It was still dark out when team Nemesis 2590 hit the road headed for Mount St. Joseph Academy, Flourtown, PA, for the annual offseason event, girlPOWER.  This one day event had been a relaxing and pleasurable event in the past; with an expected 15 teams to compete, Nemesis was looking forward to the journey to come. After two practices a week for a month and a half, Nemesis’ female drivers, Constance Mehl and Kaitlyn Young, were ready to take Eris into battle. Upon arrival, Nemesis was greeted with good spirit and to their satisfaction, a working robot. The day was shaping up to be a successful and memorable experience.

girlPOWER is a time for girls to bond together and show themselves and each other what they are made of. The ladies of Nemesis love their chance to take the field. In fact, Julia Ruch, a Nemesis marketing senior executive was ‘lent’ to the Lunatecs as their human player for the day.  Ruch loved her time in the spotlight, “Having the opportunity to play with another team allowed me to experience the true meaning of gracious professionalism, and coopertition, two idea that FIRST strongly promotes. I felt honored and totally humbled to be able to witness my team preform from a different lens, while collaborating with new friends on new alliances, whom were all there to support women in STEM, an issue I feel very passionately about. “

The first practice match started and Nemesis took a turn for the worst, crashing into the airship during autonomous mode, leaving Eris dead for the remainder of the match. Having faced defeat, the team hurried to fix the radio which had been knocked out of place. Over the course of the first couple of matches Nemesis faced a rocky start; however, with the help of quick thinking, strategizing, and a positive attitude, Nemesis found their way into the 9th seed for alliance selection.

Picked by the 2nd seed alliance captain, 203 (One TUFF TEAM) and allied with team 316 (Lunatecs), Nemesis took the field for eliminations. Fighting their way through the round robin, Nemesis’ alliance  successfully defeated all of their opponents. One match in particular shall be remembered in Nemesis girlPOWER history. With a successful autonomous routine and a single gear from the human player station, an alliance member ejected three gears adjacent to the peg for Nemesis to efficiently mount on the peg, and ended the match with a climb with time to spare. However, as finals approached, Nemesis’ climber hit rock bottom. As the team scurried to fix the broken robot, the driver prepared for the finals matches to come.

During the first finals match, Nemesis faced technical issues, preventing Eris from achieving the climb. After the unfortunate loss, Nemesis faced the the second finals match with full of hope, desperate to stay in the game. During in the last few seconds, horror struck as the peg got stuck in the robot and Eris was unable to make the final climb. Connor Hofenbitzer, team Nemesis 2590 programmer, voiced “I feel the first-time drivers really played top notch, they should be very proud of their performance”.

On April 26th, FRC team Nemesis 2590 from Robbinsville High School embarked on their final adventure of the season to the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, MO for the 2017 FIRST Championship. That same day, teams from around the globe gathered within the confines of the Dome to begin gearing up for the competition ahead. Separated into six different fields -- Daly, Darwin, Carson, Tesla, Archimedes, and Curie -- the FIRST Championship hosted 400 FRC teams ranging from regions all across the globe.

Competing in the Archimedes division, Nemesis went head to head with 65 other teams, participating in a total of ten qualification matches, two quarter final matches, and two semi-final matches. For each qualification match, Eris, Nemesis’ 2017 robot, was in fierce competition mode. Nemesis’ alliances scored an average of 315 points per match, securing Nemesis the 12th place position at the completion of the qualification rounds.  

The excitement was palpable as Nemesis awaited the start of alliance selection. After anxiously awaiting to be chosen by a top-ranked team for the elimination rounds, Nemesis was selected to join an alliance with teams 3357, The Comets, 1730, Team Driven, and Team 4779, RoboSapiens. Together these four teams made up the sixth seed alliance and were ecstatic to begin competing as a unified force.

The last time Nemesis played on the Archimedes field, they left as Einstein competitors. Finding themselves once again on Archimedes, the excitement of a potential repeat performance loomed. Quarterfinal match number one was a success for the alliance as they trounced the third seed alliance 465-210. Next, Nemesis and their alliance partners went on to secure their position in the semifinals with a score of 484-471.

The alliance entered the semifinals with high hopes, and while they put up a hard fight and played some of their best matches, they were defeated by the second seed alliance 507-468. The next match would be crucial. A win would keep the hope alive and allow Nemesis and their alliance partners a second chance to move on. They gave it all they had and played a strong game, but the final score was not in their favor, ending their competition season.

