Our mentors are an essential part of our team. They help keep our team together and also help sustain knowledge and learning throughout the years. Without the mentors none of what we do would be possible. Within our team we like to keep a high student to mentor ratio in order to promote student learning, while still learning lots from our mentors.
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Howard EvansHoward Evans is a graduate of The Ohio State University where he studied electrical
engineering. While attending college he worked for the OSU Physics Department where he helped design, build, and test electronics for the ZEUS particle detector at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) in Hamburg, Germany. Howard has been working for Nordson Corporation since 1997 and is currently a Staff Engineer where he designs control and power electronics for the Packaging and Product Assembly division. Howard joined the Techno Titans as a mentor in the spring of 2007 after watching the team compete in the FIRST Championship in Atlanta. Having always been fascinated with robotics as a child, he now lives vicariously through the students he mentors. |
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Peter EstelleAs a youngster in Maryland, I enjoyed both science and the outdoors. I was in the Boy Scouts and later joined an Electronics Explorer Post. After High School, I went to Georgia Tech where I obtained an MS in Electrical Engineering. One summer, I bicycled coast-to-coast across the United States with my best friend. Nowadays, I am a Chief Engineer at Nordson Corporation. Nordson designs industry-leading equipment and sells it globally. I design embedded control systems for them and hold 22 US Patents. Nordson is a sponsor of several FIRST robotics teams, both financially and via support of its employee’s involvement. I have been a robotics mentor with Northview High School since 2008. I enjoy collaborating with others to solve challenging problems such as those presented by FIRST robotics. I also have a strong personal desire to "pay it forward" into the next generation of young people. And working with sharp, energetic students is fun! In my off hours, I still enjoy electronics and software as a hobbyist. When I'm not doing technical things, I like being outdoors and especially bicycling with my friends. I have ridden the Bicycle Ride Across Georgia most years since 1999.
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Theresa DixonTheresa handles all the “behind the scenes” for the team – handling all the paperwork, day to day financials, travel for the team and helping wherever needed. She also assists with drive team selections and finalization of the essays and presentations for grants and awards.
Theresa works for Yeoman Technology Group as an Amazon Merchandiser. When not working or with the Techno Titans, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, reading, watching college sports and traveling. She lives in Suwanee with Howard and their dog, Jake and cat, Scarlet. |
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Patti DuncanPatti Duncan is the Business Team Mentor. She became involved in robotics during the 2009-2010 FRC season after becoming a “robotics widow” when her better half joined the Techno Titans in 2007. Currently she helps the Business Team in securing sponsorships, grants and other support, as well as coordinate the many facets of running a robotics team. Her background in Project & Logistics Coordination comes in handy!
When not wrangling robotics students, Patti enjoys riding her bike, hiking, reading, cooking and being a nuisance to her many, many nieces and nephews. |
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Andrew BoothAndrew and Joyce are the proud parents of Olivia Booth (Northview Class of 2013), now of Denver, Colorado and Calvin Booth (Northview Class of 2019), a four-year Techno Titan, who presently attends The University of Alabama and is a member of the five-time national champion Astrobotics team. Roll Tide.
Mr. Booth has served as a mentor to the Techno Titans since the 2018-2019 season but has been an involved parent since the 2016 season. Mr. Booth retired as Assistant Tax Commissioner in DeKalb County, Georgia in 2018, after a career that spanned four decades and four Tax Commissioners. Presently, Mr. Booth is a partner with BAB Tax Consulting and also is a School Bus Driver for Fulton County. He has had experience in television news and radio in Florida and Atlanta and holds a Master's degree in Communications. |
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Matthew DeLucaMentor-at-large
The 2020 season is Matthew's first with the Techno Titans, and he is therefore still learning how he can best help out. Currently, he is helping evaluate new cameras for use by the vision processing team as well as assisting with the construction of field elements. He is a certified expert on the contents of aisles 13, 21, and 22 of the local hardware store. By day Matthew is a network architect for AT&T, where he has worked for 20+ years. By night he enjoys tinkering on various projects in the basement, maintaining his vintage Ford truck, and annoying his two dogs. He lives in Johns Creek with his wife Julia and son Dominic. |
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Julia DeLucaBusiness Team Mentor
Who says you need to know about robots to be a robotics mentor? If that was a requirement, Julia would not be here. The 2020 season marks the beginning of her education about robotics, drivetrains, CAD, and more acronyms than a person should ever try to learn. Julia will be learning about the Techno Titans, what FIRST stands for, editing documents for various business team activities, and helping wherever she is needed. In real life, Julia has been a research librarian at the CDC for the last 18 years. At home Julia enjoys cooking, photography, knitting and reading. Julia lives in Johns Creek with her husband Matthew and their son, Dominic. |
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Teacher Sponsor: Brian DowneyBrian Downey, our principal at Northview High School, has been a supporter since his arrival and has been the official liaison at the school for the last several years. During our times of hardship, he has helped us tremendously ensuring our team could still exist to this day. We are so grateful for everything he has done for our team.
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Calvin BoothCalvin Booth is our team's first mentor alumni. He spent four years on the team working in mechanical design and fabrication, eventually leading those sub-teams. After his FRC experience, Calvin went on to study mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama. Continuing his passion for robotics, he is on the five time national championship winning Alabama Astrobotics team. This team competes in NASA's Robotic Mining Competition every year. Currently Calvin is leading the mechanical subsystem working on the design and fabrication of a fully autonomous rover. Calvin hopes to join the space industry after college and continue helping people pursue their passions of engineering.
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