Robotics Team...

continued from page 8 and are constantly building and coding — improving the robot in every way they can.

“That way we’re able to add a lot of precision into the robot,” says Kometani. “We also have two functions to drive the robot with the controllers and manually lower and raise the lift to be more precise.”

Team 10096’s greatest accomplishment is outreach and Jack Sciortino says they are proud of what they’ve been able to do for the community.

They toured Magna-Power and their facility, heard how they create their product and robotics is active in their industry.

“It was good to have perspective because it helped us learn more. And we went to a number of camps,” Sciortino says that’s where they would promote STEM to young thinkers and inspire them to pursue the field.

The team is sponsored by Picatinny Arsenal and Long Valley Junior Women’s Club.

With several graduating seniors on the team, Jiang says they’re probably going to need to take over the team next year and they prefer to keep things small.

“It’s better to have division of labor more effectively with a smaller group,” he says.

Adds Iftikhar: “With hard work and passion from the mentor and dedicated students; it can go pretty far. Maybe in the future we could make it to Worlds, which would be a huge achievement.”

The gifted group is already looking down the road.

Sciortino is interested in computer programming; maybe cybersecurity and enjoys robotics.

Iftikhar plans on majoring in biology and following a pre-med track. “I want to be a physician, possibly a pediatrician. It’s not super related to robotics but plays a huge role in the healthcare industry.”

Jiang has his eye on STEM (aerospace engineering). “It would be cool to make robots go into space and do stuff on their own,” he says. “That would be my dream job after college.”

Kometani is also applying for aerospace engineering, as well as electrical engineering because he says aerospace is a competitive field. “I want to see what’s out there and maybe intern.”

According to Tracy Kometani, she is impressed with all they have accomplished.

“They’re smart kids, mature for their age and capable of handling themselves in ways I didn’t see teens do when I was younger,” says Tyler’s mom. “And great teammates who pitch in, help each other out. I’m proud of the entire team.”

NAME: Mike Lateiner, DMD, MS

NAME: Ami Dhaduk, DMD

NAME: Denise Kitay, DDS, MMSc