With the official 2017 FIRST Steamworks season behind them, Nemesis looks forward to their upcoming off-season events, including MidKnight Mayhem, the Indiana Robotics Invitational, and girlPOWER.

Nemesis would like to extend its sincerest gratitude to all of their sponsors Robbinsville High School, NAVAIR, CCL Label, DoDStem, Knowledgement, Nordson, Leidos, the Robbinsville Educator Association, Lockheed Martin, Sharbell Development Corp., the New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists, Investors Bank, RAS, the Robbinsville Education Foundation, Triangle Copy, Skylink, Coldwell Banker, Northstar Vets, Princeton Sports and Family Medicine, Designtree, Siemens, SRI, McGraw Hill Financial, as well as all the Friends and Family of Nemesis.

The Springside-Chestnut Hill District Competition was filled with volunteers, as every FIRST competition is. However, at this competition these volunteers consisted of 5 Nemesis alumni and 2 Nemesis mentors as judges. Alumnus, Jenna Mollica is the youngest Lead Robot Inspector in FIRST history. The other volunteering Nemesis alumni included Julia Borowski (Yale), Griffin Della Grotte (Carnegie Mellon), Josh Falk (Lafayette), Christian Gavalchin (The College of New Jersey)  and  Anthony Heulitt (Rutgers). Mr and Mrs.Young, build and marketing mentors, experienced the competition from the other side, volunteering as judges..

Nemesis is beyond proud to see their alumni come back to support them and volunteer for FIRST. Jenna Mollica voiced her experiences on FIRST and why she decided to come back and volunteer. “I loved my time in FIRST during high school and I wanted some way to continue to be involved in something that changed my life. Volunteering allows me to help out and make sure that students now get the same experience I received while on Nemesis and get to meet and work with a ton of great people in the process”. Majoring in engineering, Jenna is currently attending Drexel University.

Nemesis alumni come back to mentor, volunteer, and regale the team with stories of college life and beyond. Being part of the Nemesis family is a lifelong choice. Nemesis would like to express their deepest thanks to their alumni and extended family for all of their gracious support both technical and otherwise.

A streak of color burst across the field in a desperate attempt to reach the dangling rope and scale it before the buzzer rang. Seven seconds. The robot couldn’t grip the rope, and the drivers furiously reversed and rushed forward again. Four seconds. Suddenly the rope was snatched into the robot. It jerked sharply upwards and began the ascent. Would it make it? Three seconds...two… The light above the robot blazed red and the crowd erupted in cheers as the buzzer rang.

After learning from their mistakes two weeks prior at the Hatboro-Horsham District Event, Nemesis was back and better than ever. Boasting a newly designed intake, which now featured a ground pick up for gears, the team was determined to rise beyond their last competition.

After an early Saturday morning start, Nemesis joined 31 other local MAR (Mid Atlantic Robotics) teams at the Springside-Chestnut Hill Academy for their second district competition, hosted by FRC 1218, Vulcan. The team was excited to be joined by so many of their friends and alumni, some of which even volunteered their time as robot inspectors, queueing personnel and judges. Nemesis is truly a family, always there supporting each other.

A promising performance in the practice matches resulted in high anticipation among Nemesis members. By midday, spirits were high and the team wasn't far out of the top 8. A resilient team often regarded for their ability to overcome setbacks in gameplay, Nemesis’ team members were still hopeful.

Meanwhile in the pits, both marketing and build members conversed with entrepreneurship and technical judges to compete for awards honoring their world-class business team and first-rate engineering skills. "It was an interesting experience to be able to share our story with these judges and I look forward to doing it again!" remarked first time marketing member Rachel Gillmer.

Back on the field, an aura of suspense filled the air. After 64 tense qualification matches, it was time for alliance selection. Nemesis finished qualifications 6-6-0 in 15th place. Within minutes, Nemesis was chosen by the first ranked seed, FRC 225 TechFire. Not long after, the pair was joined by FRC 423 Simple Machines. With Nemesis’ proficient gear-scoring strategy, Tech Fire’s inconceivably accurate shooter, and Simple Machine’s rope-scaling consistency, the top alliance was ready to take on their first competitors. The six robots lined up against their driver station walls. 3...2...1...GO! The eliminations were underway!

