We are the Pastabots

Meet the the Mentors and student leadership team!

Adult Mentors

Lauren Hamel

Head Coach & Lead Technical Mentor

TWHS Teacher

Ms. Hamel has been a physics teacher at The Woodlands High school since 2013 and has been mentoring FIRST Robotics teams since 2018. Ms. Hamel leads the robot design and build, manages and maintains the lab, oversees all team community outreach projects, and serves as the lead team administrator; Ms. Hamel is also the drive coach and strategy lead for the team at all competitions. Ms. Hamel is a graduate of The Woodlands High School and Texas A&M University. Aside from building awesome robots and teaching AP Physics, Ms. Hamel enjoys hanging out with her three dogs, traveling, and restoring antiques.

Kevin Gilmore

Technical Mentor

Community Volunteer

Mr. Gilmore joined the Pastabots in August 2025. He assists the team with mechanical tasks and manufacturing processes, and will focus significantly on the development of the Pizzabots (the Pastabots new JV FRC team). Mr. Gilmore graduated from the Florida Institute of Technology, and is a retired engineer from the manufacturing industry, with a background working with a variety of products and processes. His hobbies include 3D-printing and robotics.

William Spark

Junior Technical Mentor

Alumni Volunteer

Sparky is a 2026 TWHS graduate who joined the Pastabots in 2023. Sparky will be re-joining the team in a technical mentor-in-training role. Sparky's hobbies include CAD (no joke) and drinking Coke Zero. Sparky is a Mechanical Engineering Major at Baylor University.

Lex Hernandez

Programming Mentor

TWHS Teacher

Mr. Hernandez is the Computer Science Teacher at The Woodlands High School. He helps the robot programming team. He originally ran a Junior High FTC competition team for five years and is extremely excited to step up to FRC this year!

Michaela Tabor

Logistics Mentor

CISD Teacher

Mrs. Tabor is a Science teacher at McCullough Junior High in Conroe ISD (a feeder school for TWHS). Mrs. Tabor will be joining the Pastabots in the summer of 2026 as a new Logistics Mentor.

Sandra Rahmaty

Logistics Mentor

CISD Teacher

Mrs. Rahmaty is a Science teacher at Irons Junior High in Conroe ISD. Mrs. Rahmaty will be joining the Pastabots in the summer of 2026 as a new Logistics Mentor.

2026 - 2027 FRC student LEADERSHIP

Atharv Joshi

Team Captain

Atharv is a Senior who joined the Pastabots in June 2024. He co-lead our programming team for the 2026 REBUILT FRC season, and was selected as the Pastabots Team Captain for the 2027 BIOCORE FRC season. As Team Captain, Atharv is the student-liaison between the team and the mentors, school, and community, leads all technical projects (includes all robots), and all team outreach efforts. Atharv's hobbies include basketball, cricket, and robotics. Atharv plans on majoring in Mechanical Engineering college.

Albert Lin

Programming Lead

Albert is a Senior who joined the Pastabots in June 2024. He will be leading our programming team for the 2027 BIOCORE FRC season. In this role he will oversee programming tasks (robot control systems and basic functionality) for both the autonomous and teleoperated periods of gameplay, along with managing all aspects of robot vision implementation and optimization. Albert's hobbies include reading and watching YouTube. Albert plans on majoring in some type of Engineering in college.

Naman Mahajan

Electrical Lead

Naman is a Senior who joined the Pastabots in June 2024. He will be our Electrical Lead for the 2027 BIOCORE FRC season. In this role he will oversee the wiring, installation, maintenance, and operation of all of the electrical components on 9418 robots. Naman's hobbies include reading fiction, volunteering, and playing tennis. He plans on majoring in Biomedical Engineering in college for Pre-Med.

Gagan Potturi

Mechanical Lead

Gagan is a Senior who joined the Pastabots in June 2024. Gagan will be the 9418 Mechanical Lead for the 2027 BIOCORE FRC season. In this role, Gagan will oversee all team construction projects, including all robot manufacturing and assembly processes. Gagan also volunteers with Team Tortellini. Gagan's hobbies include tennis, reading, badminton, and video games. He plans on majoring in Aerospace Engineering in college.

ALex Rangel

CAD Lead

Alex is a Senior who joined the Pastabots in June 2024. Alex will be the CAD Lead for the the 2027 BIOCORE FRC season; in this role, he will oversee all robot designs (from conception through the conclusion of the season), and ensure continuous iterations and improvements. Alex's hobbies include playing piano and Diamond Dotz. He plans on majoring in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in college.

REBUILT DRIVE TEAM

Driver: Kaushal Mahimkar
Operator: Alex Rangel
Technician: Albert Lin
Human Player: Atharv Joshi
Coach: Ms. Hamel

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