Members
TEAM CAPTAINS
Venna W.
Captain
She/Her
Captain Venna, a senior at Edina High School, is Team Captain. She works on various outreach programs and supporting the team’s sustainability while learning more about the design and fabrication of the robot. Her favorite parts of robotics include, judging presentation, robot fabrication, and helping students become comfortable speaking in front of groups. In her free time she likes crocheting, hiking, listening to music, and hanging out with friends. Venna can’t wait for the 2024 Season game release and competitions!
George R.
Assistant Captain
He/Him
George, an assistant captain, is a junior and a member of the Control Systems and Programming subteam. His favorite part of robotics is attending competitions and having fun with the team.
William T.
Assistant Captain
He/him
William is in his junior year, and is a returning veteran to The Green Machine. He helps the team by using CAD, for which he earned an associate level certification, to design the robot and by assembling it. Outside of robotics, William found time to be deeply involved with Boy Scout Troop 3062, where in fall 2023 he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. In his spare time, he relaxes by watching Star Trek.
Grayson I.
Safety Captain
He/Him
Grayson, a junior, is safety captain, robot operator, and a member of the mechanical subteam. He loves designing and building the robot, but his favorite part is getting to be behind the glass at competition. Outside of robotics, Grayson likes to play video games.
Lead Mentors
IAIN MCINTYRE
Business and Outreach Mentor
Dr. Iain McIntyre lends his talents in both arts and science (he’s a laser physicist and a patent attorney), whether he’s offering suggestions on how to promote the Team at competitions or working through the challenges of business and sponsorship presentations. One of the reasons he mentors is because of the emphasis FIRST places on teaching values and doing the right thing.
MARK LAWRENCE
Operations Director
Mark Lawrence is “The Green Machine’s” Operations Director. After a career in the high-tech business, he retired from Cisco Systems just before 1816 formed in fall 2005 as a FIRST Robotics Team. Named a Woodie Flowers Winner at the FIRST Championship in 2015, Mark says the continuing challenge is to encourage students to step up into leadership and realize, yes, they really can make things happen.
ALYSON PURDY
Faculty Advisor
Purdy has been with the Green Machine since our second season. Her title is “faculty advisor” or “lead mentor” but her actual function has been described as “glue” for the team. She’s taking that as a compliment and is entering the 2022-23 season with great anticipation for what lies ahead. Purdy is a biology/human physiology teacher at Hopkins High School by day. And, when robotics allows, she enjoys outdoors and cooking time with her sons, Game Announcer Nate in Chicago, and Dan, former 1816 Captain/Robot Inspector currently based in Vermont. Bogie expects lots of walkies and playtime, regardless of what the robot says!
LAURIE SHIMIZU
Communications Mentor
Laurie Shimizu does her best to keep us connected by any communications pathway necessary. She has been known to surprise team members (and the occasional volunteer) with a middle of the night “urgent text.” She’s a Woodie Flowers Finalist (2017 Minnesota 10,000 Lakes Regional); a FIRST Senior Mentor, and Chief Volunteer Coordinator for FRC, concentrating on volunteers and mentor support. She was awarded the national FIRST Robotics Competition Volunteer of the Year in May 2020.
members
Aahil G.
Mechanical
He/him
Aahil is a sophomore at Edina High School, This is his first time doing FRC. He is part of the Electrical and Mechanical sub-team. He has been part of the FIRST family for 6 years, 3 years in FLL, and FTC for 3 years. Outside of robotics, Aahil likes playing soccer, chess, and table tennis. He is excited for a fun and creative new season on 1816, “The Green Machine”.
Aneesh A.
Mechanical
He/him
Aneesh is in his first year of FRC, but has 4 years of prior experience in FLL and FTC. Aneesh has alternated between building the robot and coding the robot. This season, he’s trying out mechanical. When not at robotics, Aneesh plays soccer and going to the gym. Already looking ahead, Aneesh would like to start his own business after graduation.
Ava A.
Mechanical
She/her
Ava is a sophmore at Edina High School; this is her first year on the team. She is currently on the mechanical subteam. Outside of robotics, she enjoys reading, baking, and watching sports!
Elena L.
Control Systems-Programming
She/her
Elena, a senior and co-lead of the Control Systems & Programming subteam, is excited for a new year of FIRST Robotics! Outside robotics, you might catch her playing tennis, playing piano, or enjoying the Minnesota weather with her dog. She’s always looking to explore new foods to cook and hang out with friends. After high school, she wants to major in Computer Science, and hopefully pursue a career that combines programming and graphics.
Ethan L.
Control Systems-Programming
He/him
Ethan is a sophomore and a rookie on the team. He’s interested in learning and applying his knowledge to the CSP team. When he’s not spending copious amounts of time procrastinating homework, he plays hockey, baseball, and for fun, the piano.
Evelyn T.