The announcer's voice was drowned out by the deafening cheers of the crowd. Gear after gear, ball after ball, both alliances fought valiantly. TechFire’s shooter brought shouts of delight from the fans, and remarkable communication between pilots and drivers illustrated the beautiful chemistry during the match.

Unfortunately, every competition isn’t without its misfortunes. As a result of a series of hapless moments, the top alliance was not able to start the third rotor on the airship, nor get all three red robots ready for takeoff. Similar performance in the second quarterfinal match made it official: Nemesis would not be moving on to the semifinals.

Although disappointed, Nemesis did not leave empty-handed. The team won the Industrial Design award, a celebration of form and function in an efficiently designed robot that also effectively addresses the game challenge. Team Advisor Peter Wolfe was honored with the Donald Bowers Inspiration Award in recognition of his demonstration of FIRST core values within the team and the community, and finally, juniors Nick Anderson (Director of Marketing) and Mariko McMurtry (Head of Electrical) were Dean's List Semi-finalists, a prestigious FIRST award that identifies exemplary individuals who effectively illustrate the ideals of FIRST, STEAM, and Gracious Professionalism.

At the end of the day, Nemesis knew that it wasn't over yet. Next stop: the Festival de Robotique in Montreal, Canada!

Nemesis would like to thank their sponsors: Robbinsville High School, NAVAIR, CCL Label, DoDStem, Knowledgement, Nordson, Leidos, the Robbinsville Educator Association, Lockheed Martin, Sharbell Development Corp., the New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists, Investors Bank, RAS, the Robbinsville Education Foundation, Triangle Copy, Skylink, Coldwell Banker, Northstar Vets, Princeton Sports and Family Medicine, Designtree, Siemens, SRI, McGraw Hill Financial, and the Friends and Family of Nemesis.

By: Liam O'Toole and Julia Ruch

It’s 19 degrees, amid a swirl of French, English and the palpable exuberance - a Joie de vivre - of Montréal. The Robbinsville FIRST Robotics team Nemesis 2590 is gearing up for Festival De Robitque in Quebec, marking the team’s third visit in ten years. But they’re not alone. Teams from across Canada, France, the United States, and Morocco have gathered here to compete in the FRC 2017 design challenge: FIRST Steamworks.

After six weeks of 15-hour days of CADing, virtually testing, and fabricating parts in-house, Nemesis is proud to introduce Eris: our 2017 competition robot. Fast, adaptable, and capable of picking up game pieces off the floor to score, Eris does it all, embodying the cooperation between students and their guiding mentors: Peter Wolfe, Jeff Keller, Marc Began, John Ruch, Tom Young, and Alex Marincas. A shooter, climber, dual-speed drivetrain, and an innovative dustpan gear intake makes Eris an offensive playing powerhouse. Such versatility earned Nemesis the Industrial Design Award at the Springside-Chestnut Hill District Event.

The pressure and high stakes aren’t limited to the field. Based on the team’s sustainability, fiscal responsibility, professional image, and community service, judges at the Hatboro-Horsham District Event honored Nemesis with the prestigious Entrepreneurship Award. Nemesis runs like a business with six subteams, build, marketing, finance, operations, social media, and software (guided by Peter Barlis, Joy Wolfe, Shilpa Vast, and Karen Young). Nemesis’ social media team documents all of the team’s endeavours through articles and photographs on the team website.

“FIRST Steamworks, inspired by steam power technology from the Industrial Revolution, features two alliances of three robots each. The game starts with a 15 second autonomous period in which robots operate solely through pre-coded instructions. The remaining 2 minutes and 15 seconds of each match consists of fierce competition between the alliances in which robots are student driven. Each alliance's goal is to pick up gears and bring them to the airship, an elevated platform located within the field. Teams are also tasked with preparing the airship for takeoff by collecting as much fuel (balls) as possible and shooting it into the boiler (goal). In the last 30 seconds of the match, robots climb onto the airship via a rope, which earns additional points. The alliance with the most points at the end of the match wins! (FIRST Robotics).”

