video games and 3d print stuff.
Isla West
Hi! My name is Isla. I'm a junior at East and the current marketing lead for Eastbots. My job is to maintain our brand image and keep our community updated. In addition to my position, I enjoy helping build the robot and helping with ERC. Outside of robotics, I enjoy volunteering, playing in the orchestra, and biking.
Keerthi Madhavapeddi
Hi! I’m a senior and our team’s build captain this year. One of my favorite parts of robotics is the collaborative environment fostered in all aspects of our team, technical and nontechnical. Outside of robotics, I enjoy traveling and spending time with my friends.
Thomas Jin
Hello, I'm a senior at East and the integration lead for Eastbots. Along with that I am heavily involved with the software team and training up new members. Outside of robotics I love cooking and playing the piano.
Dylan Huang
Hi! I'm Dylan, a sophomore at East and this season will be my second year on the team. This year, I am a Co-Beastbots lead along with Chase. Outside of robotics, I enjoy hanging out with friends, listening to music, and playing tennis!
Chase Weddendorf
My name is Chase, I am in 11th grade, and I am the Co-Beastbot Lead for the 2025-2026 season. What I love about robotics is how you are constantly learning something new, at every meeting you attend. In my free time I play electric guitar and bass.
Mary Elisabeth Tracy
Hi! I'm Mary Elisabeth, and this is my third year on the team. Outside of design, I like to think of myself as quite the mech monkey. Whenever I'm not making robots, I love to bike, crochet, and play chess.
Ray Deng
Hi! My name is Ray and I am the fabrication lead for this year. I am currently a senior at East, and I enjoy robotics because of all the skills we learn and develop along the way. Outside of robotics, I like basketball and video games.
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Allen Remis
Hi! I'm a senior at East and the assembly lead for Eastbots.
Sanjay
Hi! I'm a senior at East and the Electrical lead for Eastbots.
Anisha Sukhlecha
Hi! I’m Anisha, a sophomore at East and the Junior Electrical Lead of the Eastbots. When I’m not doing robotics, I like to read, crochet, and launch rockets.
Colin Hsu
Hi! I'm a senior at East and the team's programming lead. This means I work on coding the robot with Java and teaching new members. One thing I enjoy about robotics is the satisfaction of seeing all of our team's hard work and dedication pay off to create a working robot. Outside of robotics, I enjoy doing taekwondo, playing the guitar, and watching football.
Jon-Luke Sadowsky
Hi, I'm Jon-Luke, the Co-Shop manager for Eastbots. I'm a photographer, climber, and chef. I'm also a beta tester for games and currently learning woodworking.
Jack Nash
Hi, I am Jack, the Co-Shop Manager. I am in 12th grade. One thing that robotics has taught me is that nothing ever has a clear path to completion. Some things are meant to be built upon and fixed. Some things that I enjoy in my free time are playing The Elder Scrolls series, flying, and watching all types of sports.
Philip Kirtley
Hey, I am a senior on Eastbots and the scouting lead. I like analyzing match data and spotting trends. I'm into games like Warhammer and Magic: The Gathering—anything that gets me thinking ahead, which is part of why I enjoy scouting.