Joe Boyer Alumni Spotlight
Team 2539 is proud of the work we do on and off the field, and succeeding in more than building a robot, but also serving a greater purpose in our community. This month, we would like to recognize one of our alumni, engineer Joe Boyer, who has taken the skills he learned from our program to help build the next generation. Boyer was a Krypton Cougar for four years from 2014-2017, where he was a mechanic, fabricator, and co-team captain. At competitions, he was also the team’s pilot, where he says he made his favorite memory on the team. “I was the Pilot in the 2017 season and getting to stand inside the field was such a cool experience. We had one match where we lost comms for about a minute and came back to end up winning the match and scoring 4 ranking points.... that was the most intense match of my life and one of the most exhilarating experiences I've ever had,” he recalls.
Boyer says that his involvement with Team 2539 has benefitted him personally. It’s influenced my life in literally every way possible,” he told me. “I built so much technical knowledge working on the robots and fixing them, on top of interpersonal skills from communicating with other members of the team. It built my confidence to be surrounded by good people who would listen to me and trust me, as I did with them. I built some really great friendships and was able to elevate my own abilities by persevering through our lows and working hard to succeed.”
Today, Boyer works for Phoenix Contact, an electric parts supplier in Middletown, PA that is focused on using technology to provide innovative solutions to real-world problems and help build a clean, sustainable future. “I am a product specialist so I assist with the necessary information on the components that are used in electric vehicle charging stations. I get to see the work that goes into building eV infrastructure every day,” Boyer writes.
We asked Boyer what advice he has for young people, both in the program and those involved with our affiliate programs, such as First Lego League, who are interested in joining someday. “Get your hands on the robot, learn as much as you can, and learn to take initiative. The most important skill I gained from Robotics is the ability to communicate with others and take charge when necessary.” We are proud to have alumni like Boyer, who represent our organization in the real world at the highest levels of STEM, and we hope to encourage more young people to do the same.
Ben Fredrickson
Business Department
4/10/2024
Boyer says that his involvement with Team 2539 has benefitted him personally. It’s influenced my life in literally every way possible,” he told me. “I built so much technical knowledge working on the robots and fixing them, on top of interpersonal skills from communicating with other members of the team. It built my confidence to be surrounded by good people who would listen to me and trust me, as I did with them. I built some really great friendships and was able to elevate my own abilities by persevering through our lows and working hard to succeed.”
Today, Boyer works for Phoenix Contact, an electric parts supplier in Middletown, PA that is focused on using technology to provide innovative solutions to real-world problems and help build a clean, sustainable future. “I am a product specialist so I assist with the necessary information on the components that are used in electric vehicle charging stations. I get to see the work that goes into building eV infrastructure every day,” Boyer writes.
We asked Boyer what advice he has for young people, both in the program and those involved with our affiliate programs, such as First Lego League, who are interested in joining someday. “Get your hands on the robot, learn as much as you can, and learn to take initiative. The most important skill I gained from Robotics is the ability to communicate with others and take charge when necessary.” We are proud to have alumni like Boyer, who represent our organization in the real world at the highest levels of STEM, and we hope to encourage more young people to do the same.
Ben Fredrickson
Business Department
4/10/2024
Krypton Cougars win at Springside-Chestnut Hill
On March 15-17, Team 2539 - The Krypton Cougars attended their second competition of the season, Springside-Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following a competition victory two weeks earlier at Hatboro-Horsham in which they swept the playoffs to secure a 15-2 overall record and their third consecutive title at this event, Team 2539 looked to match their performance and defend their victory while competing against 28 other teams in the FMA district.
The Krypton Cougars started the event with a 6-2 record in their first 8 qualification matches, putting the team on track to enter the playoffs as the sixth ranked alliance captain. However, they won their last two matches in dramatic fashion, obtaining enough ranking points to surpass all other teams and obtain the #1 seed in the entire tournament. During alliance selection, Team 2539 used their first overall selection to form an alliance with teams 341 and 5407 in the playoffs. There, they would again go 3-0 in the double-elimination tournament to reach the Finals, where they faced the fifth ranked alliance. Team 2539’s alliance swept the best-of-3 series to claim their second consecutive win at Springside-Chestnut Hill, achieve a 15-2 overall record, and maintain their undefeated (10-0) record in 2024 playoff matches.
