TEAM LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE
Team 1148’s student leadership structure is organized into three main categories (Project Management, Engineering Design, and Outreach), each directed by a captain. Each category has two or three sub-teams that are led by Team Leads. Our coaches guide and mentor us through the processes of designing, building, and advertising our robots each year.
Project Management has the Logistics and Data Science sub-teams, Engineering Design has the Mechanical, Controls, and Programming sub-teams, and Outreach has the Awards and Media sub-teams.
Each sub-team is designed to oversee an important aspect of robotics, outlined to the right.
Captains
Milo Messinger
Project Management Captain
Milo is a junior on the Harvard Westlake Robotics Team, and has been competing in competitive robotics since fourth grade. His main duties on the team include ensuring that the team is on schedule and arrives at competitions prepared to do our best. He also oversees all non-robot related parts of the team, such as inventory and job delegation. When he’s not in the robotics room, he’s on the field playing ultimate frisbee with his friends.
Dru Reed
Engineering Design Captain
Dru Reed is a senior at Harvard-Westlake and the Engineering Design Captain for FRC Team 1148. Ever since sixth grade, he’s been deeply engaged in robotics and enjoys the constant design improvements that it demands. He loves the feeling of satisfaction when he’s able to solve problems on the robot or drafts a brilliant design. Outside of robotics, he enjoys watching teen romance movies.
Riyan bilimoria kadribegovic
Outreach Captain
Riyan is a junior at Harvard-Westlake. She has always had a passion for STEAM, and has been competing with HW Robotics since her sophomore year. As the captain of the Outreach department, she and her team manage grant and award applications, work with other FRC teams, plan team events, and run the social media and website. Outside of robotics, she loves reading, swimming, listening to music, and playing the flute.
Leads
Seth O’Brien
Logistics Lead (Project Management Division)
Seth is a junior on the robotics team who has competed in both VEX and now FRC. He is responsible for safety, inventory and competition day administration for the FRC program. He first participated in competitive robotics during his freshman year and attended VEX World Championships that same year. Outside of robotics, he also helps run the school automotive and model rocketry clubs.
Matthew Ahn
Data Science Lead (Project Management Division)
Matthew is a junior on the Harvard Westlake Robotics Team, and has been competing in competitive robotics since seventh grade. His main duty on the team is data science which includes research and organization of match data. He also oversees the scouting system at competitions and events to ensure we do our best.
Victor Li
Mechanical Lead (Engineering Design Division)
Victor is currently a senior at Harvard-Westlake, and has competed in robotics throughout his high school career. He enjoys robotics because of the creativity he can put into designing, machining, and assembling robots. Even through setbacks and failures, he loves the journey from designing to fabricating to competing. Outside of robotics, Victor likes playing board and video games.
Sophia Zhang
Controls Lead (Engineering Design Division)
Sophia is a senior on the Harvard-Westlake Robotics Team, competing in VEX EDR as well as FIRST Robotics throughout all her years in high school. She serves in the Engineering Team as Controls Lead, managing electrical and pneumatics. She spends her time mapping out the electrical board, as well as teaching new members how to solder. In her free time, she likes to listen to music, read, and design new worlds.
Michael Barr
Programming Lead (Engineering Design Division)
Michael is a junior on our Programming team, and has competed in FLL, VEX, and FRC. He organizes the code and autonomous systems on our robot and was responsible for parts of the control system last year. He made a study tool called nooglia and helps lead the Harvard-Westlake Hackathon.
Natalie Lim
Awards Lead (Outreach Division)
Natalie is a senior at Harvard-Westlake school. Her responsibilities include writing up answers to grant applications and organizing the logistics of the team. She is primarily interested in robotics applications in real-world industries.
Alex Lee
Media Lead (Outreach Divison)
Alex is a junior on the Harvard Westlake Robotics Team, and has competed in robotics through competitions such as VEX, EDR, and FRC for over six years. He serves as a member of the Outreach team and manages all social media-related responsibilities. He also leads student recruitment and team advertisement. In his free time, you can find him listening to ABBA or lifting in the gym.
Coaches
Tripp Reed
Program Head for Robotics
Coach Reed’s journey to Harvard-Westlake is a tale of evolution and reinvention. After a 25-year entertainment career, he unexpectedly discovered his passion for robotics and education while coaching his son’s VEX robotics team. Transitioning from entertainment, Mr. Reed played a pivotal role in growing the robotics program at the Science Academy STEM Magnet before joining Harvard-Westlake. As an Integrated Science teacher and the Program Head for Robotics, Mr. Reed relishes the opportunity to explore new technologies, solve complex problems, and inspire the next generation of innovators. Mr. Reed’s story is a testament to the boundless possibilities that await those who are open to new experiences and unafraid of embracing change.
Enson Su
Assistant Coach
Coach Enson is currently a graduate student at USC, pursuing a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering with a specialization in aerospace dynamics/controls. He recently graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from UCI. Prior to college, Enson was the captain for FRC Team 3045 and was actively involved in FRC for four years, initially as an electrical lead before the role of captain.Utilizing the knowledge he gained from his FRC experience, Enson was able to contribute to advanced college engineering design teams, such as the UCI Rocket Project Team, where he held the position of Recovery Engineer. In this role, he was responsible for developing parachute-based recovery hardware for rockets.In his leisure time, Enson enjoys snowboarding in the winter at Mountain High Resort and surfing at Newport Beach during the summer.
Dan Reeves
Assistant Coach
Coach Reeves is new to the FRC team. He joins the team with some basic experience in robotics, coding, and 3d design, but brings 20 years of experience with teaching and mentoring Harvard-Westlake minds. He is a life-long hobbyist who specializing in out-of-the box thinking. In his own words, he is there to help facilitate, problem-solve, and keep safety at the forefront of everyone’s mind.
Haibo (Peter) MA
Assistant Coach
Coach Peter is a graduate student at the University of Southern California studying Aerospace Engineering with a specialty in Dynamics and Control, and has robotics design experience from high school in Minnesota. He serves as an assistant coach on the Harvard-Westlake robotics team. In his free time, you can find him training at an FAA-certified flight school to become a certified pilot.