Robotics “Warbotz” Getting In Gear During 2018

High+Gear%3A+Seniors+Demetrios+Mammas+and+Ethan+Roman+share+their+excitement+to+build+the+Robotics+club+to+new+heights.+

Maddy Carter

High Gear: Seniors Demetrios Mammas and Ethan Roman share their excitement to build the Robotics club to new heights.

North Atlanta’s very own robotics team, the Warbotz, is ready to blast off into a new year. Located on the first floor, the Warbotz have been reconfiguring the nuts and bolts of their mechanical creations in order to make this year the best one yet.

Senior Demetrios Mammas is fulfilling the role as the lead CEO of the team. He is currently working with other officers to brainstorm their year-long plan. “My main focus right now is bringing the team together, especially before we get our T-shirt-launching-robot ready for the pep rally in September,” Mammas said.

In terms of actual robots, three are already currently built or in-progress. Building is definitely the central purpose of robotics, and what ties all members together. Senior Andrew Friedman, the Chief communication officer, thinks its the uniqueness of Warbotz that makes it worth being in. “Honestly, this is the one and only STEM club at our school, so being a programmer, it provides me with an outlet to do what I love. Oh, and the atmosphere is great, too,” he said.

Besides builders and programmers, the team is also a place where future business leaders can grow. The Warbotz has quite a generous budget, due to fundraising and grants, managed by a team led by senior Matthew Aspinwall. “I manage the 15,000-dollar budget, for starters, so I fund all projects and strategize ways to allocate more money,” Aspinwall says. “Robotics is the only club where I can have this much responsibility and budget, therefore giving me the most opportunity to grow and gain experience with finance,” he said.

In ten years’ time, you may see Aspinwall running the finance department of NASA.

Senior Ethan Roman serves as the club’s chief engineer and is a leader among the Warbotz. He was clear that the club is open to all people and not just those who are aspiring to study engineering in the future. “The great thing about robotics is that it’s open to anyone and everyone, and you get to learn so much about engineering,” senior Ethan Roman, Chief Engineer, said. “You’re not just learning how to build robots — you’re learning how to work as a team and be a leader,” he said.

And what might be obvious is that the building robots part is still the coolest.

If you want to express creativity, deepen your understanding of STEM fields, and meet a bunch of new friends, the Warbotz might just be the team for you. The Robotics club meets every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:45-5:30 on the building’s first floor.