In addition to their competition victory, the Krypton Cougars also achieved other successes outside of the robotics arena. Team 2539 won the Quality Award, which recognizes teams that exemplify robustness in machine concept and execution. Additionally, Team 2539 student Anshi Paul won the FIRST Dean’s List Award, a scholarship that honors student leaders who have led their teams and communities to increased awareness for FIRST and its mission. Our organization would like to thank our sponsors and contributors for making these successes possible as we prepare for the District Championships April 4-6 at Lehigh University.
Ben Fredrickson
Business Department
3/23/2024
The Krypton Cougars started the event with a 6-2 record in their first 8 qualification matches, putting the team on track to enter the playoffs as the sixth ranked alliance captain. However, they won their last two matches in dramatic fashion, obtaining enough ranking points to surpass all other teams and obtain the #1 seed in the entire tournament. During alliance selection, Team 2539 used their first overall selection to form an alliance with teams 341 and 5407 in the playoffs. There, they would again go 3-0 in the double-elimination tournament to reach the Finals, where they faced the fifth ranked alliance. Team 2539’s alliance swept the best-of-3 series to claim their second consecutive win at Springside-Chestnut Hill, achieve a 15-2 overall record, and maintain their undefeated (10-0) record in 2024 playoff matches.
In addition to their competition victory, the Krypton Cougars also achieved other successes outside of the robotics arena. Team 2539 won the Quality Award, which recognizes teams that exemplify robustness in machine concept and execution. Additionally, Team 2539 student Anshi Paul won the FIRST Dean’s List Award, a scholarship that honors student leaders who have led their teams and communities to increased awareness for FIRST and its mission. Our organization would like to thank our sponsors and contributors for making these successes possible as we prepare for the District Championships April 4-6 at Lehigh University.
Ben Fredrickson
Business Department
3/23/2024
Krypton Cougars make it three straight at Hatboro-Horsham
This weekend, Team 2539 - The Krypton Cougars attended their first of two District Qualifying Events at the Hatboro-Horsham competition. This was their debut performance for the 2024 season and presented the first opportunity for Team 2539 to showcase their new robot, Rhapsody along with their strategies for the 2024 FIRST Robotics Competition game, Crescendo. The Krypton Cougars have won the Hatboro-Horsham competition the last two years, and this year, were set to defend their title against 32 other teams from the Mid-Atlantic region.
On Day 1, Team 2539 won their first six qualification matches en route to finishing the day ranked #1 with 7 wins to 1 loss. On Day 2, the competition really amped up as teams fought for ranking position and a shot to be in the Playoff Tournament that afternoon. Team 2539 finished Day 2 with 3 more wins against 1 loss to finish 10-2 overall and remain ranked #1. This earned the Krypton Cougars the #1 Alliance Captain and the #1 seed in the tournament. During alliance selection, Team 2539 chose Team 5895, Peddie Robotics and Team 2097, PATH to Domination, to join our Alliance for the playoffs. The Krypton Cougars won each of their games in the double elimination tournament leading up to the Finals, where they faced an alliance led by the #2 ranked alliance captain. They swept the best-of-3 Finals series to win the competition for the third year in a row and secured a 15-2 overall record.
Team 2539 also won the FIRST Engineering Inspiration award which celebrates the Team with the most outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team’s organization, school, and community.
With these results, Team 2539 earned a spot in the Mid-Atlantic District Championship to be held at Lehigh University April 4 - 6. The Krypton Cougars will return to action March 15 - 17 at the Springside-Chestnut Hill Competition. For more information, check out www.Team2539.com and www.FIRSTInspires.org!
Ben Fredrickson
Business Department
3/4/2024
On Day 1, Team 2539 won their first six qualification matches en route to finishing the day ranked #1 with 7 wins to 1 loss. On Day 2, the competition really amped up as teams fought for ranking position and a shot to be in the Playoff Tournament that afternoon. Team 2539 finished Day 2 with 3 more wins against 1 loss to finish 10-2 overall and remain ranked #1. This earned the Krypton Cougars the #1 Alliance Captain and the #1 seed in the tournament. During alliance selection, Team 2539 chose Team 5895, Peddie Robotics and Team 2097, PATH to Domination, to join our Alliance for the playoffs. The Krypton Cougars won each of their games in the double elimination tournament leading up to the Finals, where they faced an alliance led by the #2 ranked alliance captain. They swept the best-of-3 Finals series to win the competition for the third year in a row and secured a 15-2 overall record.
