Who are the People that make Olin Baja a reality? They're first-years and seniors, Mechanical, System, Electrical, and Materials Science Engineers. They call from the sunny shores of California to the rolling foothills of the Old Dominion. They are the best we could pull together and incredibly awesome people. They are what make Baja what it is, driving each other to be better and making the long nights spent designing and working in the shop that much more rewarding.
Born in State College, Pennsylvania, Jennifer Cross came to Olin College of Engineering in order to pursue her passion for hands-on engineering. Fascinated by the synchronization of all the systems, she disassembled her first internal combustion at age 12 and began working on cars at age 13. The greater part of her experience has been focused on tearing down and repairing her pair of temperamental 1984 Pontiac Fieros. She’s been working on multiple ‘projects’, aka junk cars, ever since. Jenn was thrilled to be able to combine all of these interests by joining the Olin Baja Team and can’t wait to learn more about the machines she loves. This year, she additionally looks forward to managing the team. She spends what little free time she can find playing double bass and building robots for herself and Olin’s Biomimetics Lab.
Joe Funke has always had a passion for cars and an interest in business. What began as an obsession with hot wheels and choice car noises has grown to car maintenance and racing. Joe originally joined the Baja team to apply the engineering principles taught in class and to take chances with new creative designs. Now he additionally sees Baja as a business that needs to be managed. Back in Joe’s childhood, when his lemonade stand simply turned sour, he joined his interests to create a mobile lemonade stand that left the ice cream man glaring. Years later, but not much the wiser, he, in tandem with his good friend Jenn, combines his interests again to manage the team.
As an avid car enthusiast with a passion for hands on work, Andrew loves the concept of SAE Baja. A student run, governed, and independently funded organization for engineering off road vehicles is the best thing since sliced bread. He spends most of free time (which almost no one has these days) photographing, tossing discs with Olin’s Ultimate team, rock climbing, and barbecuing with friends.
He is a systems engineer by major, but also takes Chinese because his memory from his little days is failing. He deems time in the shop time well spent and loves to weld. Management is a new thing to him, but passion for the team keeps him going. Working with people and cars is something he loves and looks forward to each day.
Matthew Roy (talk . contribs) is a member of the Class of 2009 at Olin College of Engineering because Olin is about Doing Something. He is driven by doing projects until the wee hours of the morning, and then dragging himself out of bed at early hours of the morning. Whether it's building a UAV, designing the drive train for the Baja car, or doing graphic design in Fireworks, Matthew does it because it's amazingly awesome, insanely intense, and ridiculously rewarding.
Somewhere between a Systems Engineer and a Mechanical Engineer, Matthew enjoys working with systems and has a particular interest in aerospace. Despite his strong mechanical background, he has an odd interest in network software and enjoys maintaining a small network of Windows and Linux Systems. In more firmly rooted engineering pursuits, Matthew is working on a long-term UAV research project, including extensive airframe design using CFD tools inline with design processes. This summer, he worked for a defense contractor in Missouri as an intern.
Matthew is also one of the millions of people who enjoy editing Wikipedia and is somewhat obsessed with the idea of being able to link to what he would like to think is the sum of all human knowledge. Sadly Wikipedia doesn't quite know everything, but <shameless plug> you can help! Think of it as the only project you'll ever work on with no deadline.
Coming to Olin from Richmond, Virginia -and originally from Charlotte, North Carolina - Matthew has a strong affiliation with iced tea and is continuously confounded by the inability of restaurants in Massachusetts to prepare it properly. As any reasonable person knows, adding sugar to cold tea will not turn it into iced tea.
Gabe Greeley is studying Mechanical Engineering at Olin College. He has worked on his dirt bike since he was 13 and has welded since he was 18. He has been on the Olin College SAE Baja team since his freshman year in 2005. Gabe has extensive experience with FEA and CAD working for SolidWorks.
Raphael is a member of the Olin College class of 2011. He was attracted to the school for its unique learning environment focusing on teamwork, design, and hands-on learning. He is currently studying mechanical engineering and is especially interested in design. He jumped on the opportunity to join the Phoenix Racing team where he would be able to pursue his long term goal of understanding exactly how things (in this case – cars) work. He hopes to get some real experience in design and building, and, of course, have a great time!
Adam Kenvarg hails from Jamaica Plain, a short 25 minute ride from Olin. He is a prospective Mechanical Engineer with a passion for automotive and aerospace engineering. He is excited to be doing hands on work in both the design and fabrication of the car. In addition to working on completely redesigning the chassis, he contributes to other design aspects of the car, and is proud to be the lead welder for the team.
Daniel Sotingco is a member of the Class of 2007 at Olin with interests in mechanical engineering and computing. A lifelong New Yorker, he occasionally misses the thrill of rush hour and the pulse of city life while away from home. When he is not learning about the wonders of engineering, Daniel enjoys reading and playing basketball. While new to the Baja team this year, Daniel is excited to be part of such a hands-on project that integrates mental design and physical labor.
