We are Apple Pi Robotics
History
In October of 2006, Apple Pi FIRST Robotics Team 2067 was born, providing Guilford High School students with the opportunity to enrich their education within a motivating and challenging environment. The program’s founder Al Bishop was inspired while attending his grandson’s robotics competitions in New Hampshire. Upon witnessing the competition and the exciting atmosphere it created, he was compelled to introduce Guilford to the FIRST Robotics program. He approached the metal shop teacher at Guilford High School, and over the next few days, they collaborated on creating and organizing a team. Fliers and announcements were produced and a successful first meeting followed. The group expanded dramatically over the course of the next few meetings with the addition of new members as interest grew.
Over the next several weeks several key sponsors were developed which included Bishop’s Orchards, NASA and Page Hardware and a grant was also obtained from the Guilford Fund for Education (GFFE) all which helped get the program off the ground. Additional sponsors have been added over the years ranging from multi-national Fortune 500 companies to local Guilford based businesses that care deeply about our community.
During its first year, the team received the prestigious Rookie All Star award at Connecticut’s Hartford Regional, which enabled us to attend Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia while in our first competition season. Apple Pi Robotics returned to the Atlanta championships during the 2009 and 2010 seasons and has been a constant attendee of the Hartford Regional and has also attended the Granite State Regional and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Regional. The “Where is Wolcott” and “Bash at the Beach” invitationals make up our off-season schedule.
After Apple Pi
Apple Pi alumni have gone on to study at excellent colleges and universities, including Carnegie-Melon, Yale, Brown, WPI, Virginia Tech, Syracuse University, Georgia Tech, University of Rochester and others. These graduates are majoring in subjects such biomedical and mechanical engineering, biophysics, robotics engineering and architecture. Others have applied the skills and experience they gained from FIRST and are utilizing them to succeed in other non-technical educational pursuits. All of these robotics graduates share a common drive to use teamwork, problem-solving skills, and innovative solutions to make a positive impact on their community.
A FIRST team
“To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders.”
– Dean Kamen, FIRST founder
FIRST Team 2067 is committed to making this ideal a reality in all that we do by inspiring our team members to collaborate in facing the trials posed by competition, maintaining a thriving and growing team, and using scientific and technological skills to solve real-life problems. Additionally, we always aspire to spread the spirit of FIRST to our community by introducing others to science and technology, informing the public about the FIRST program, and volunteering our time to assisting others. In our future, we plan to continue the FIRST legacy by continuing to challenge ourselves both in and out of the build season, whether it be competing in a regional or volunteering in our hometown. We will always strive to incorporate gracious professionalism and cooperation into our team by learning from one another and growing as a team. We hope that as a result of the hard work in our program, not only will our team members and mentors benefit, but we can also have a lasting positive impact on our community and encourage others to do the same.
The Team
John Zachos
John Zachos
Mr. Zachos holds a Bachelor of Science from Michigan State University in Packaging Technology where he graduated with honors. In addition to raising three teenage daughters, He also is currently a mentor and president of the ApplePi FIRST Robotics team 2067. He also teaches guitar and plays in a band.
Mr. Zachos’ professional experience includes a 23 year career with IBM and now Dassault Systemes Americas Corp (DSAC), in various positions focusing on engineering and manufacturing solutions in automotive, aerospace, and the general manufacturing industry. Currently he holds a Technical Account Management (TAM) position in Dassault’s BT (Business Transformation) Sales group.
Rick Page
Rick Page
Mr. Page has been an Apple Pi mentor since 2007. He initially became involved because he knew people at work who had been involved with FIRST teams, was interested in making a positive contribution to his community, and wanted to experience robotics with his son, who also joined the team. He enjoys being on the team because of the intense and rewarding build and competition seasons that have become a major part of his life. He is a project manager at Pratt and Whitney, and his formal education includes a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Boston University, an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bridgeport, and an M.B.A. from the University of New Haven.
Kevin Care
Kevin Care
Mr. Care started mentoring Apple Pi during its rookie year in 2006 and received the distinguished Woodie Flowers Award at the Hartford Regional in 2009. Al Bishop introduced him to the team, and he joined because he was interested in working in the workshop with students and teaching them how to use the various tools and machines. Mr. Care has graciously provided us with the use of his workshop throughout the year. He has found robotics to be an extremely satisfying experience because it involves creating a finished product from nothing and working with students. He is an installer at New England Bow Thruster and a general manager at Essex Marine, and he has high school and practical education.
Jim Scott
Jim Scott
Jim Scott graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, which he used for 38 years in the industrial motor and control industry at Reliance Electric and Rockwell Automation. He has been a part of Apple Pi since 2007 when his daughter joined the team and had the opportunity to work side by side with her. He appreciates working with a good group of mentors all committed to making our town, and by extension the world, a better place. He enjoys enthusiastic discussions with the other mentors over the best designs for the robot.
Peter van der Grinten
Peter van der Grinten
Mr. van der Grinten has mentored since the team’s first season in 2006. He joined the Apple Pi Robotics team because he wanted to contribute to it after hearing about the wonderful experience Albert Bishop, the founder of the team and his father-in-law, had creating the team. The team has been a fulfilling experience for him because it challenges him to utilize his creative thinking and problem-solving abilities and supplements his education. He is currently employed at Bishop’s Orchards, and his education includes a B.S. from Cornell University in Plant Science and adult practical engineering classes.
Mark Lex
Mark Lex
Mr. Lex began mentoring the Apple Pi Robotics team in 2007 after being impressed with the demonstration robot at his daughter’s freshman orientation. The team has given him numerous positive and rewarding experiences, including being challenged while learning new and different things, exercising creativity not usually used in regular professional life, and teaching students who have a desire to learn. Mr. Lex is a project manager at Sikorsky Aircraft and has an M.S. in Civil Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University.
