Ram is a professor of Computer Science at Colorado Mesa University. He teaches classes in cyber security, web development, and courses in various programming languages. He holds a MS and PhD in Computer Science from New Mexico Tech and BS in Computer Science from Colorado Mesa University.
Karl Castleton Team Lead
Karl is an adjunct professor of Computer Science at Colorado Mesa University and is a Systems Integration Engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. His research interests are software and hardware integration of robotics, environmental models and web based systems. He was the lead software developer for Team Mojavaton on the 2007 Urban Challenge and a software developer in 2005 Grand Challenge. He has an A.A.S in Electronics Technology and a BS in Computer Science from Colorado Mesa University and a MS in Computer Science from Washington State University. He also has an extensive actual and toy Robot Collection.
Dr. Francisco Castro Mechanical Engineer
Francisco is an instructor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado – Boulder. He has worked on the inverse kinematics algorithms that allow the human operator to control the robot’s arms using a Leap Motion sensor. He teaches classes in Numerical Methods, System Dynamics, Finite Element Analysis, Component Design and Senior Design Projects in the Colorado Mesa University/University of Colorado-Boulder Partnership Mechanical Engineering Program. He holds a MS in Mechanical Engineering from CU-Denver and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from CU-Boulder.
Dan Councilman Machine Designer
Dan is the President of Genesis Engineered Solutions, a custom machine design firm in Denver. Dan has assisted in the design of the robot components and the control system.
Jim Crittenden Machine Designer
Jim is a mechanical engineer with a passion for machine design. He has been Director of Operations for C5 Medical Werks and Manufacturing Manager at CoorsTek in Grand Junction where he championed lean manufacturing and factory automation. He formed Team Mojavaton in 2004 to compete in the DARPA Grand Challenge contest for autonomous vehicles.
Michaela Ervin Software Lead
Michaela is recent graduate of Colorado Mesa University. She is an experienced C/C++ programmer and enjoys every minute she gets to work with the Grit Robotics team. She has written many software modules, including the robots vision and range sensing (Lidar), neck controls, and graphical interfaces to communicate with cog-burn.
Brandon Foss Master Mechanic
Brandon is a master mechanic and is a junior at Colorado Mesa University studying Computer Science. He has built his own 3D printer and developed the first robot hand prototypes on his home 3D printer.
Mike Hawkins Machine Designer
Mike is a professional machine designer who assisted with the design and construction of the electrical system on the robot.
Mike Kitzman Software Developer
Mike is a graduate of Colorado Mesa University. He teaches at CMU part-time while working full-time as a software developer at a local company. Mike wrote code that allows communication with the Laser Range Finder (LIDAR) on the robot’s head.
Carolyn Loren Marketing & PR
Carolyn is a Psychology major at Colorado Mesa University. She is working on various media and social networking projects for Grit Robotics. Carolyn is also taking a major initiative to start a kickstarter project to raise money to fund Grit Robotics.
Dr. Warren MacEvoy Software Developer
Warren is a professor of Computer Science at Colorado Mesa University. He teaches classes in Unix, robotics, embedded systems and various programming languages. He holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics from University of Arizona and a BS in Computer Science, Mathematics, & Physics from Colorado Mesa University. Warren was a member of Team Mojavaton for DARPA Urban Challenge in 2005 and 2007 where he, along with Karl, wrote most of the software. Warren was a member of the Mesa State College team that won several regional ACM collegiate programming contests including some impressive finishes at the international level. Warren has been chairing and running the ACM Rocky Mountain Regional Programming Contests since 2000.
Phil Miller Machinist
Phil is a professional machinist who has fabricated all of the metal components of our robot. He was also a member of the Mojavaton team in the DARPA Grand Challenge and fabricated all of the components for our autonomous car.
Skyler Ogden 3D printing & Machine Designer
Skyler is studying mechanical engineering at CU Boulder and will graduate in May 2014. He designed many of the robot’s components using SolidWorks 3D CAD software. He is also an expert in 3D printing and fabricated the robot’s 3D plastic components.
Ian Ramsey Machine Designer
Ian is a professional machine designer. He works for Genesis Engineered Solutions and assisted in the design of the robot’s components. He performed stress analysis using SolidWorks on the robot’s high stress points.
Walt Rhodes Fabricator
Walt is a retired manager from the oil and gas industry. He is an accomplished welder and fabricator who has built various structures for the robot, including ramps, simulated valves and a safety gantry.
Sophat Sem Software Developer
Sem is a senior in Computer Science at Colorado Mesa University. As a member of Grit Robotics, Sem contributes to various parts of the robot’s software by writing code in C++ and Python. Specifically, he’s been working on the software that monitors the
Dan Stadelman Software developer
Dan is a Computer Science graduate of Colorado Mesa University and works as a full time programmer. He developed the repository for all the software codes. He also worked on the 0MQ protocol that our robot uses for communication.
Sam Van Pelt Software Developer
Sam is in his final year of studying Computer Science at Colorado Mesa University. He is knowledgeable in C++ and Python. Sam is writing code to monitor the robot’s vital signs to assure that everything is working properly.
Eric Wilcox Machine Designer
Eric is a graduate student at Texas A&M in robotics. He developed the custom gloves with sensors that allow the human operator to control the robot’s hands.