Robotics & Automation Society
August 2020 - May 2022
The University of Pittsburgh Robotics and Automation Society (Pitt RAS) holds a special place for me as it’s where I started with robotics and formed many connections with people I’m still close to today. I joined in August 2020, near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and started working on the Indy Autonomous Challenge. Toward the beginning, I didn’t know what I was doing, but I had initiative and fantastic mentors who pointed me in the right direction to help me grow.
My mentors encouraged me to run for Director of Operations, which involved managing the workshop. This position involved me with club executive meetings, where I learned about acquiring funding and managing the general direction of the club. These opportunities eventually led me to become Perception Lead for the Indy Autonomous Challenge and club president.
When I became club president, I was focused on developing the younger students and creating opportunities for them, just as my mentors did for me. I helped start the F1Tenth project, a 1/10 scale autonomous racing competition where students can learn about all parts of the robot autonomy stack and hardware. I started independent projects where students could get resources for small-scale projects, such as a discord-enabled door opener for the shop and a prototype for a device to assist vision-impaired people. I helped the RAS Aerial project start, a fully autonomous drone built from scratch. I was also fortunate enough to participate in events started by other club members, such as the outreach event at the Pitt Community Engagement Center shown in the image.
In my final year of undergrad, our club advisor told me that my job was to ensure that the club was in capable hands by the time I left, and I do not doubt that it was. I visit for Alumni events, and I see that the club is in much better shape than I left: more projects, more funding, and many more passionate students. I am extremely grateful for this club and look forward to more opportunities to contribute to the robotics community.
