Category: Outreach

Torque Mentors

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One of the fundamental principles of FIRST Robotics is that the students benefit from their interaction with mentors from their industries. Texas Torque is fortunate to have mentors willing to give so much of their valuable time and expertise to support the team. They help guide the students through an educational journey and are critical to the team’s success. The members of Texas Torque greatly thank our mentors and appreciate all they have done for the team. Listed below are brief bios for all of the mentors who have helped to support Texas Torque throughout the years.

Mr. Rip is the lead mentor of Team 1477 and has mentored Texas Torque since 2008. He spent over 30 years in the classroom teaching physics and robotics to high school students. After his retirement, Mr. Rip was awarded the position of District Robotics Coach by our school district, and now fully commits his time cultivating the growth of robotics in our area. During his time on Texas Torque, he has molded the team into the powerhouse of engineering and learning that it is today. He also personally impacts every student he encounters. Because of his character and dedication, Mr. Rip challenges students to develop themselves as mature individuals and the leaders of tomorrow.

Ms. Bauer is a mentor for Texas Torque and helps students on the team with all levels of mathematics. Outside of the team, she is a Geometry and Dual-Credit PreCalculus teacher for the Academy of Science and Technology at College Park High School.

Mr. Dunbar is one of our essential parent mentors who has helped a lot of our students in the mechanical sub-team. With his knowledge of several machines and power tools used in the lab, he provides lots of tips and information to help members reach their highest potential. Mr. Dunbar joined this team in 2019.

Trey Wolf
Mr. Wolf is a CISD mentor for Texas Torque and helps the students with coding. Outside the team, he is a Computer Science teacher for the Academy of Science of Technology at College Park High School.

Jim Rapacki
Mr. Rapacki is a mentor

Darpan Musale
Ms. Musale is the Business mentor for Texas Torque since joining in the 2023-2024 season. In her experience with graphic design & marketing, she has helped students create a variety of digital content for Texas Torque.

Gabe Belforti
Mr. Belforti is a mentor

Summer Robotics

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The last thing on the minds of most students is going back to school, but that is exactly what Texas Torque will do on Tuesday, June 4, from 3 to 6 pm. Summer is a great time to join the team. We are competing in the Texas Robotics Invitational June 28 – 29 and will spend the time between now and then getting our Johnson Division winning robot Takeoff ready. Not only will new members start learning how to design and build robots over the summer, but we are hosting a summer robotics camp for younger kids and can always use more help.

For more information about joining the team, go to our website and click on the Join Us. Not everything has been updated from this past season but there is a link that will let you register with the team and get on our mailing list. Also on the website is a link to our team calendar so you can see when we are meeting. We usually meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the summer. Just drop in and we can get you started with the team.

Texas Torque to Receive $2500 from the Gene Haas Foundation

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For the second time in as many years, Texas Torque has received a $2500 grant from the Gene Haas Foundation. The Gene Haas Foundation donates millions of dollars every year to manufacturing education and the community. 

The Gene Haas Foundation was established in 1999, by Gene Haas, founder and owner of Haas Automation, Inc., to support the needs of the local community, through grants to such local charities as the Boys and Girls Clubs, Food Share, Rescue Mission, and others.

Seeing a growing need for skilled manufacturing employees industry wide, the Foundation expanded its mission to include support for manufacturing training programs throughout North America and beyond. By providing scholarship grants, sponsoring individual and team CNC competitions, and partnering with the very best CNC training programs in the world, the Foundation helps expand the availability of high-quality manufacturing technology training worldwide.