A M I R.  T A M R A K A R.  '01. &    K U N D A N.  N E P A L.  'O2.

The following feature story appeared in the campus publication Mosaic in February, 2000.

HARD-WIRING THEIR WAY TO A FUTURE IN ENGINEERING

R2D2 is more than a character from Star Wars to Amir Tamrakar ‘01 (left) and Kundan Nepal ’02. To this pair of engineering majors, the fictional robot is an example of what might someday be achieved through the creative and intelligent use of technology.

Since leaving their native Kathmandu, Nepal, the students have taken advantage of the opportunities and resources made available to them through Trinity’s engineering program, and both are testing the limits of their creative and intellectual talents in the classroom, in the laboratory, and as members of Trinity’s outstanding robotics team.

Tamrakar and Nepal, together with the other members the robotics team, will soon test their latest robotic creations when they join teams from throughout the United States and the world to compete at the College’s seventh annual Fire-Fighting Home Robot Contest on April 15 and 16. The contest is the largest, public, true robotics competition held in the United States, and contestants range from students at elementary schools to rocket scientists. To win, a robot must maneuver through the model of a house, detect fire (in the form of a candle), and extinguish it. Tamrakar will serve as chief engineer for Trinity’s team this year, overseeing robots "Ot-Bot," "Bob," and possibly "Bob, Jr.," which is still under development. Nepal will serve as a member of the electrical engineering team and is helping to construct a circuit board for "Bob, Jr."

Professor of Engineering David J. Ahlgren, a founder of the robotics competition, says, "Both Amir and Kundan have a willingness to attack hard problems and think about them in innovative ways. They are very eager and very curious, and, as a result, they do not give up when confronted with a challenging problem. Like many members of the robotics team, Amir and Kundan work well both independently and cooperatively. They have been especially helpful and creative in developing new electronics circuits for sensing and for video imaging."

Tamrakar
Tamrakar’s interest in electronics and engineering emerged in seventh grade when he began wiring circuits and dissembling radios and televisions to see how they worked. Since enrolling at Trinity, he has made great strides in understanding the complexities of science and technology. In addition to coursework and his participation in the robotics competition, he is deeply involved in the United Technologies/Trinity College Engineering Initiative (UTCEI). UTCEI, a partnership between Trinity College and United Technologies Corp. (UTC), seeks to encourage women and minorities to pursue studies (and eventually careers) in engineering and the sciences. Through UTCEI, high school juniors and seniors from schools in the greater Hartford area work closely with Trinity students and professors to explore and develop engineering projects. This past summer, Tamrakar received a UTCEI fellowship to study the design of radio and Internet controls for a robot.

Having completed the coursework requirements for his engineering major a year early, Tamrakar is now working on his senior engineering project, constructing a navigational system for a robot based on the principles of human vision and video-camera technology. He hopes to enter the robot in the Unmanned Ground Vehicle Contest, sponsored by Oakland University and the U.S. Army and to be held at Walt Disney World in July.

Additionally, he is working with Associate Professor of Engineering Taikang Ning on a research project that uses digital signal processing technology to create a system that can automatically analyze heart sounds used by doctors as the basis for diagnosing specific ailments. "The diagnoses vary, sometimes very widely, so this system will automatically characterize the sounds and will produce an accurate and a consistent diagnosis," Tamrakar explains.

Nepal
Nepal’s interest in electronics and engineering surfaced when he was in sixth grade and tinkered with watches. But his interest in robotics stems from his passion for the robots and androids that inhabit the world of science fiction. After immersing himself in his engineering studies at Trinity, he is now helping to create the devices that he previously knew only from movies and books.

Kundan has also taken full advantage of the opportunities UTCEI affords. Last spring, he served as a co-leader of a UTCEI interest group on robotics and helped high school students build the first fire-fighting robot to be entered by UTCEI students in Trinity’s competition. This past summer, Nepal also received a UTCEI fellowship, which enabled him to lead a UTCEI high school group as it constructed an eight-bit computer microprocessor. This semester, Nepal is heading the UTCEI digital systems design interest group. "The high school students get the chance to do what we do here on campus. It’s a great opportunity," Nepal says of the experience.

The study of engineering has clearly presented Nepal and Tamrakar with extraordinary learning opportunities, opportunities that just seem to multiply. The two students recently learned that they, Professor Ahlgren, and their Trinity robotics teammates Brian Jackson ’00 and Sheldon Provost ’00 will represent the College at a regional robotics competition in Tel Aviv on March 30.

Tamrakar and Kundan are thrilled at the prospect of traveling to Israel and competing against robot enthusiasts from the Middle East. To them, the contest is a chance to test their abilities against new competitors and demonstrate what technology can accomplish. "Robotics," Tamrakar confidently says, "is the wave of the future."

-Rebecca Pearce '00