I’m honored to share that I’ve been named Vice Chair of the IEEE Florida West Coast Robotics & Automation Society chapter.
This is one of those opportunities that sits right at the intersection of the things I care about most: engineering discipline, practical automation, robotics, aerospace, embedded systems, and building a stronger technical community here in Tampa Bay. IEEE has long represented something important to me: engineering as a serious craft. Not hype, not buzzwords, and not demos that only work under perfect conditions, but real systems built under real constraints by people solving real problems.
That mindset has shaped most of my career. I’ve spent years working on mission-critical systems, including avionics hardware used in programs involving SOCOM, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Air Force. Those were environments where reliability was not a nice-to-have. It was the baseline. The work had to be disciplined, testable, explainable, and built to survive contact with reality.
That same philosophy still drives what we do today at The Mad Botter Inc., where my team and I focus on engineering-first software and data systems for aviation MROs, manufacturers, and aerospace suppliers. Whether we are talking about maintenance data, operational workflows, industrial automation, infrastructure, or the less glamorous connective tissue that keeps complex operations moving, the goal is the same: build systems that people can trust.
That is also why I’m excited about robotics and automation. Robotics is not just about humanoids, flashy demos, or whatever happens to be trending this week. At its best, robotics and automation are about extending human capability, improving safety, reducing repetitive work, and making complex operations more reliable. The most interesting work often happens far away from the stage: in factories, labs, hangars, warehouses, hospitals, farms, and field environments where systems have to perform.
As Vice Chair, I’m looking forward to helping the IEEE FWC Robotics & Automation Society chapter grow as a practical, hands-on community for engineers, students, founders, researchers, and builders across the Tampa Bay area. I care deeply about reliability over hype, open-source values, transparent engineering, hardware and software that are designed together, and better data discipline in operational environments.
I’m also especially interested in creating more opportunities for students and early-career engineers to get hands-on experience. Robotics and automation are fields where theory matters, but so does touching the hardware, debugging the system, dealing with constraints, and learning what happens when software meets the physical world. Those experiences are invaluable, and local chapters like ours can play an important role in making them more accessible.
Tampa Bay has more technical depth than people sometimes realize. Between aerospace, defense, manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, startups, and the local university ecosystem, this region has a real opportunity to become a stronger hub for applied robotics and automation. I’m excited to play a small part in helping that happen.
Thanks to the IEEE Florida West Coast Section and the Robotics & Automation Society chapter for the warm welcome. I’m looking forward to getting to work with the ExCom team and the broader local community.
If you are in the Tampa Bay area and interested in robotics, automation, avionics, embedded systems, industrial software, aerospace, or just building things that work, I’d love to connect.
Let’s make something useful.
