Team Ireland 2018

Team Ireland is comprised of 10 students, aged 15 to 18. We can’t wait to compete in FIRST Global 2018 and are eager to meet our peers from the other competing countries. All of our team are passionate about STEM and robotics and all seek careers in the STEM field.

Eoghan Craven Grace, Team Captain
Eoghan’s interest in robotics stems from his introduction to lego at a young age. From the first lego kit He knew that this is what he wanted to spend his life doing. From lego it progressed to using arduinos and more advanced systems with sensors and motors. He would love to study robotics in college and he aspires to be a roboticist in the future.

In his spare time he builds whatever he can. Recently he built his own drone by following youtube videos online. He watches loads of technology-related channels on youtube and is currently following the 2018 battlebots competition closely. He hopes to start designing a featherweight combat robot. His favourite subject in school is engineering. He loves the practicality of it and it goes well with robot building. His personal hero is probably Adam Savage from the mythbusters or Elon Musk. Eoghan wants to get into combat robotics and designing different sorts of fighting robots.

Brendan Alinquant, Programmer
Brendan is a fifth year student at Confey Community College, Kildare. He aspires to study Computer Science/Engineering so as to learn more about how computers work and how to best use them. Brendan is interested in this competition as he very much enjoyed the experience on the team representing Ireland in 2017 and sees it as a great opportunity to both improve his skills in mechanical design and meet people with similar interests. Outside of STEM his main interests include playing piano and playing tennis at his local club. His favourite subject in school is Technical Graphics as he found it an incredibly satisfying way to apply his mathematical skills to a practical problem. He spends his free time doing computer programming, playing piano and learning about game design. He is a strong believer in the benefits of clean energy referencing Elon Musk in his idea that clean energy is not just an alternative, it’s an inevitably.

Zac Reid, Programmer 
Zac Reid is a 4th year student in Kishoge Community College. He would like to be a software engineer when he grows up. He has an interest in machine learning and marine biology. Zac is interested in robotics because he likes how computer code can be translated in the real world and be used to improve people’s lives. Zacs favourite subjects are maths, physics and economics. In his spare time he likes to learn new things and play guitar. One of Zac’s personal heroes is Bill Gates for his philanthropic work with his foundation.

AnnaMei, Electronics
AnnaMei is a 6th year student at Confey College. She hopes to study engineering in university and is interested in doing mechanical engineering. AnnaMei is interested in doing robotics as she feels that the experience will benefit her. She also thinks that robots are fascinating and wants to learn how they work. 

She has always been interested in STEM. Growing up she attended CTYI where she did science oriented classes. Currently she attends the Trinity Walton Club where she does physics, maths, engineering and coding. In her spare time AnnaMei plays the piano. She has just completed her Grade Eight piano exam and now she’s learning songs for enjoyment. In school, she enjoys physics and maths the most as she finds the classes interesting and enjoys solving problems. AnnaMei’s personal hero is her mum. She looks up to her mum as her mum inspires her to work hard and strive for her goals.

Cormac Slattery, Programmer
Cormac is a 17 year old student from Confey College. In the future Cormac would either like to become a computer scientist or a teacher. Cormac has always been curious as to how things work and a keen problem solver so robotics gave him a unique challenge to try and get some coding experience. Cormac is also a very dedicated athlete and has competed internationally for Team Ireland in canoeing. He also enjoys others sports such as basketball and athletics. Cormac also enjoys music in particular playing the guitar and he is also currently trying to write his own song. Cormac’s favourite subjects in school are Maths, Physics and Politics. Cormac’s childhood hero was always Neil Armstrong and has always dreamed of going to space.

Ronan Slattery, Mechanics
Ronan is a 5th year student in Confey College. He is passionate about engineering and he loves to solve problems. He plans on studying engineering in college and hopes to pursue a career in the field. Ronan has taken part in many STEM projects, such as the Trinity Walton Club, CTYI and Cansat. He is very excited to be a part of the project and can’t wait to get working on it. Aside from robotics, Ronan enjoys canoeing, athletics and music. He has competed at an international level in canoeing and in athletics. He is also a grade 7 pianist. Ronan’s favourite subject is DCG as he finds that it gives him an enjoyable break from the learning off subjects. He also enjoys the problem solving elements. Ronan’s personal hero is Richard Dawkins. Ronan is quite a unique individual because he is in fact an identical triplet.

Pawel Zielinski, Mechanics
Paweł is interested in robotics because he likes mechanical work and problem solving challenges. In the future Paweł wants to be an actuarial mathematician. In his spare time Paweł likes to go mountain biking, listen to music and play games. His favourite subjects are maths, physics and design & communication graphics. His personal heros include Elon Musk, Gary Vaynerchuk and Christian von Koenigsegg. The most unique thing about him is his realistic and determined approach to any projects he undertakes.

Ugochukwu Uzoukwu, Mechanics
Ugo is a 16 year old student in Confey College representing team Ireland for the FIRST global challenge this year. He is very interested in all things science and technology and has previously taken part in the Cansat competition. The competition is a simulation of a real life satellite in the shape and size of a soft drinks can, the can was then launched in a small rocket and collected scientific data such as temperature and air pressure as it fell through the air. In the future Ugo wants to work as a computer hardware engineer and believes that the experience he gets from this competition will be helpful in the future.

Ademide, Electronics
Ademide is a sixth year in Confey College. does the electronics for the robot. He chose to do robotics because he has an interest in technology and electronics. He also loves coding and working with his hands. He enjoys learning about how things work. He plans to have a career in electronics and robotics engineering. In his spare time he enjoys reading, building stuff and playing music. He’s able to play guitar and piano. He can code in python. He favourite subject is Engineering as he enjoys creating and building projects. What is unique about him is that he thinks differently to other people and has a creative way of doing stuff. He is able to pick things up pretty quickly, learning new skills faster than most.

Erik Ryan, Electronics
Erik  is a 16 year old student from Confey Community College in Leixlip, County Kildare. Erik is interested in robotics thanks to his love for computers, design and engineering. He hopes to study computer engineering in the future. Erik loves to play computer games and sports in his spare time. His favourite subject in school is physics.

 



pt_BRPT