We are the Pastabots

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 two dogs, traveling, and restoring antiques.

Mrs. Davies has taught chemistry and physics since 2002 and has been a TWHS faculty member since 2005. She has been a mentor for the Pastabots since 2020. Mrs. Davies is primarily responsible for team finances (fundraising, budgeting, Booster Club) and travel; she also leads the scouting team and Pastabots cheering section from the stands at all competitions. Mrs. Davies is a native Houstonian and attended Westbury High School, followed by the University of Texas at Austin. When not at school, she enjoys swimming and traveling with her husband and two daughters. (She also taught Ms. Hamel in high school!)

Mr. Spark joined the Pastabots along with his son William at the start of the 2023 - 2024 school year. He assists the team with programming and electrical tasks, and also helps to scout and chaperone from the stands at events. Mr. Spark is a graduate of  Worchester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).

Mrs. Luddeke is Vice President of the TWHS Robotics Booster Club and is heavily involved in all of our fundraising efforts. Mrs. Luddeke also travels with the team in order to help chaperone and coordinate meals. She is retired from Exxon Mobil.

Team President (Officer)

Nicholas is in his second year as the Pastabots Team President. Nicholas is a senior who joined the Pastabots at the start of the 2022 school year after transferring to TWHS from The Netherlands. Nicolas leads our Pastabots Junior program and is the creator and an executive producer of our Toni the Robot book series. Outside of robotics, Nicholas enjoys photo and video editing, and is an expert in the Dutch sport of Paalzitten (look it up...). Nicholas hopes to pursue some sort of STEM degree in college.

Team Vice President (Officer)

Ansh will be our Vice President for the 24-25 REEFSCAPE FRC season, and will be in his second year as our Robot Driver. Ansh is also a member of our Programming Team and oversees the TWHS Announcements App. Ansh is a senior who joined TWHS Robotics in August 2022. Outside of robotics, Ansh enjoys playing basketball with friends and computer programming. Ansh hopes to major in Electrical & Computer Engineering in college.

Mechanical Robot Lead (Officer)

Amit is a senior who first joined the Pastabots in August 2022. He will be our Robot Lead and Robot Operator for the 2025 REEFSCAPE FRC season. Amit is a member of our volunteer squad that runs the Pastabots Junior team. Amit's hobbies include basketball, video games and robotics, of course! Amit plans to major in Computer Engineering in college.