With the spring 2022 semester drawing to a close, the next core leadership team has been elected for the 2022-23 academic year. The core officer team is integral to the operation and success of the organization as a whole, ensuring that RoboJackets makes progress on its missions and goals. We would love to take this opportunity to introduce you all to these officers, and understand a bit more about their vision for the organization in the coming year!
President: Zach Slaton
Zach Slaton is the newest President of RoboJackets. He is a rising third-year Computer Science Student. This past year, Zach was Battlebots’ 3 Pound Czar, where he focused on providing the highest quality of educational experience to new RoboJackets members joining the Battlebots team. Prior to that, Zach was a member of the 3 Pound Program. His favorite experience so far has been his first time at Motorama, where he watched Chonkii, our 30lb spinning shuffler, fly almost 5 feet in the air after a great couple of hits. As President, Zach is excited to be involved with the major events we host like FRC kickoff, as well as tackle some of the larger scale tasks of the organization such as team and leadership cohesion.
Vice President: Oankar Patil
This year’s Vice President is Oankar Patil. Oankar is a rising third-year electrical engineering major who started his RoboJackets career on RoboRacing. This past year, Oankar was the electrical lead for RoboRacing, and was an electrical subteam member before that. As electrical lead, Oankar spearheaded the efforts of electrical integration of RoboRacing’s new platform Rigatoni, and was responsible for its functionality at the robot’s first ever competition. His favorite experience in RoboJackets so far has been at his first EVGP competition, where the steering system broke and he spent the entire night with his teammates in the hotel parking lot fixing it. As Vice-President, Oankar is looking forward to understanding the various perspectives and outlooks of team leadership, and “supporting the new PMs in implementing their individual visions for their teams”.
Treasurer: Keene Brogan
Keene Brogan is the next Treasurer for the organization. He is a rising second-year Computer Science student. This past year, Keene has been the secretary of RoboJackets, focusing on helping create a high-quality social atmosphere in the org. In addition, he has been involved with RoboCup, mainly focusing on their software subteam. His favorite experience in RoboJackets has been going out to Cookout with past and present leadership, and hearing all the fun stories that have come out of the org. He hopes to have his own tales to tell from his time in the org! As treasurer, Keene hopes to work towards optimizing the role to help balance the workload, and to ensure that our teams have all the resources they need to be successful!
Secretary: Calix Tang
Calix is the incoming Secretary of the organization. He is a rising second year Computer Science major who has primarily been involved in RoboNav’s Software subteam. Calix was interested in the role of secretary because he wants to learn about the administrative side of the organization and to help enhance the culture of the organization. His favorite memory with the organization was the very first General Interest meeting he went to, where he was able to learn a great deal about the diverse projects our organization works on! As secretary, he hopes to help smooth out the event planning process so teams can host more in-person socials and events.
Shop Manager: Keertik Bacon
The newly reelected shop manager of RoboJackets is Keertik Bacon. Having been initially elected into this role for this past spring semester, Keertik chose to re-run for the position to further help develop the shop space and assist teams. Keertik is a rising third-year mechanical engineering major, and has had many hats in RoboJackets before this – in addition to being last semester’s shop manager, he was the mechanical training lead and RoboRacing’s braking system lead. In RJ, his favorite experience has been the leadership retreat, where he “really enjoyed the opportunity to interact with and get to know everyone on an informal level”. This year, Keertik is focused on continuing his work from last semester and improving organization in the shop, in order to provide more usable space for teams and ensure teams are able to easily find the materials and tools they need.
PR Chair: Sunidhi Dhawan
The incoming PR Chair for the 2022-23 year is Sunidhi Dhawan. Sunidhi is a rising second-year Computer Science student. In RoboJackets, Sunidhi has worn many hats – this past semester, she was the Outreach Chair, focusing on providing high-quality educational experiences that align with the organization’s mission statement. In addition, she has been a part of the RoboNav software subteam. Her favorite experience from her time at RoboJackets was the socials hosted by RoboNav, as she loved seeing a different, informal side of her teammates! This year, she aims to revamp our social media presence by leveraging our community connections and exciting technical work to increase engagement and activity.
Outreach Chair: Maya Pillarisetti
Maya Pillarisetti is the newest Outreach Chair. She is a rising second-year computer science student. In RoboJackets, she has focused on the software subteam of RoboNav. Just like Sunidhi, her favorite experiences have been making bonds with her teammates at socials and late night RoboNav meetings. This year, Maya hopes to develop a more cohesive outreach community within RoboJackets, and expand the scope of our outreach efforts!