During the high-pressure, pre-programmed autonomous period, Eris swiftly delivers valuable gears to the airships from code written by students Conner Hofenbitzer, John Miranda, and James Aikins, mentored by Jeff Keller, Peter Wolfe and John Ruch. After these 15 seconds, driver Dahany Choi enters the pilot’s seat, racing Eris down the field, avoiding defensive robots, debris, and other game pieces to the pickup station. Here, Aditya Pillai drops gears near Eris, which sweeps them into its dustpan intake. Dahany whips Eris around for the dash back to Niratjot Grewal, stationed at the Airship. Niratjot pulls the gear onto the platform, slams it onto the rotor pegs, and turns the crank to spin the gear train to activate the rotors. In the last 30 seconds, Niratjot drops a rope, which Dahany skillfully maneuvers the robot beneath. Eris’ velcro coated climber grabs the rope, and winds the 120-pound robot up to the top, 6 feet in the air in 4 seconds to score a crucial 50 points.  The drive team is backed up by drive coach Harsha Pavuluri and Nemesis’ crack pit crew -  Charlie D’Amico, Matthew Began, and electrical whizz Mariko McMurtry - prepared to tackle any repair at any given moment. “This has been a phenomenal experience. We have the freedom, yet the responsibility to design and build this world-class robot. I’m proud to be a part of this extremely dedicated team.” said RHS senior Charlie D’Amico.

Exposing themselves to a new culture, the team spent a day exploring the streets of Old Montréal, starting at the beautifully gothic Notre Dame Basilica. Among their adventures, Nemesis happened upon a French cafe, complete with a live pianist to add to the mood. Members visited the modern PHI Center for virtual reality, where they experienced 3D, 360 degree view movies of Jurassic World, Yosmite National Park, and Cirque de Soleil. Nemesis perused the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. “I was part of the 2015 Montreal trip...the culture, the camaraderie and enthusiasm of the other FRC teams, and hospitality are really welcoming,” said team member Emily Marsch. In Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, laser lights are persistant, and entusiam is contaious amongst the competing teams.

After an action-packed five days and a long bus ride home, FIRST Robotics Team Nemesis 2590 is back home from an incredibly successful and enjoyable competition at the Festival de Robotique in Montreal, Canada. The team secured a wildcard bid to the FIRST World Championships in St. Louis as finalists and were honored with their second Entrepreneurship Award this season for exemplary business strategy, community outreach, and team sustainability.

The competition began on Thursday, March 23rd, with a day of practice matches; it was the ideal opportunity for Nemesis’ scout team to study the competition and identify the best robots. Friday morning’s official opening ceremonies-- delivered with Montreal’s trademark gusto-- preceded a long run of qualification rounds. With 46 competitive robots challenging Nemesis to bring out their best, the rankings fluctuated constantly.

As the returning 2-time champions of the Montreal Festival de Robotique, we hope to qualify for the MAR and FIRST World Championships. Nemesis extends its sincerest gratitudes to Robbinsville High School, NAVAIR, CCL Label, DoDStem, Knowledgement, Nordson, Leidos, the Robbinsville Educator Association, Lockheed Martin, Sharbell Development Corp., the New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists, Investors Bank, RAS, the Robbinsville Education Foundation, Triangle Copy, Skylink, Coldwell Banker, Northstar Vets, Princeton Sports and Family Medicine, Designtree, Siemens, SRI, McGraw Hill Financial, as well as all the Friends and Family of Nemesis, for believing in the team and encouraging further STEAM education.

To follow or make a donation to the Robbinsville High School’s robotics team 2590 Nemesis, please visit FRC2590.org.

The horn blew signaling 30 seconds left in the match. Nemesis attempted to mount a gear to the airship but were too far away. After multiple attempts they gave up on the gear and headed straight for the newly released rope. Suddenly Nemesis was driving in circles. 5 seconds remained. More circles.The horn blew declaring the end of the match. A win would have sealed the victory delivering Nemesis’ fifth consecutive Hatboro-Horsham win. With this devastating loss, Nemesis was carried off the field only to discover it was missing a wheel.

It is Saturday March 5th and the Hatboro-Horsham District competition is underway. Nemesis FRC2590 from Robbinsville, New Jersey is one of the 36 robotics team from New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania at the event. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, Nemesis arrived at Hatboro High School in Horsham Pennsylvania ready for the 7:30am start. With matches not starting until 11:00, Nemesis is hard at work in the pits. Build Members are scurrying about, making last minute modifications to the robot and Marketing Members are taking pictures and eagerly awaiting visits from the judges.