James Switzer is a sophomore at Olin College, interested in robotics, artificial intelligence, and the control of dynamic systems. He is currently a member of the chassis group, but is most heavily involved with external relations and fund-raising. He rides and maintains a Puch Moped from 1983, and acts in the occasional play.
Hailing from the quiet woods of East Hampton, CT, freshman Scott Carlson has a long history of making things loud. His neighbors have complained ever since he built his first modified lawn tractor at age 12. Since then, he has become an avid ATV rider and spent his high school years restoring two classic Chevy Camaros with his father. His neighbors still complain about the noise. If that wasn’t enough, he has played drums, guitar, and bass in local rock bands, although he has yet to master playing all three at once. The neighbors also appreciated this very much. A mechanical engineer with an interest in robotics, Scott is serving as the lead designer for the driver interface team, where he hopes his combined passion for both racing and engineering will help lead the team to victory. Scott also wishes to make a public apology to his neighbors and hopes they enjoy the peace and quiet while he is at Olin.
Luis [Roberto] Gutierrez[-Coluntino] (Lowell, MA) has been a member of the Olin College Mini Baja Team since the fall of 2006. He was introduced to the team at Olin's Club Fair, drawn in by the impressive car the veteran members had built before. Luis went on to attend meetings, and was further enamored by the technical design challenges offered as well as the team members' comfort level and attitude. He went on to play a significant roll in the design and fabrication of a pit cart to aid in making repairs and modifications to the car at the track. He also sees great potential to learn from participation in these various design processes. Not to afraid to cut loose, Luis never passes up an opportunity to work on his driving skills and tear up the practice track.
Luis hopes to bring his unique design perspectives to Phoenix Racing. He has an artistic eye and a mind outside the box that help in the synthesis of innovative ideas. As such, Luis does work and gives feedback on the team's multimedia and graphic design. He also is poised to implement unique (thesaurus) solutions when unexpected problems arise. When not working on new designs or taking the Baja car out, Luis enjoys playing the drums, making art, and working out.
Luis hopes that this and future design experiences will lead him to a career as a mechanical engineer designing consumer products and the manufacturing processes of those products (toys, drums, etc).
In high school, Mikey Lintz captained Needham High School's nationally recognized debate team while simultaneously revitalizing the debate program at local Pollard Middle School. Mikey now sets his sights on applying his public relation skills to MiniBaja. As both an external relations liason and co-webmaster, Mikey Lintz helps communicate the goals and needs of MiniBaja to the outside world. On weekends, Mikey unicycles, studies engineering, and stays connected with the Needham team through his little brother, Nathan Lintz.
Kate, who loves to build things, was amazed the first time she saw the mini baja car that was designed and built by Olin students. After designing and building mousetrap powered cars in high school, she couldn’t wait to join the team and build a car with a more powerful motor. She is very excited about her first year on the Baja team. Because she doesn’t have much experience with cars so she hopes to learn a lot from the experience of working on the design and fabrication of the car this year. Kate is a freshman from Oak Ridge, TN. She also enjoys sailing, scuba diving, traveling, and several circus activities including juggling, flower sticks, static trapeze, rola bola, and acrobatics.
After restoring a 50 year old moped that some experts said would cost too much to ever fix, Ryan found a passion for anything with engines. About ten years later, after experience restoring a 1977 Triumph Spitfire, a Yamaha FZR400 motorcycle, riding dirt bikes, and always hanging around and flying airplanes, he has found another project to work on, now at Olin College, with the Mini Baja Team. With plans to be a Mechanical Engineer, he finds the design process exciting and new after years of focusing only on solving mechanical problems and building, and also is thrilled to get experience in manufacturing in the machine shop. While not working on random rebuild projects, Ryan often goes skiing.
Helen is a freshman on the external relations team of Mini-Baja. Since she’s never done anything in any way related to cars or engineering before coming to Olin, she’s pretty excited to also start doing things in the design half of the team as well. In her very minimal spare time, she tries to eat and sleep. Occasionally, she wrangles goats, which may have had something to do with growing up in Russia. She is also the co-webmaster.
Sarah M. Zimmermann is a 5th generation Houstonian who has lived her life in short stints of about 4 years. She is currently a California girl fighting off the icy winters of Boston but she has lived in Houston, TX, Little Rock, AK, Norcross, GA, and Rancho Cucamonga, CA and her family has recently moved back to Texas. Sarah has seen a lot in her 18 years but she is always ready to see more. Adventuring and reading old etiquette books are among her interests but she is also one of those car girls. She loves her 1972 Datson 240Z, Isabel and misses it terribly when she is in Boston. Her ambitious nature has given her a desire to pursue mechanical engineering and to one day own her own town. Passion, Energy, and Initiative drive her life. They are evident in her love for the Lord and her love of learning.