Mechanical
She/her
Evelyn is a freshman, she’s on the pit crew and hopes to be a driver someday. In her spare time she studies first aid, and has earned her certificate in CPR!
Henry L.
Mechanical
He/him
Henry L. is a sophomore and a Green Machine rookie this year. He is looking forward to meeting new people and assisting with robot assembly. In his free time, he enjoys PC gaming and volunteers recycling e-waste and refurbishing computers at Free Geek Twin Cities.
Henry M.
Control Systems-Programming
He/him
Henry is a programmer in his first year on the team. This year he is looking forward to learning more about how code can be applied to a physical robot. In school he is a sophmore and enjoys taking math and science classes. Outside of robotics he enjoys reading books and playing the clarinet.
Kaylie C
Mechanical
She/her
Kaylie is a senior, and prefers one of (few) team members that has earned the title of captain emeritus. This season, Kaylie is our Team’s Mechanical Lead and Robot Driver. This is her third, and final, year with the team and she is super excited to immerse herself once more with robotics. This year she plans on shifting her focus to passing on knowledge, rather than doing it by herself, and she’s super excited!
Luke M
Mechanical
He/him
Luke, in his second year on Team 1816, is a junior and member of the mechanical team. Luke is attempting to learn Solidworks for designing parts, and plays video games in his free time.
Lydia F.
Mechanical
She/her
Lydia is a sophomore at Edina High School and is in her second year on Team 1816. She is psyched to help contribute to the team now that she knows the general groove, and can’t wait for kickoff 2024! Until then, she will spend her minimal free time cross-stitching and drawing.
Marcos L.
Mechanical
He/him
Marcos is a rookie on Green Machine and is currently in his junior year of high school. Marcos is on the mechanical team and enjoys watching TV shows such as House and Psych. He also loves playing video games such as Destiny 2 and Apex Legends. He is excited to begin his journey with the robotics team.
Michael P.
Control Systems-Programming
He/him
Michael is one of our rookies this year, and brings his knowledge of programming as a hobby. He has made things such as basic game engines, messed with graphics rendering, made small scripting languages, experimented with machine learning, and made even a few small games. I also like playing video games, making art, and listening to a variety of music.
Nora B.
Mechanical; Business
She/her
Nora is a senior on the team, and is excited to be participating in both the Business subteam and the Mechanical subteam this season. She is a dog lover and plays violin. This year she is looking forward to competing in the upcoming season!
Rithwik K.
Mechanical
He/him
Rithwik, sophomore and rookie, he is a member of the build and fabrication team. Rithwik loves cars and motorcycles, in which he hopes to pursue a career involving them. Outside of mechanical things he loves to play jazz music on his trombone and playing video games.
Tag C.
Control Systems-Programming
He/him
Tag is a senior and a co-lead on the software subteam. He looks forward to continuing to teach 1816’s codebase, helping to elevate the team’s code, and work with the rest of the team to make an awesome robot this year! In his free time, he plays ping pong, does video editing, and programs for fun.
Urva J.
Mechanical
She/her
This is Urva’s third and final year on the team and she couldn’t be more excited for what the season holds. You can usually find Urva working in the electrical corner, asking members of the Control Systems & Programming subteam to explain some foreign code stuff, or dancing in queue to Copcabana or Pitbull. If you’re trying to find her, just listen for the person screaming “EIGHTEEN!” (16!)
Vihaan S.
Mechanical
He/him
Control Systems-Programming, Business
Vihaan, a junior, is in his second year, working both in the CSP and business subteams. His favorite part about FRC robotics is watching how individual roles and tasks throughout the year all come together and unfold into one final product. Outside of robotics, he plays ultimate frisbee and basketball competitively.
Vincent R.
Control Systems-Programming
He/him
Vincent is a Sophomore and a rookie on Green Machine. He is on the mechanical/design team, and eventually wants to use what he learns as an aerospace engineer. In his free time, he loves to design, develop, and play videogames, as well as hike and go mountain biking.
Mentors
BLUE DAY
Control Systems Mentor
Blue joins us as our expert on wiring and control systems. They keep their fingers crossed, that once the robot is wiring – it’s a done deal!
BOB SEDOFF
Facilities Mentor
Bob may have retired from EHS Thespians, but all those years of watching us build robots — and field elements — has brought him back into the workshop. We appreciate Bob’s eyes on our non-robot build functions! Maybe his set design experience can help us with a new pit?
DAVE MCGOFF
Lead Mechanical Mentor
Dave McGoff, mechanical engineering mentor, reminds us that he’s going to be with the Team until his granddaughter graduates from high school. When he worked his engineering day job with Graco, he wrote capital justifications to buy new CNC equipment, programmed CNC lathes, handled plant facility layouts, among other engineering duties. He likes seeing a new game each year and trying to decide the best way to make a robot to play the game. He claims he’s “right” about half of the time.