During their only practice match, Nemesis had a rocky start, struggling to place gears on the pegs, but showcased a successful climb. The Build Team knew what needed to be fixed, and exactly how to fix it. Nemesis was ready.

Back to the pits to prepare for their first qualification match and to fix the gear issue, Nemesis impatiently waited for their time on the field. While Build Members were working on the robot, the Marketing Members were conversing with judges about what it means to be on Nemesis and how “we run our team like a high-tech business”.

Let the games begin. Eris, Nemesis’ FIRST Steamworks robot, had a rough start. After losing the first three matches, the Drive Team worked hard to counteract each issue as it arose and things started looking up. Nemesis finished the qualification matches 6-4-0.

Sophomore Build Team Member, Bhargavi Lanka professed, “My first competition was such a surreal experience! It’s incredible seeing our robot start at the bottom and climb its way up the competition.”

Sunday, shortly after 11:00, alliance selection began. Nemesis found itself on the third seed alliance joining captain FRC3974, E=mcD, and their alliance partner FRC2539, Krypton Cougars.

Dominating both the quarterfinal and semi final matches, Nemesis and the Blue Alliance headed into the finals hoping to bring home the district championship trophy. Alas, the alliance encountered several unwanted difficulties.

The first three finals matches were a win, a tie and a loss for the Blue Alliance. Throughout the tie breaking match the Red and Blue Alliances kept the scores close. By the end of the match the score was 240, Red, and 235, Blue. It all came down to the climb and when a Red robot fell off of the rope the Blue Alliance knew they had the win. But, as Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” As fate would have it, with less than two seconds left on the clock, a Blue Alliance scaling rope broke and the Krypton Cougars’ robot crashed to the ground as the final bell tolled. Because of this series of unfortunate events, the score remained 240-235, with the Red Alliance taking home the win, breaking Nemesis’ Hatboro-Horsham District Event win streak.

The Nemesis family joined together to watch Eris play in her a inaugural competition. Not only were team members and parents on hand to cheer her on, but also, alumni, alumni families and Nemesis friends. Nemesis also had many alumni volunteering at the event and Nemesis students volunteered at the Mid-Atlantic Robotics donation table.

Nemesis took home the Entrepreneurship Award showcasing the Marketing and Business Teams hard work and efforts. The award celebrates a team which has developed a comprehensive business plan and the business skills to ensure a self-sustaining program.

Nemesis and Eris will be competing at Springside-Chestnut Hill Academy District Event, March 18-19 and Festival de Robotique - Montreal Regional, March 23-25.

With the clock nearing midnight Nemesis drapes the bag over their hard work to officially end another Build Season.  The team is proud of their finished product. Six weeks filled with designing, prototyping, machining, and assembling concludes as they seal up the bag and the Build Season, opening the door to Competition Season. The team celebrates with sparkling cider and a little fun.  

The finished robot consists of a compilation of ideas from nearly every member of the team, hopefully forming a force to be reckoned with.  With new and innovative ideas constantly being proposed, the robot underwent numerous changes and transformed from a simple concept to a fully functioning robot, eager for Competition Season.  Feeling satisfied after facing the many engineering obstacles, Nemesis wipes their brows and lays down their tools.  

Now it’s time for Nemesis to make all necessary preparations for the first competition of the season.  This includes ensuring that the driver practices extensively with the team’s practice robot in order to master the game, putting the finishing touches on the software for the autonomous routine and teleoperated period, and planning game strategies.  But mostly, Nemesis looks forward to showcasing and competing with their robot at the Hatboro Horsham District Event.  

Nemesis anticipates the upcoming season with hope and excitement, ready to put their hard work to the test and go FULL STEAM AHEAD!

It was the best of times - from prototyping and brainstorming ideas to the creation of a finalized product, but now the inevitable End Build date has arrived. Build Season reached its climax and conclusion this past week with finalizations and tuning across the board. As a team, we feel confident in our creation, and eagerly await the chance to compete.

On the Fabrication and Assembly Subteam, both the practice and competition bots have been completed. Various critical parts were fabricated and added to the finished product. Subsystem testing has been ongoing, and we finally had a breakthrough with our drivetrain maneuverability.

In the Electrical Department, wiring and routing are finished. In addition, the shooter and intake are functioning properly.

With Software, our autonomous routine, with the aid of vision integration, is completed and tested. The accuracy and precision of our shooting routine continued to improve over time, the intake system gathered fuel effectively, and gear retrieval and placement went well.

