Robotics Outreach Ambassadors of 2024

High schoolers from the School at Marygrove in Detroit visited in June 2024, where they got hands-on experiences with quadruped robots, using augmented reality to control robots, and an overview of our MBot educational robotics platform.

Michigan Robotics is committed to expanding access to and opportunities in robotics inside the department and across the nation, inspiring exploration within robotics across all ages, levels, and backgrounds. We do this by leveraging an open curriculum, shared platforms, community events, and distributed teaching initiatives.

We also encourage community outreach among our students by recognizing those who have gone above and beyond. Each year, we name these students as our Robotics Outreach Ambassadors, which signifies the elevated status they have earned through their service to the community.

In a new milestone since launching the program in 2021, this year’s ambassadors collectively logged over 1000 hours of community service.

We congratulate the following Robotics Outreach Ambassadors of 2024:

  • Trushant Adeshara
  • Arsha Ali
  • Brandon Apodaca
  • Zahraa Bazzi
  • Kevin Best
  • Zach Bons
  • Emily Bywater
  • Wami Dosunmu-Ogunbi
  • Zariq George
  • Trinh Huynh
  • Seth Isaacson
  • Nick Janne
  • Jake Kanetis
  • Luis Marques
  • Jonathan Mi
  • José Montes-Pérez
  • Vinay Angara Venkata Nagendra
  • Mark Nail
  • Christopher Nestani
  • Keith Ng
  • Chinwendu Nwokeabia
  • Jana Pavlasek
  • Saket Pradhan
  • Abigail Rafter
  • Mohamad Louai Shehab
  • Anja Sheppard
  • Andrea Sipos
  • Katharine Walters
  • Yichen Wang
  • Connor Williams
  • Joey Wilson
  • Yulun Zhuang
Two camp counselors and two summer campers stand in front of a quadruped robot in the Ford Robotics Building.
Instructors including Yulun Zhuang worked with summer campers as they participate in the WISE GISE Summer Camp in June 2024. Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan.

These individuals contributed to a vast number of events that helped the community experience robotics and these roboticists experience community, including:

We are so grateful to these exceptional students for their dedication and work in service to Michigan Robotics, and local and global communities. While their notable hours of service set them apart, we also recognize and appreciate the countless other students whose efforts, though undocumented, continue to positively impact those around them.

Students in Michigan Robotics t-shirts pose in front of a sign saying "This way to RISE"
Trushant Adeshara, Kajal Awasthi, Zariq George, and Wami Ogunbi traveled to Purdue University to take part in the Robotics and Intelligence Systems Expo and connect with regional roboticists and show off the MBot platform.