DAVID COOK
Webmaster
David Cook is a licensed project engineer with Standby Systems, Minneapolis. He was Captain of The Green Machine in the 2008 season, the first time we won the regional Chairman’s Award. A mechanical engineering graduate of the Engineering Honors Program at the University of Minnesota, we are delighted to have David as our webmaster.
DAVID DAY
Lead Software Mentor
David is a principal software engineer for PTC, with expertise in software languages and robot control systems. He likes engineering challenges, which is why he volunteered himself to be a FIRST Technical Advisor. Ask him about his background in railroad control systems!
DEREK PRUSENER
Derek is an alum of FRC Team #111 WildStang from Arlington Heights, IL. He was on the team for the 2015-2018 seasons and was a member of the mechanical and strategy/scouting subteams. Derek is a recent graduate from Georgia Tech where he studied biomedical engineering and he currently works at Medtronic. He is excited to be getting involved with FIRST again!
EVAN PASTOR
Mechanical Mentor
Evan is an alumni of the team from the 2013-2015 seasons and was the build team lead his senior year. Since then, he has graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in mechanical engineering. He now works as a mechanical engineer at HID Global in Eden Prairie developing printing technology, partly thanks to his experience and connections from Team 1816. As a mentor, he hopes to help students think creatively when solving complex engineering problems and realize their potential.
GING WIANDT
FTC Coordinator
Ging is the coordinator of our FIRST Tech Challenge teams in Edina Public Schools. She works as a Title 1 Reading Intervention Teacher at Cornelia Elementary School, Edina, and brings her wealth of organizational skills to our team.
JOHN SKOGLUND
Mechanical & Manufacturing Mentor
John is a mechanical and design engineer at HID Global, Eden Prairie. He became interested in FIRST after hearing about this fun, team activity from a colleague. We’re very impressed by his ability to help us connect what seem to be very disconnected pieces.
MATT MITTAG
Co-Lead Fabrication Mentor
Matt Mittag, a research engineer with DuPont Water & Process Solutions, is also a very proud FIRST alum (FRC Team 93 – New Apple Corps) who found his way to our Team when he moved to Edina. He knows first-hand the impact FIRST has on high school students. He loves the unique challenges each season brings and enjoys watching students rise to solve even the most difficult of tasks.
MICHAEL WOOLSEY
Student Leadership Mentor
“Woolsey” is an Alumni / Mentor focusing on leadership development and management. He attributes alot of his success as an Army Officer to leadership skills he first began developing as captain of Team 1816. Mentoring team leadership is his way of giving back to an organization that means a lot to him personally. He was a US Army Captain in charge of a UAV Regiment before transitioning to civilian life as a Product Manager for ADT. He is working on a project house with his wife, raising a yellow lab, and Hello Kitty is his arch nemesis.
MIKA REISDORFF
Software Mentor
Mika is a senior firmware engineer at HID Global, where she writes the code that runs under the hood of their printers. Her love of puzzles and problem-solving led her to engineering, and she’s excited to see the team tackle new challenges. She also likes to build costumes and play video games.
RACHEL MARGOLIS
Business Mentor
Rachel is a Team 1816 alumna and graduated from the University of Minnesota studying Industrial and Systems Engineering. She now works in the medical device industry. For Team 1816, she provides guidance with team building, advocacy, and outreach. Helping us work as a team to solve problems and meet all challenges is her focus as a mentor.
REBECCA EARL
Business & Outreach Mentor
Rebecca, our 2014 Captain, graduated from the University of Minnesota’s College of Science & engineering with a degree in actuarial science. She works as an actuarial analyst for a healthcare company, and her sharp eye for detail helps us produce quality work! She likes working with the team because “it helps students develop new skills including leadership and teamwork which are vital in college and beyond.”
RUTH MCGOFF
Business & Outreach Mentor
Ruth McGoff is recently retired from Cargill and has been involved with Team 1816 directly or indirectly since the 2006-2007 season. Her secret talent is making robot bumpers, wrangling stray pieces and parts, and building friendships and relationships within our Team and other FRC teams. She is excited that work will no longer interfere with Robotics fun.
RYAN MCGOFF
Business, Scouting & Strategy Mentor
Photographing events since 2014, Ryan became a mentor in 2017 to the Business/Outreach/Media subteam, and more recently as a Scouting and Strategy mentor.
YOJI SHIMIZU
Mentor At Large
Yoji is a Distinguished University Teaching Professor, Associate Dean of the Graduate School, Director of the Graduate School Diversity Office, and Director of the Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD) at the University of Minnesota. He has been a mentor and FIRST Robotics Competition volunteer since 2009, and was a parent chaperone for The Green Machine’s very first trip to championship in its 2006 rookie season. Yoji wears many hats, particularly at FRC competitions, and enjoys working with teams on retreats, core values, diversity and music videos!