Wendy Barry
Wendy Barry
Wendy Barry has been a mentor since 2008. She joined because she was impressed by the display the team put on at freshman orientation and because her son joined the team. She continues to mentor because of the exceptional friendships she has made, her love of learning and interactions with the students, and the challenge of maintaining a functioning team. She has a B.A. in English from Southern Connecticut State University and has a background in sales and marketing.
Marcia Calhoun
Marcia Calhoun
Marcia Calhoun has mentored our team since 2006 to support her daughter, who is now attending Carnegie Melon University. She graduated from St. Petersburg College as a dental hygienist. She continues to mentor the team although her daughter has graduated because she has been inspired by the mentor and student interaction and has made outstanding friendships.
Al Bishop
Al Bishop
Mr. Bishop is reponsible for Guilford having a FIRST Robotics team. It was his inspiration and groundwork that allowed for the team to come into existence. Bishops Orchard is also a major contributor to the team and allows the team to make use of their facilities for events such as Cruise Nights and car washes. It is through Bishops Orchard that the Apple Pi Robotics team is permitted to run the concession stand at the Donkey & Pony Show.
Diane van der Grinten
Diane van der Grinten
Mrs. Van der Grinten has mentored Apple Pi since its first season in 2006. She became interested in FIRST because her father is Mr. Bishop, the team founder, and she found the various facets of robotics, such as mechanics, math, and technology, to be fascinating. As part of the Apple Pi Robotics team, she enjoys getting to know the students outside of the school atmosphere, meeting the challenges of maintaining the team and promoting ongoing success, and being part of the gratifying and worthwhile FIRST experience.
| First Name | Last Name | Grade |
|---|
| First Name | Last Name | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Charles | Slate | 2012-2015 |
| Charles | Slate | 2012-2015 |
| Charles | Slate | 2012-2015 |
| Charles | Slate | 2012-2015 |
| Charles | Slate | 2012-2015 |
| Charles | Slate | 2012-2015 |
Community Outreach
FIRST, although generally recognized as a robotics program, is much more than that. The building of a robot is only one way FIRST achieves its central goal of inspiring student participation in science and technology. Community activism is encouraged by the FIRST organization. To this end, Apple Pi Robotics makes a point of giving back to our community.
Apple Pi’s community service programs embrace our agricultural roots while promoting science, math and engineering disciplines; doing robotics demonstrations at 4H fairs, Guilford town fairs, Chick Days at a local feed supply store, and donkey and pony shows at Bishops Orchard keep us in touch with the community that supports our team. We also make a point of making an impact on younger children, which is arguably the core of FIRST, by demonstrating our robot to local Brownie Troops, the Melissa Jones after school program, and by starting our very own FIRST Lego League team in 2011.
We have done free car washes for the elderly and hosted Cruise Nights, where our robot delivers the barbecue pit “menu for the evening” to members of the community who gather to display their classic cars. These summer events have become very popular in the town over the last few years and provide a great venue for Apple Pi to promote our organization, its’ values and also aids in the recruitment process for new members.
In 2011, we undertook a very worthwhile project that has special meaning to our organization. The founder of Apple Pi Robotics, Al Bishop, offered to make a very generous donation to the Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders. He asked that as a team we find a way to fundraise and match his donation. We are pleased to report that we not only met, but exceeded the challenge, ultimately making a donation of $1000 dollars to the institute.
Overall, FIRST is about the community. A good team will do well in competition, but a great team will do well in competition while also spreading the message of FIRST through community activities.
Organization
Business & Fundraising Team
This team manages interactions between the team and our sponsors, including recognition of sponsors at our events and functions. This team also generates our yearly business plan and develops and maintains a strategy for sustainability of the program.
Public Relations Team
This team plans outreach programs such as press releases, public events, presentations, and newsletter updates. They are also responsible for developing the team identity including uniforms and themes.
Media Team
This team focuses on documenting the journey of our team in video and pictures. They also manage our website which includes detailed calendar entries and announcements of special events and activities.
Mechanical Team
This team would focus on developing mechanical aspects of the robot, including drive train, chassis and game piece handling hardware. This team is also responsible for mechanical part manufacturing and assembly of the specified and manufactured hardware. The mechanical team works in concert with the electrical team during the test and debug phase of the build cycle.
Electrical Team
This team would focus on the implementation of all electronics on the robot, most of which will now be contained in our single modular control box. Programming of the robot is also handled by the electrical team. The electrical team works in concert with the mechanical team during the test and debug phase of the build cycle.
Strategy & Scout Team
This team builds a scouting database at each event so we can go into our matches with knowledge of strengths and weaknesses of our alliance partners and opposition. They are responsible for communication of this data to the drive team.
Drive Team
The drive team is responsible for control of the robot during match play. They have the responsibility to understand all features and modes of operation of the developed robot. They must be aware of all rules and scoring opportunities as defined by the FIRST provided rules of the game. The drive team has primary responsibility for communications with alliance teams prior to each match to jointly decide on strategies that will be deployed.
Spirit Team
This team, headed up by our team mascot, helps keep the level of excitement at peak levels. Understanding and believing that we are all working toward the same goals, and that having fun while doing so is important to team success. This is the message the Spirit Team embodies.
Contacts
If you have any questions or comments, please send an e-mail to one of the addresses below.
Team Email: applepirobotics@juno.com
John Zachos, President of Apple Pi Robotics Mentor’s Committee: jzachos@gmail.com
Rick Page, Vice President of Apple Pi Robotics Mentor’s Committee: rick.page.home@gmail.com
Web Administration: webadmin@applepirobotics.org