Coaches and Mentors
Bob Anderson
Welding, Mechanical & Construction Mentor
3rd year on Team 701
Mr. Anderson is neighbors with Aaron and Derek Lance. His favorite name to call students is "knucklehead" and recently he has been the life and entertainment of the team. He majored in Automotive technology and did set construction and special effects on the movie, "Days of Thunder". Outside of robotics he likes spending time with family and fishing with friends. He likes working in his garage and helping people by fixing things.
Thomas Bell
Chairman's and Electrical Mentor
3rd year on Team 701
Thomas first joined robotics because of his knack for problem solving with mechanical systems. He is originally part of FRC Team 118's, The Robonauts, mechanical subsystem. Originally from Houston Texas, he joined the Air Force and moved here, to serve at Travis Air Force Base. Now, Thomas is a jet mechanic on C17s. In the future, he wants to work at NASA, creating something that goes down in history. His favorite part about Team 701 is our creative problem solving with a smaller budget than some of the bigger FRC Teams.
Adam Bender
Design and Manufacturing Mentor
3rd year on Team 701
Adam works with the 860th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Travis AFB. He is also owner of Bender Precision Metalworks in Suisun. Adam has experience with welding, machining, CNC, 3D Printing, and general metal fabrication techniques. He began mentoring halfway through the season last year and then had a new baby last March. He is excited to help out again this year.
Doug Green
Previous Coach/ Founder
20th year on Team 701
Mr. Green has been the head coach of Team 701 since the very beginning. Though he has now moved on and now teaches at Solano Community College, he is still involved. He loves when students collectively learn about cutting edge technology while applying it to the classroom and the real world. Outside of robotics, Mr. Green enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, rock climbing and blowing up rockets :). He graduated from UC Davis and majored in Nuclear Physics.
Brent Manuel
Media Mentor
3rd year on Team 701
Mr. Manuel is the video production teacher at Vanden. He is also the founder of Asgard Studios, a video production class. He traveled with the team and played a large role in China in 2017. He aids the RoboVikes in business and media.
Blake Miles
Mechanical Mentor
5th year on Team 701
Mr. Miles is a RoboVike alumni who currently studies mechanical engineering at Solano Community College. He still comes to robotics to help our team by giving guidance about building a robot.
Cyndi Miles
Business Mentor
5th year on Team 701
Cindy Miles is the parent of RoboVike alumni, Blake Miles. She is currently a teacher in the Travis Unified School District. In her free time, she helps our operations team by giving outreach ideas and business pointers.
Duane Murphy
Programming & Business Mentor
15th year on Team 701
Mr. Murphy has been interested in robotics, specifically with the RoboVikes.... He has a vivid memory of the tetris themed game in 2005 where he was the coach on drive team at a competition simply because he was the tallest mentor.
Sarah Szczepanski
Coach And Physics Teacher
1st year on Team 701
Ms. Sarah teaches freshman physics, astronomy, and robotics classes at Vanden High School. On the Robotics team, she enjoys learning so much from all the members and watching the robot get built. In her free time, she likes to design video games. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Astrophysics. She is currently enrolled in the University of San Francisco, working towards earning a Master's degree in Education.
sszczepanski@vandenrobotics.com
(707) 628-2336
Frank Shiner
Design & Media Mentor
11th year on Team 701
Frank started as a RoboVike when he was a sophomore in 2009. He was apart of our design committee but also very involved in mechanical and served as a member of drive team. He mentors mostly in design and media including a lot of work with the logos, merchandise and videos. Speaking of merchandise, his company, Frank E.G Shiner Media is featured as one of our sponsors on our team shirts.
Tom Smith
Mentor
Many years on Team 701
Mr. Smith loves mentoring the mechanical side of the team and enjoys seeing the students having fun while learning. He served in the AirForce 6 years active duty and 18 years reserve as a mechanical engineer. On his free time, he likes working on, flying his aircraft, as well as fishing and camping with friends. Recently he came by himself to finish fixing the floor and install the door on our mechanical building.