Alexander “Sasha” Kirillov
Sasha is the team coach. In his day job, he is a professor of mathematics at Stony Brook University. He also enjoys working with high school students, teaching various math classes and circles. He is currently teaching Sunday math classes at SchoolNova and is also involved with the science summer camp SigmaCamp, where he runs a robotics lab.
Sasha started the Islandbots team after he got his son a LEGO Mindstorms set and decided to play with it himself. He has been with the team ever since and considers it to be one of the best things he has done in life. In addition to math and robotics, he also enjoys hiking, volleyball, and sitting around a campfire listening to guitar songs.
Tatiana Portnaya
Tatiana takes videos of the matches, helps the team with logistics and lends an ear to their presentation practices. She enjoys seeing how the robot takes shape every year and the excitement of the different strategies for the games. One of her favorite hobbies is flying.
Andrew Mata
I grew up in Stony Brook and was lucky to be introduced to robotics back in 2008 as a 5th grader with Islandbots. I stayed with the team, competing in FLL then FTC until 2016. I graduated from Cornell with a bachelors in Computer Science and Mathematics in 2020 and have continued my academic pursuits here at Stony Brook University, where I am now in the third year of my Computer Science PhD. In my research, I work on formal verification of AI-controlled systems using different mathematical methods. I’ve been involved with Sigma Camp since its inception in 2012, running workshops or helping teach robotics labs. This is my first year acting as a mentor for Islandbots and I look forward to continuing to be involved in the FIRST space.