THE OFFICIAL HOME OF
ABSOLUTE VALUE 867
MEET THE TEAM
2022-2023
LEADERS
MEMBERS
TEAM MEMBERS
Jeffrey Aaron Jeyasingh
Control Systems | Sponsors
1st Year
Jeffrey always enjoys learning new things, whether it be programming, engineering, or even singing! His initial exposure to engineering was Autodesk Inventor at a young age and was furthered by a dive into computer science a year later. He joined EDD to gain experience in the engineering process and to challenge himself.
Vansh Aggarwal
Index | Sponsors
1st Year
Vansh joined the team to apply his skills and learn new ones on the way. He believes that this team can expose him to the engineering world and allow him to explore the different paths in engineering. He loves the art behind building something and loves working with power tools (Fun Fact: loves the angle grinder). He enjoys the friendships and challenges that come as part of the team. Vansh enjoys going biking and hiking in his free time with his friends and family.
Aleqxus Aguba
Engineering Lead
3rd Year
Aleqxus is a hard-working senior who has a passion for physics. She joined the team because she felt an inclination of destiny pushing her towards the fateful E103 doors. She has a love for all sweets, especially baklava. She excels at planning and is the duct tape that holds groups together. Aleqxus has many skills, including coding, animating, and math. She finds peace in the intricacies of the design process. On sunny days, she enjoys a decadent slice of cake from a cafe paired with a caramel macchiato.
Darin Buenaluz
Index | Engineering Notebook
1st Year
Darin joined the EDD team to meet and learn from people more knowledgeable about the engineering field, as well as to gain experience with working as part of a team on a frequent basis. He has an interest in pursuing STEM because it opens an entirely new perspective on analyzing the world and finding ways to improve it. In class, enjoys learning new things and getting along with the different people that he works with.
Annika Bullock
Outreach | Awards
1st Year
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Annika is a self-proclaimed try-hard who always takes on one project too many. The talkative, sarcastic, Jewish, chronically ill 18-year-old has all the worst qualities of a golden retriever and the best qualities of a rock. Her love of science STEMmed from her underfunded middle school robotics team and Bill Nye. She is competent in ASL and practices excessively. Her favorite phrase is ”Jason Slay”. In her free time, Annika writes short stories and novels, and she hopes to become a technical writer.
Caden Chan
Collection | Engineering Notebook
1st Year
Caden joined the team because he wanted to try out engineering as that is a career interest for him, and to gain more experience and insight on the process behind engineering from designing to building. He enjoys how the class has its chill days and work days, and how the team is pretty closely tied together. His goal for FRC this season is obviously to do well, and most importantly, for everyone to gain more experience and just have fun.
Cyrus Chan
Collection | Engineering Notebook
1st Year
Cyrus is the team's head of additive manufacturing and helps produce the CAD models used by the team for manufacturing. He is interested in engineering as he aims to make life easier for the general populous as well as the unlimited problems it presents. In his free time, he likes to learn more about CAD software as well as learning about government conspiracies.
Christopher Chang
Collection | Engineering Notebook
1st Year
Chris has always been interested in mechanical and electrical machinery as a kid. After quarantine had ended and school had returned to normal, he noticed a class called "Introduction to Engineering Design" which immediately caught his attention. From there, he started exploring deeper into the world of engineering. When Junior year was just around the corner, he was introduced to EDD, where he now is. His goal for this class is to truly experience engineering to the fullest, and hold onto this knowledge for the rest of his life.
Annette Chen
Outreach | Awards
1st Year
Annette is always looking to surround herself with interesting people striving towards growth. EDD is exactly that. The engineering process involves constant iterations which is involved in any type of growth and development. Annette aims for personal development and growth through team experience. In her first year on the team, she is hoping to gain plenty of new skills and get out of her comfort zone.
Jackie Chen
Index | Awards
1st Year
Jackie Chen, other than her natural beauty and cat-like reflexes, is known for her contributions to EDD's Rush Hour and awards team. She started engineering home builds at the beginning of 8th grade and thus took her first high school engineering class freshman year. Ms. Chen enjoys hiking through the bewildering trails of Arcadia, cooking/trying new foods, the occasional hulu show, and being a loyal customer to the general Bay Area. She also once taught a class how to do the worm.
