Our Mentors

Lead Mentor – Dr. Karen Kozma

Dr. Kozma is a Professional Engineer and holds a Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Toronto. Her Ph.D. thesis involved research in the design of microelectronic circuits for adaptive filtering and neural networks. She has been a lecturer at the University of Toronto for undergraduate and graduate courses in electronics and has collaborated on leading university textbooks. Dr. Kozma is Lead Mentor of HNMCS Robotics and a teacher at HNMCS. She is passionate about encouraging young minds to confidently apply basic theoretical skills to real-life situations and is an avid supporter of FIRST. She started the FLL Team 2824 at HNMCS in 2014, has judged at FLL tournaments and was a mentor of Oakville Community FIRST Robotics – FRC Team 1360 in 2015. She mentored FRC Team 1360 from 2015-2018 where she worked closely with the programming, outreach and awards sub-teams. She went on to found HNMCS Robotics which proudly won the Rookie All Star and Rookie Inspiration Awards in its rookie year, 2019. Dr. Kozma believes in the importance of developing the technical skills of today’s youth, especially among females. In 2023, Dr. Kozma won the prestigious Woodie Flowers Award!

Mentor – Rachel Ko

Rachel is a Chemical Engineering graduate from Queen’s University. She is currently working as a Process EIT in the non-ferrous pyrometallurgy group at Hatch, a sponsor for Team 7659 that has been active in FIRST for several years. Rachel first became interested in FIRST through lunch and learns at Hatch and judging at FLL tournaments. She believes in FIRST’s vision to promote STEM and although Rachel has had no prior experience with robotics, she is excited to work with an all-girls team and is excited to share her experience and promote positive change by demonstrating the importance of diversity in STEM.

Mentor – Shuangdong Wang

Shuangdong Wang is a professional in aerospace as Project Manager and holds a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University. He used to mentor Team 3979 SOLARIS in Montreal and was team coach for several years. He is curious in nature, passionate about technology and enjoys learning. He believes FIRST’s vision is to promote STEM education among the next generation and encourage diversity. He is excited about sharing his experience and growing the team to success.

Mentor – Natalie Pedlar

Natalie is a former HNMCS student and was a founding member of HNMCS Robotics. She was co-captain during the team’s inaugural season as a FIRST team and took part in awards, build, design, outreach, and programming. She was part of the club since 2017 and took on roles in the outreach field which involved networking with FIRST teams in the community and planning events. Natalie is currently a TrackOne Engineering student at the University of Toronto. Her interests stem from her experience in FIRST robotics and are in programming, mechanical design, and inspiring younger students to find their passion through robotics.

Mentor – Yixing Zhang

Ms. Zhang is a third year Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Toronto. She was the first captain of HNMCS Robotics in our rookie year 2019 and a graduate of Holy Name of Mary College School. She joined our team as a mentor in September, 2020.

Mentor – Alana Morrone

Ms. Morrone is a Civil Engineering from Western University and specializes in Structural Engineering with International Development. She is also a graduate of HNMCS and joined our team as a mentor in 2021.

Mentor – Kasthuri Thambipillai

Ms. Thambipillai is a Computer Engineering student at Queens University. She started HNMCS Robotics as non-competitive club in September 2014, is a 2017 graduate of Holy Name of Mary College School and joined our team as a mentor in September 2020.