Matthew is currently studying Mechanical Engineering as a member of the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering class of 2009. Matthew was a member of the team as a first year student, but took time off his second year in order to complete the vast majority of his required coursework. He did this to allow for time to focus on the things that he likes the most, including racing and cars. As an avid kart driver at a course in his hometown (Grand Prix Speedways in St. Louis, MO), he has established a reputation as being one of the fastest drivers at the track. But driving is only part of the equation. Without a good vehicle, it is impossible to be competitive. Matthew loves looking at design from a top down perspective, paying great attention to how all the components work together, before worrying about the components themselves. This allows for creative solutions, which are his favorite variety.
Amy Gao was born 19 years ago, and has found herself inexplicably drawn towards engineering since then. While half of her feels a subtle affection for more stylish times when men and women both dressed with class, casually exchanged witty comments, and went for long strolls through meadows of willow trees and wildflowers, the other half is delighted by the merest mention of robots, skyscrapers, and futuristic technologies. She was attracted to Mini Baja by the opportunity for hands on work and design. A mechanical engineer at heart, Amy also enjoys running, drawing, adventuring and photographing, and philosophizing.
Spending most of her life surrounded by anything but cars, Lindsay came to Olin and decided to join Mini Baja in order to learn about them. She lives in New York City where NASCAR and off-road vehicles, like states between New York and California, are still theoretical. On the other hand, she does happen to enjoy design and hopes to learn as much about cars as she now knows about SolidWorks. Lindsay intends to major in Electrical Engineering and work in robotics. Lindsay currently works on suspension, driver interface and external relations, totaling more hours per week than she would care to admit.
Angela Mao, known to her friends as Ike, is a member of the class of 2009 and has been involved the Olin College SAE Baja team since the fall of 2005. She entered Olin as an avid video gamer and computer enthusiast planning to major in electrical and computer engineering. Working on and learning about the Baja car piqued her interest in design and fabrication, and she eventually chose to major in Mechanical Engineering.
It shouldn't have come as a surprise because this native Texan is a woman of contradictions. Although she despises the cold weather, especially digging her car (a 2001 Celica GT, manual transmission of course) out of snow piles, she loves to snowboard. She does stand-up comedy in which she pretends to be an emo kid. She is also stunningly gorgeous, but nevertheless devastatingly intelligent (not to mention sometimes prone to exaggeration).
Katherine Terracciano, who was born in Madison, New Jersey, came to Olin in order to fulfill her dream in becoming an engineer. As a freshman, she looks forward to getting involved in the various teams, such as Baja. Although she doesn’t have much experience with engineering off road vehicles, she is very excited to learn about the design and fabrication of the car. This year, she will be involved in the suspension team, which will further her knowledge in SolidWorks and suspension design. In addition to Baja she also enjoys tennis, dancing and horseback riding.
Before coming to Olin, Dr. Pratt was Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a researcher in parallel computer hardware at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received his Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. As a member of MIT's AI Lab, he directed the MIT Leg Laboratory, focusing on the development of robots with legs and devices for helping people walk. In his research Dr. Pratt and his students emphasized "series-elastic" actuators with more natural properties than industrial robots possess, and "virtual model" control languages that allow natural dynamics and active control to work synergistically. Dr. Pratt's two-legged "dinosaur" robot was featured in a recent "Scientific American" article.
Dr. Pratt received excellent reviews while teaching MIT's core subject in computer architecture and has served as both a member and a mentor to several extracurricular student project groups. He is an enthusiast of hands-on, "do-learn" education, and has a strong interest in the societal aspects of technology, including "green" technologies like electric cars and larger issues like the impact of robotics on the quality of life.
Prior to joining Olin, Mr. Anderson was an optomechanical engineer with Network Photonics, a start-up company developing all-optical switches for Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) Networks. He was a founding employee at Network Photonics and played an instrumental role in engineering the product from initial concept to production. In addition, he was a major contributor in the design and development of a custom-built, 50 million dollar manufacturing and testing facility. Before Network Photonics, Mr. Anderson was employed by Ball Aerospace where his primary focus was space borne optical instruments – two of which are presently on board the Hubble Space Telescope. While with Ball Aerospace, Mr. Anderson also designed and tested mechanisms and optical structures for laser crosslink communication satellites.
Mr. Anderson’s areas of interest and expertise include design, analysis manufacturing and testing of precision mechanical systems such as those found in optomechanical systems that demand precision mechanical motions and stable structures. While at Network Photonics, he designed and tested a novel three axis flexure motion mechanism for real-time sensing and mapping of pointing errors in an optical switch undergoing thermal excursions. Mr. Anderson holds two patents for MEMS micro mirrors and is currently consulting on a project to help free whales from entanglement in lobster buoy lines. Mr. Anderson frequently contributes software reviews to mechanical engineering trade journals. He received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Before joining Olin College, Mr. Andruskiewicz worked in industry at Packard Machinery, Inc. where he served as a service applications manager and applications engineer. In this role he was responsible for providing technical programming support and customer training, as well as ordering and installing new machinery, including CNC machining centers, turning centers, manual mills, lathes, and support equipment.
Mr. Andruskiewicz is a Class A machinist who has held industry positions for over twenty years with companies such as Laurel Brooke, Inc., Minuteman Labs, and Tech-Ridge. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
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