Team 2539 also won the FIRST Engineering Inspiration award which celebrates the Team with the most outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team’s organization, school, and community.
With these results, Team 2539 earned a spot in the Mid-Atlantic District Championship to be held at Lehigh University April 4 - 6. The Krypton Cougars will return to action March 15 - 17 at the Springside-Chestnut Hill Competition. For more information, check out www.Team2539.com and www.FIRSTInspires.org!
Ben Fredrickson
Business Department
3/4/2024
Evan Kovacs Alumni Spotlight
The Krypton Cougars are proud of the work they do not just in the robotics arena, but in the community as well. This month, we would like to recognize the successes and contributions of Electronics Engineer and Team 2539 alumni Evan Kovacs. Evan was a Krypton Cougar for four years, beginning in 2011, and remembers his roles and responsibilities with the team. “On the team I did a little bit of everything, including mechanical build, wiring, electrical, drive team, and did a large amount of programming,” he recalls. Evan also described his favorite memory he made with the team. “My favorite memory is when we made it to district finals at the Springside Chestnut Hill district event in my senior year. Up to this point it’s the first time we had a chance to compete for a blue banner,” he says.
When Evan graduated from Palmyra High School in 2014, he says that the skills and lessons he learned with Team 2539 helped him later in life. “Involvement with the Krypton Cougars has helped me be more well-rounded as an engineer. At college, you spend a lot of time becoming specialized in your discipline of engineering, but my time on the team exposed me to a lot of the basics of other engineering disciplines. It has been very valuable as an Electronics Engineer to understand the basics of mechanical design, programming, as well as some project planning skills,” Kovacs says about his experience.
Today, Evan works as an Avionics Engineer for Astrobotic, a company that develops space robotics technology for lunar and planetary missions. “I actually just had a project finish up. I was very heavily involved with Peregrine Mission One, designing the electronics for one of our custom avionics boxes, as well as heading up the qualification and acceptance test campaigns for all four of our in house designed avionics units. I’ve also worked on Griffin Mission One, taking some of our lessons learned from Peregrine and applying them to the next mission where we will be delivering NASA’s VIPER Rover to the south pole of the moon. Recently I’ve moved over to our Advanced Development and Programs team where I have been contributing technical content towards program proposals, as well as working on some internal R&D projects.”
We asked Evan to share any advice he had for younger robotics participants and people interested in pursuing a STEM career. “Take some time to try doing different things on the team to find your strengths,” he says. “Also, take time to learn how to be an effective communicator, STEM Careers are surprisingly heavy on communication.” The Krypton Cougars are proud to have alumni like Evan, who have taken inspiration from FIRST Robotics to accomplish great things in the real world, and we hope to encourage more young people in our organization to do the same.
Ben Fredrickson
Business Department
2/19/2024
When Evan graduated from Palmyra High School in 2014, he says that the skills and lessons he learned with Team 2539 helped him later in life. “Involvement with the Krypton Cougars has helped me be more well-rounded as an engineer. At college, you spend a lot of time becoming specialized in your discipline of engineering, but my time on the team exposed me to a lot of the basics of other engineering disciplines. It has been very valuable as an Electronics Engineer to understand the basics of mechanical design, programming, as well as some project planning skills,” Kovacs says about his experience.
Today, Evan works as an Avionics Engineer for Astrobotic, a company that develops space robotics technology for lunar and planetary missions. “I actually just had a project finish up. I was very heavily involved with Peregrine Mission One, designing the electronics for one of our custom avionics boxes, as well as heading up the qualification and acceptance test campaigns for all four of our in house designed avionics units. I’ve also worked on Griffin Mission One, taking some of our lessons learned from Peregrine and applying them to the next mission where we will be delivering NASA’s VIPER Rover to the south pole of the moon. Recently I’ve moved over to our Advanced Development and Programs team where I have been contributing technical content towards program proposals, as well as working on some internal R&D projects.”
We asked Evan to share any advice he had for younger robotics participants and people interested in pursuing a STEM career. “Take some time to try doing different things on the team to find your strengths,” he says. “Also, take time to learn how to be an effective communicator, STEM Careers are surprisingly heavy on communication.” The Krypton Cougars are proud to have alumni like Evan, who have taken inspiration from FIRST Robotics to accomplish great things in the real world, and we hope to encourage more young people in our organization to do the same.
Ben Fredrickson
Business Department
2/19/2024
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