Nathalie Chiu
Index | Engineering Notebook
1st Year
As a future CS and math major, EDD has caught Nathalie's eyes during her senior year. In hopes of expanding her academic horizon, engineering is a brand new topic for her. With experiences in coding and designing, she hopes to contribute her creativity into the team. In her free time, Nathalie continues to battle her Pinterest obsession, scrolling for hours gathering aesthetic covers for her new Spotify playlists. "Sagegreencore" is her current top search.
Haniel Chuang
Outreach
1st Year
Haniel joined the Engineering Design and Development team to get a taste of what it’s like to be in an engineering environment. He was inspired to look into engineering as it was hands on and versatile when it comes to choosing a career. During Haniel’s free time, he enjoys playing and watching basketball. His goal for this FRC season is to place better than any of the past teams at Arcadia that have joined FRC.
Richard Dai
Collection | Sponsors
1st Year
Hongji (aka Richard) joined the team after hearing promises of cookies... oh, and engineering. He became interested in pursuing engineering and STEM classes after he saw previous teams testing their robot for competition. After studying Python, Lua, and JavaScript, he believes he could make a positive contribution to the team and help them brainstorm ideas. In his free time, he enjoys playing video games and studying how to draw.
Leslie Dong
Collection | Awards
1st Year
Leslie Dong enjoys collaborating with others towards a common goal, and in EDD, this is exactly what she is experiencing. For the FRC season, she hopes to make it through the first few rounds and go for the win. Outside of EDD, she likes to embroider and knit because the process is relaxing and fun.
Hugo Fang
Collection | Sponsors
1st Year
Hugo was first introduced to EDD through one of his friends during his sophomore year. Although he was not an official team member, he was able to collaborate with past members and acquire some hands-on experience. In the following year, he made the decision to officially enroll in EDD and become a member due to his interests in robotics and engineering. So far, Hugo has enjoyed his time in EDD and has had the opportunity to compete in contests such as the JPL Invention Challenge where he had gained valuable hands-on knowledge.
Marilyn Gan
Outreach
2nd Year
After a successful year in Absolute Value 867 last year, Marilyn stayed in the team, but as Outreach Lead this time. Being inspired to join the class due to the annual Beyond U night, she has never regretted choosing this path. While the team can be boisterous at times, she enjoys the work and the "more than robots" feeling that the team provides. Her goal this FRC season is to place within the top half of the teams competing.
Ryosei Hsueh
Index | Awards
1st Year
Ryosei joined the EDD robotics team because he has been interested in robotics since middle school. The team is filled with fun people and he has formed great bonds with them. Additionally, his smart seat partner, Jacky, is amazing and they work well together. He is excited to continue exploring his passion for robotics with the EDD team.
Amrin Nuha Kamaal
Control Systems | Awards
1st Year
Amrin is a dedicated junior who wanted to join this team in order to get more experience in engineering before applying to universities. She was inspired to pursue engineering because of the multiple facets that the major had in terms of her interests in math and science. She enjoys reading and writing fiction as hobbies. She likes red velvet cake and tiramisu.
Abhiram Kidambi
Index | Sponsors
1st Year
Abhiram joined the team because he had an interest in engineering, especially robotics. When he was told that the class involved competing, he was all in. His goal for this FRC season are to work hard, create new helpful designs, and do well in the competition. A fun fact about him is that he can break dance. In his free time Abhiram enjoys playing video games, and basketball with his older brother.
Audrey Lau
Outreach
1st Year
Audrey joined the team to further explore the broad field of engineering and gain hands-on experience. From the past few months in EDD, she has enjoyed collaborating with other team members and expanding her knowledge of the engineering design process through preparation for competitions. In her free time, Audrey enjoys running and hiking outdoors.
Aaron Lee
Index | Engineering Notebook
1st Year
Aaron joined this team to build stuff. Engineering allows Aaron to apply his interest in mathematics in novel ways. It also gives him the opportunity to build stuff. A fun fact about Aaron is that he wakes up early to run. In his free time, he plays chess and tennis.
Philip Leslie
Collection | Awards
1st Year
With his father being a huge influence on his life-and him also being an engineer-- it is no wonder that Philip decided that's what he wanted to do. Seeking to help expand his knowledge on the subject, Philip sought to take various classes revolving around engineering such as IED, POE, and finally EDD. In the pursuit of his journey, Philip was able to get to know the amazing engineering community in Arcadia. Now, armed with mediocre engineering skills, and the power of friendship, Philip Leslie is ready to take on FRC and go for the win.