We look forward to another Competition and Travel Season as the 10th anniversary of our legacy unfolds, but for now, we’ll take time to rest.

Of course, countless hours will be dedicated to refining and improving our design in the Off-Season, because Build Season never “really” ends.

We’ll see you at Hatboro-Horsham, Springside-Chestnut Hill, and Festival de Robotique!

With all engines at full capacity, Nemesis’ Marketing Team can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel as Week Six of the 2017 Build Season comes to a close. After wrapping up the very successful Sponsor Networking Night with follow up communications, the Marketing Team changed gears as they focused on the Competition Season. Countless hours were spent working on both the Dean's List and Entrepreneurship Award documentation. Preparation for the team’s well known image took priority as team apparel orders were finalized. The 10 year anniversary T-shirt is still in design mode, but is scheduled to be completed this coming week. Our on-field appearance began to take shape as the sponsor name plates and the red and blue alliance bumpers were completed.

Nemesis is looking forward to yet another great year of FIRST competition. See you on the Airship! Full Steam Ahead!

With two weeks remaining of Build Season 2017, all members of 2590 Nemesis found themselves in a mad dash to prepare for the looming competition season. Hot on the the heels of Sponsor Networking Night, the Marketing Team shifted priorities toward collectively collaborating on the Business Plan. Updating the plan to include the TEDx Talk at Joint Base Mcguire-Dix Lakehurst, Nemesis’ new Engineering Day, and the team's demonstration of Daedalus - the 2016 competition robot - at NAVAIR became the sub-team’s chief objective. Marketing also finished the designs for the team’s apparel from CustomInk. Going into Week 5, we eagerly await delivery.

Aligning with Week 4’s theme of dwindling time, Finance Team was in a rush to get the financial part of the Business Plan all together and in order. The pressure was alleviated by securing  sponsorships for which the team is extremely grateful. The Logistics Team spent the week finalizing travel information for this year’s exciting trip to Montreal.

Nemesis is ecstatic to continue its hard work for the remainder of Build Season and into the promising 2017 competition season.

Concluding Build Season’s fifth week indicates we are in the homestretch. Prototyping has come to an end, and with a finalized CAD, the Build Team is working together towards fabrication and assembly of both the practice and competition robots.

Major headway was made by the Fabrication and Design students. Night and day, hours have been poured into the machining of various parts, including the shooter, intake, climber, drivetrain, et cetera. With the drive base complete, the addition of bumpers to ensure safety is a priority.  

The Electrical Team’s schedule has been mainly comprised of testing each of the robot’s major functions. At this point, the wiring of both motors and sensors has been completed. One of this week’s Electrical successes is the practice bot’s mobility.  The Team’s new focus includes the shooter and intake functionality.

This week, the Software Team coded controls for shooting, and configured the beginning of the autonomous routine. With prototype testing complete, the Team’s focus was working on an algorithm that efficiently maximizes the robot’s mobility.  The Software team is ardently waiting to test on the competition bot.

With Build Season’s final week here, the entire team’s atmosphere reflects one of a community as members collectively work to finish the competition robot. Everyone is excited to see what our newest addition can do!

Heading into Week 4 of Build Season, the Marketing Team’s minds were all but fixed on one thing: Sponsor Networking Night. On Wednesday evening, we all waited anxiously  as our gracious sponsors and parents began to flood the halls. With everyone assigned a sponsor or parent, we spent the night showing them our hard work. In the hallways, we were proud to explain our amazing showcases, filled with awards, trophies and achievements. In the Tech Lab, the Build Team executives revealed this year’s game, FIRST Steamworks. Meanwhile, Marketing members gave an astounding presentation of our 2016 accomplishments. The event went flawlessly, with our sponsors and parents all left with smiles on their faces. Everyone on Nemesis was elated, but at the same time slightly disappointed, as we realized that our exciting and much-awaited Sponsor Networking night had come to a close.

With the end of Sponsor Networking Night came the beginning of preparation for the Competition Season. Our team began to finalize designs for our T-Shirts, both our annual shirt and our special edition 10th year anniversary shirt. Other Marketing members worked on perfecting the Chairman's and the Woodie Flowers Awards.

The Finance Team continued to innovate and improve on the Business Plan. They are also planning to take new members of the Marketing team to businesses to interact with local sponsors.

