The North Atlanta Robotics Club has come a long way since its inaugural 2009 season. North Atlanta alumni Dylan Diamond ’14 started the club during the 2009-2010 school year, and since then, the club has grown from five to 38 students.

Last year, the club acquired new equipment, which helped strengthen the club and further its capabilities. One of the new, more glamorous items was a 3D printer to assist club members in building robots. Students also got a new website up and running, and the club competed in the First Robotics Competition in Atlanta. The team built a robot for the competition; however, the robot did not place.

After last year’s solid season, the momentum has carried over with a whole new slate of officers who succeed last year’s leaders. Senior Kathryn Floyd leads the club as Robotics Club CEO, and she is assisted by junior Bethany Bell as the new CFO, and senior Andrea Thomsen as Chief Engineer. “It will be hard for the seniors this year to live up to the standards that last year’s seniors,” said Monique Smith, a two-year club veteran, “but they will try their best.”

The Robotics club is supported by two enthusiastic faculty sponsors, Padma Rayalla and Padmayathi Molugoori. “It is really interesting to see how students build the robots and take them to the competitions. At these events, it’s fascinating to see how different robots are built and designed by student from all over the U.S.,” said Molugoori.

Rayalla also noted the positive energy that the club has at meetings and in competitions. “I get the reward of helping enrich students’ lives and I also have the opportunity to learn a lot about students in a setting that goes beyond the classroom,” she said.

With such support and new resources, the club is ready for a successful year. Robotic Club members will begin preparing this semester for their first competition in the spring. The club’s first meeting was on August 19 and the club meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays on the first floor in the Robotics Room.