Mentors
York School Faculty & Staff
Our teachers are on a mission to inspire independent learners through a proven academic program that challenges and prepares students for college and other life pursuits. Our faculty sets high standards for their students and for themselves. They concentrate on their students’ personal development as they mentor, support, discuss, question, and connect with them.
Dr. Jeff Hanna, Math/Science Department Chair
Lead Coach/Mentor 1
Dr. Hanna has been the lead mentor for Team 5171 since he started at York in 2014.
Mr. Jon Zeljo, Director of Teaching and Learning
Lead Coach/Mentor 2
Jon Zeljo helps handle logistics within the team.
External Mentors
Kevin Barnard, Software Engineer
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Kevin is an alum of Team 5171 and graduated from York in 2017. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and a master’s degree in Robotics from the Colorado School of Mines. He began intern work in 2018 as a Research Assistant at MBARI for the Bioinspiration Lab, and was hired on soon thereafter for a permanent position as a Software Engineer. His background lies in software development, robot perception & cognition, and machine learning. Kevin has a passion for developing robotic systems to support scientific pursuits, and he is most interested in active vision.
Dr. Duane Davis, Research Assistant Professor
Naval Postgraduate School
Dr. Davis specializes in robotic swarms and cooperative multi-vehicle systems, ethics in autonomous systems, robot control architectures, and cyber operations policy and strategy. He served as a mentor to Team 5171 from 2017 through 2020, assisting in software development.
Mr. Tim Stanton, Research Professor
Naval Postgraduate School
Mr. Stanton specializes in ocean turbulence, waves, ice/sea interactions, and ocean instrumentation. He served as a mentor in all areas of robotic design between 2016 and 2018.
Mentors and Coaches are individuals from all backgrounds and disciplines who work with students to share their knowledge and guide them through the season. Many Mentors contribute on a weekly basis during competition season or support the team with subject matter expertise on an as-needed basis. Teams may have additional or more specialized roles or a combination of roles as needed. In addition, Mentors help to foster the idea of Gracious Professionalism® and have the students do as much of the work as possible.
-Mentor and Coach Roles, firstinspires.org