We thank all our coaches and mentors for their support and help. We wouldn't be here without you, thank you!
Dawei Lin, Ph. D -- Coach
I am a Senior Advisor and Group Leader in Bioinformatics at National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institute of Health (NIH). I believe innovation is one of the most crucial assets needed by the future generations. I spent a lot of time and efforts to provide a “safe” environment for children to take risks and discover their innate creativity. The FIRST program is an ideal venue that supplements subject-based learning at school with project-based learning and creativity education. The program demands teamwork and sharing, requires thinking big like professionals, and encourages learning from failures. I have been coaching First Lego League (FLL) teams for five years and First Tech Challenge (FTC) for one year. Also, I volunteer as a judge at local tournaments, State Championships, and FIRST Global in St. Louis, Missouri. Beyond FIRST, I have been an evaluator for national science competitions such as Broadcom MASTERS for middle schoolers, Regeneron Science Talent Search for high schoolers, and local science fairs, such as Science Montgomery in Maryland. Besides teaching and mentoring children, I am also an adult Lego builder and frequently exhibit my work at Maker Faires in Bay Area, New York City, and Washington D.C. Some of my work is at http://dnapassion.blogspot.com/. My Twitter handle is @igenomics.
Mrs. Samantha Liu -- Outreach and Marketing Mentor
I mentor the Almond Robotics team to develop their outreach and marketing strategies.
I am a senior sales and marketing specialist with more than ten years experience. I helped to promote CFMOTO, an Inner Combustion Engine and Motorcycles Company, from a local Chinese brand to an emerging international player in designing, engineering, and manufacturing all-terrain vehicles (ATV). I share the same core values of Almond Robotics - determination, exploration, never-stop learning, and always helping others. The passion of the Almond Robotics in science and engineering inspires me and makes me firmly believe in their potential to impact society positively. I am looking forward to supporting them in their pursuit.
I am a senior sales and marketing specialist with more than ten years experience. I helped to promote CFMOTO, an Inner Combustion Engine and Motorcycles Company, from a local Chinese brand to an emerging international player in designing, engineering, and manufacturing all-terrain vehicles (ATV). I share the same core values of Almond Robotics - determination, exploration, never-stop learning, and always helping others. The passion of the Almond Robotics in science and engineering inspires me and makes me firmly believe in their potential to impact society positively. I am looking forward to supporting them in their pursuit.
Lianyi Han, Ph. D -- Software Engineering Mentor
I am a Lead Software Development Engineer at Medical Science & Computing (MSC), specialized in machine learning, bioinformatics, and biomedical applications. The big data explosion set everyone profound challenges, I believe this is also a rare opportunity in human history for us and the future generations. In terms of big data processing, the machines are able to extend our learning capabilities, but not without the designs, algorithms, architecture, programming, multiple disciplinary knowledge beyond computer science and electrical engineering. As a robotic hobbyist and coach, I have great interests on exploring better learning experience that encourage students to find joy in their way of learning, find their values, discover their innate creativity and enthusiastically explore new knowledge areas. I have 18 years of experience in software design with certificates in Front End, Data Visualization, and Back End. Some of my work can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanlianyi
Jiquen (David) Liang -- Architectural and Structural Concepts Mentor
I am an Architect and father of two. I teach them architectural concepts and structural principles. FTC is not only a STEM program for children, but it also trains them to be responsible, persevere, and value team-work, especially when they encounter difficulties. FTC and I share the same vision to allow children to be active, collaborative and life-long learners. I am amazed how much the team can learn and accomplish even in their first season.
Anil Chaudhry -- Engineering Notebook and Finance Mentor
I am currently serving as the Associate Director; Technical Engagements in the Enterprise Analytics, Modeling, and Simulation Division at U.S. Customs and Border Protection. I also was assigned in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy where I completed two “Lean Six Sigma Black Belt” process improvement projects for the Deputy Chief Management Office that streamlined enterprise business operations, saving the DoD over $30 million annually. This year will be the fourth year of my participation in the FIRST organization, serving as a mentor for both FLL and FTC. I often volunteer at FIRST competitions as a judge. I have judged as an evaluator for the engineering notebook for FTC, and robot design for FLL. Alongside FIRST I am also involved in the spreading of STEM knowledge by attending local Maker Faires and supporting local STEM programs.
Yan Guo -- Operation Mentor
I am a senior field application scientist working at Pacific Biosciences, an innovative biotech company. I believe that STEM education is critical to the young generation. Current education in schools has its limitation to fit every child’s learning style. Solving a real-world problem usually is an efficient and exciting way to learn and enforce the new knowledge. FIRST is the platform that lets kids compete in a well-designed field on a real engineering challenge. The physical model building can not only help students to enforce the knowledge they learn from school, but also provide an opportunity for them to recognize the limitation and the potential in a real-world setting. I believe the FIRST program is one of the greatest programs that gives kids an opportunity to try and to fail safely and constructively.
I have been helping and watching my kids participate FIRST Lego League (FLL) for four years. I look forward to seeing them move ahead to the First Tech Challenge (FTC). I will continue to provide advice and support for their operation management and outreach efforts.
Go Almond Robotics! Love Nuts, For Nuts and Be Nuts!
I have been helping and watching my kids participate FIRST Lego League (FLL) for four years. I look forward to seeing them move ahead to the First Tech Challenge (FTC). I will continue to provide advice and support for their operation management and outreach efforts.
Go Almond Robotics! Love Nuts, For Nuts and Be Nuts!
David Beck -- Engineering and FIRST Competition Mentor
I am a Senior Staff Consultant and Senior Engineer with Engineering Systems, Inc. (ESi). Science and technology are the most important fuels to survival and promotion of the human race. I have mentored, coached and participated in science from K-12, collegiate, and a professional standpoint for over 20 years. The FIRST program has been a part of my mentoring for almost 5 years. I have past served as mentor in FRC, FTC and Lego Leagues. I have also been an Judge Advisor in FTC and Judge for FRC and Lego League as well State Championships and participated in off-season events around the region. I currently service on 3 boards as the Science and Technology Member, Imagine Schools, National Capital Radio and Television Museum and others. In an effort to help with the transition in educating young talents and transitioning them into the world of science, I have focused my small business on STEM. My company Cole Chamberlain LLC. (www.colechamberlain.com) is focused directly on creating and multi-phase educational non-profit to provide scholarships and curriculum to kids k-12 in the area of coding, and innovative sciences. Besides these efforts I volunteer with many nonprofits whom have a national and international foothold on STEM education. Most recently I was nominated as the Chair for the Executive Branch Fellowships for the 2018 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science Technology Fellowships Committee. My hope is to use these platforms to help educate our future leaders everywhere. My business twitter is @TechChamberlain and on Instagram @ColePhotos.
Dr. Richard Conroy -- Engineering and Project Management Mentor
I am a Program Leader in the Office of Strategic Coordination at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as my day job and an educator and garage scientist at nights and weekends. I believe education happens best in a mixture of formal and informal settings and that curiosity and experimentation need to be nurtured and encouraged at all ages. I think team-based action learning, sharing ideas through mixed media and peer-mentoring are great tools for building creativity, problem-solving skills and working on small milestones towards a larger goal. I am the co-organizer of Capital Area BioSpace, a non-profit dedicated to engaging the public in biological research and making it accessible to all through a public lab space. I also serve as a mentor or judge on a variety of programs, including the AAAS Tech-I competition, the iGEM Jamboree, the NIH DEBUT program and the Montgomery County Science Fair.