Congratulations to The Harker School robotics team, who won two awards at the Western Region Robotics Forum’s (WRRF) CalGames competition, held at Archbishop Mitty High School in late October.

The team was awarded the BAE Systems Design Award for their “Ebox” modular electronic control hardware. “The Ebox is a single unit that contains all of the electronics needed to run the robot and a standardized set of connectors to interface with external motors and sensors,” said team member Jay Reddy, grade 12. “That way, we always have multiple functioning robots in the lab. We simply plug the Ebox into whichever robot we want to run.”

Additionally, team mentor Eric Nelson, upper school physics teacher, received the WRRF Mentor of the Year award for his longtime dedication to the team. The winner of this award is determined by student essays and interviews conducted on his or her behalf. “The team is very excited since Dr. Nelson is a great mentor and we are glad to see him get the credit he deserves,” Reddy said.