The Logistics Team worked on the Montreal Travel Presentation and gathering every team member's schedule to determine their competition availability.

As Build Season draws to an end, Nemesis cannot wait to compete in another season of FIRST Robotics action. We look forward to the final two weeks of this exhausting, yet rewarding, experience, and can’t wait for the season to start!

Deep in the thick of build season, Nemesis 2590 briefly halted prototyping, put down their tools, and took a collective break from the organized chaos of Build Season Week 3 to host their fifth annual Sponsor Networking Night.

Sponsor Networking Night is the best and most direct means of thanking and maintaining a thoroughly personal relationship with sponsors. Through presentations, personal interactions with team members, and hands-on demos, sponsors are offered penetrating insight into the inner workings of Nemesis.

The night began with Nemesis team members from all subteams greeting representatives and leading them into the Robbinsville High School (RHS) Technology Lab. Sponsors became increasingly intrigued as build executives Charlie D’Amico and Mariko McMurtry discussed the previous season’s successes before divulging information regarding the 2017 robot and the FIRST Steamworks game. Surprised by the game’s complexities, sponsors were extremely curious as to how Nemesis’s 2017 competition robot would tackle this fresh challenge. Answers did not have to wait, as sponsors freely questioned team members 1-on-1 between demonstrations.

Next, marketing executives in the adjacent Student Activities Center gave an overview of the team’s finances, competitive standings, and community outreach. During this presentation, Nemesis’ true nature shined through. 2016 produced the team’s most successful food drive yet, multiple competitive awards, and expanded the horizons of Nemesis influence. Operated as a high-tech business, Nemesis 2590’s marketing sector directly interacts with sponsors who essentially act as investors. However, instead of investing with the intention of monetary returns, sponsors reap the healthy profit of potential employees and a diverse, strong future STEM community.

Assemblymen, industry representatives, and parents marveled at the final presentation: a hands on operation of Daedalus, Nemesis' 2016 competition robot. “I think it’s awesome what’s going on here. It’s a near completely student-run organization and these students are doing things reminiscent of what’s actually being produced in the technology field,” brightly observed NAVAIR representative Colonel Cynthia Wong of the United States Air Force. Sponsors swerved, drifted and spun Daedalus across the Nemesis practice field, pausing only to ask questions or launch foam balls from the robot’s powerful shooter. Also found in the RHS commons was the programmable, dancing, walking, and talking NAO Robot as well as several Nemesis 2590 produced videos.

It’s been 10 years since Mrs. and Mr. Wolfe, an intensely dedicated group of students, and the RHS administration came together to form the Robbinsville Robotics Team, FRC 2590 Nemesis. In that time, Nemesis has won numerous awards and jumpstarted the careers of countless Robbinsville students. These accomplishments would have been rendered impossible without the generous and vital support of their sponsors. To them, Nemesis 2590 extends its sincerest gratitude.

Nemesis would like to give a special thanks to: Robbinsville High School, NAVAIR, CCL Label, DoDStem, Knowledgement, Nordson, Leidos, the Robbinsville Educator Association, Lockheed Martin, Sharbell Development Corp., the New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists, Investors Bank, RAS, the Robbinsville Education Foundation, Triangle Copy, Skylink, Coldwell Banker, Northstar Vets, Princeton Sports and Family Medicine, Designtree, Siemens, SRI, McGraw Hill Financial, as well as all the Friends and Family of Nemesis.

With the build season approaching its climax, the team has kicked production into high gear to fabricate, test, and refine their design. Most team members are spending five to eight hours in the tech lab every day, tweaking elements of the design, testing and retesting each subsystem to build a machine of maximum efficiency. Prototyping has come to a close, and a final drivetrain has been manufactured.

While the Design Subteam finalizes the CAD, the other build members continue to build upon the practice bot. The team has also begun constructing the competition bot— the practice bot’s more polished, mechanically identical twin.

The different subsystem teams are ready for integration, after successful testing with wooden prototypes. The subteams are currently waiting on their parts to be machined and assembled on the practice bot for further trials.

Meanwhile, the Electrical Subteam continues to work on wiring new motors and sensors. The Software Team has started to code the drivetrain and the prospective subsystems in advance, and is eagerly awaiting the chance to test the code on the finished product.

As week 5 approaches, members buckle up and prepare to charge FULL STEAM AHEAD!