Jacky Li
Collection | Engineering Notebook
1st Year
Jacky is someone who is looking to pursue a major in Mechanical Engineering, especially in the motorsport industry. He prefers to be practical over theoretical, as he craves for hands on work. During his spare time, he likes to work on cars and expand his diecast collection. Jacky joined EDD to widen his knowledge about engineering while offering his knowledge and skills in return.
Xing Liu
Control Systems | Awards
1st Year
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Xingu is a diligent senior who is very passionate about engineering, including designing, programming, and building. He joined the team because Jason came to him in a hallucinogenic dream, offering him a new soul in exchange for his lifetime commitment to Engineering, Design, & Development. Xingu recalls seeing his life flash through his eyes in pastel colors, and suddenly a door appeared to him. He walked through the door and fell into EDD.
Isaac Offstein
Collection | Sponsors
1st Year
Isaac Offstein is a junior at Arcadia High who joined team 867 to learn more about engineering and put skills into practice. He enjoys the friendship and comradery that team 867 strives to promote. Isaac's goal for this season is to build a functioning bot and learn as much as he can along the way. Isaac enjoys making ceramics and watching tv shows in his free time.
Charles Pei
Control Systems | Sponsors
1st Year
Charles is interested in all aspects of the robot construction process: design, building, and programming. He has experience with robots from being a part of the FIRST Tech Challenge, and has joined the FRC team to learn more about building larger robots and also to share his previous experience with the team. Outside of robotics, he enjoys making programs that are useful to himself and others.
Aryan Ramaswamy
Index | Sponsors
1st Year
Aryan is currently a junior who joined EDD to gain experience with hands-on engineering. He was first introduced to CS and wanted to put those skills into good use. He enjoys the productive, yet fun atmosphere of EDD and how he can learn new things from fellow members. His goal for this season is to learn as much as possible and do well at FRC.
Jacob Reyes
Index | Engineering Notebook
1st Year
He joined Engineering Design Development (EDD) to show his creativity... and to show colleges. Fun fact about him is he hates superheroes since he found real superpowers in engineering. Wanting to make these abilities a reality someday he joined EDD as a tiptoe towards that goal. It helps him learn to work better with others, set time limits, and during this FRC season have meaningful cooperation among his peers. In his little free time you can see him making models or bloodthirsty battlebots.
Patricio Schurter
Outreach
1st Year
Patricio Schurter is more than a name unpronounceable, but also a deemed mistake by the squiggly of Google, having joined the team for no desire rather than the prospect of opportunity, and a chance to meet interesting individuals along the way, he was inspired to join by his love of everything mechanical and theoretical. And later burdened by the practical aspect of this endeavor.
Christopher Shahalapour
Index | Sponsors
3rd Year
Chris was first introduced to EDD during clubs day a year before his freshman year. After middle school he joined “Intro to Engineering Design” which immediately reinforced his love in the field of engineering. Moving on there he strived to learn everything about engineering before he joined EDD. His goal for this class is to truly experience engineering to the fullest, and use this knowledge to better society.
Mohammad Shirmohammadi
Outreach
1st Year
Hi there!!! To describe Mo in one word, I would use energetic. He frequently gets hit by a spontaneous burst of energy that brings out this childish, proactive side of him. He has always been this individual who loves taking initiative and working on something impactful during his free time. The energy he gets allows him to find even the simplest projects such as EDD entertaining. He also strives to radiate that energy with his peers so they can also feel its drive.
Jason Sioeng
Captain
2nd Year
In his second year on the team, Jason has stepped up to become an adamant leader, though a bit of a workaholic. The senior developed an interest in engineering during quarantine and took the intro engineering course online to find he enjoyed the processes of research and design. A bit of a meme within the team, Jason has taken leadership positions in a handful of clubs, honors societies, and academic teams, and lives up to the phrase “doing it all”. This year, he looks forward to the positive experiences that lie ahead of him and the team. Slay.
Shin Umeda
Control Systems | Engineering Notebook
2nd Year
Shin Umeda is a Senior and returning member of Absolute Value, as well as a former member of the Beta Rocks FTC team. They largely work on the control subsystems on team projects. They also do various programming projects in their free time, and is trying out esp32 programming. They also are deadly allergic to the arduino IDE.
Richard Wei
Control Systems | Engineering Notebook
1st Year
Richard joined EDD to further his knowledge in engineering and CS. Richard particularly enjoys the hands on engineering experience he gains from EDD. His interest in engineering and CS stems from projects he's done both at home and at school in teams like Applied Engineering and App Development. This season, Richard hopes to win FRC. In his freetime, Richard likes reading romance webtoons.
Angela Zhuang
Control Systems | Engineering Notebook
1st Year
Attempting to improve her engineering skills and procrastinating physics homework, Angela is elated to be on EDD this year. Her hobbies include ice skating and drawing in her rapidly dwindling free time. Angela has an interest in programming and hopes to learn more in the field of computer science regarding connections to engineering, through her experiences in FRC. She is incredibly grateful for the support of friends, and hopes to do well this competition season!
MENTORS
Mr. Jon Lam
Team Advisor at Arcadia High School​
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Mr. Lam studied computer engineering and computer science in college and worked in the computer networking and cyber-security engineering industry as both an engineer and a consultant. After he worked at NASA and Hewlett Packard, he decided to go into teaching computer science and engineering. He is currently in his first year of teaching engineering and computer science at Arcadia High School and he is enjoying the time he spends with the robotics teams. He is looking forward to serving as a mentor and learning more about robotics along with the students.
Mr. Calvin Lin
JPL Engineer​
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Calvin is a systems engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a mentor for the 2023 season. A native of Southern California, he ventured to Boston for undergraduate study, where he fell in love with engineering. His goals for the season are to provide efficient technical guidance, share his enthusiasm for engineering, and inspire team members to pursue their dreams.
Mrs. Breanne Orlowsky
CTE Coordinator at Arcadia High School​
Ms. Orlowsky provides opportunities for the team in regards to outreach and sponsorship- overseeing the flow of grant money, running programs that allow students to expand and explore their interests, ensuring that the program has the necessary funds and equipment. She attended the Design Review Board and is working continuously to coordinate the team.
Mr. John Finn
Assistant Principal at Arcadia High School​
Mr. Finn is currently an Assistant Principal for Arcadia High School. He is in charge of the Instructional Leadership and Student Services and Assessment. Some of his responsibilities include Careers and Technology, Social Science, Discipline, Senior Awards, School Safety, and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
ALUMNI MENTORS
As a former captain of 867, Kevin has developed his skills as a leader as well as an engineer. Leading the team in projects such as Arcadia High School's t-shirt cannon and the FIRST Robotics Competition gave him invaluable experience to prepare him for college. He is now a first-year mechanical engineering student at the University of California, Irvine in hopes of one day becoming a robotics engineer innovating and designing solutions to benefit humanity. In his free time he likes to play video games, play sports, and eat good food.
Being on the team was extremely valuable for building his teamwork and communication skills that transferred very well into his college engineering team. Building a robot was both always fun and sometimes frustrating, but his most cherished experiences all revolve around team bonding. One interesting thing about him is that he really does not enjoy peas. In his free time, he enjoys gaming with friends, 3D printing, and drowning in homework.
Russtin Esfahani has been a mentor for the team since the 2020 season, he has learned how to be certified in almost every wood/metal work machine AHS has to offer with a now-working woodshop of his own. He uses these skills day to day in his work, from integrating electronic components like motors or servos to milling a new handle for a hammer! In his free time he works at a local flea market to help raise money for STEM programs and also works at a flower shop.
As an undergraduate computer science major at UC Irvine, Justin takes the leadership skills he learned as control systems lead and team captain to excel in his role as technical project manager for his school's software development organization. His favorite aspect of being a part of Absolute Value was being in a community with like minded peers who shared the same level of passion for robotics as he does. In his free time, Justin enjoys biking around Irvine, playing intramural volleyball, and learning new songs on guitar or piano.
Spending only two years on the team, Rachel believes that 867 has given her countless opportunities to explore her interests at the intersection of business and engineering from developing AR wearable devices, designing autonomous UAVS, and learning to build and pitch a product. Rachel plans to utilize learned skills from 867 to one day start and own a company that prioritizes uplifting women and underrepresented minorities in tech. In her free time, Rachel likes watching k-dramas, crocheting, and drinking boba with the homies <333
Smriti is currently a freshman at Rutgers University - New Brunswick pursuing computer science. She was mainly on the outreach and marketing sub team of Absolute Value last year and learned many communication and leadership qualities that she implements in her day to day life now too. “I liked being on the team for various reasons and first and foremost because of the close friends I made on the team, but also because the long hours after school also taught me valuable lessons in teamwork, efficiency, and productivity.”