HUAAN ZHANG

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Huaan Zhang is brilliant.  He has degrees in optical and in electrical engineering.  He's designed control systems for the engines of giant tractors and magnetic read heads to gather teensy bits of data.  He's helped increase the storage capacity of disc drives by four orders of magnitude, from hundreds of megabytes up to a few terabytes.  Huaan well deserves the highest praise you can give an engineer:  his stuff really works!

Amy and Huaan Zhang work on
the robot control tower

So what does he do for fun?   Well, for one thing, he builds robots for The Works.  The first two robots he made were instant, enormous hits in the museum.  Huaan and his daughter Amy spent many Saturdays at The Works helping enthralled kids test drive the machines.  With an engineer's eye for improvement, Huaan sstreamlined the robot, created a durable control tower, added in foam blocks for a maneuvering challenge and redesigned the claw.  Fellow engineers from Seagate constructed a large, purple pen to house the robots.  Amy named the machines "Zucchini" and "Pickle" and they remain a popular highlight for our young visitors.

Huaan and Amy also coach a team of kids at The Works in the First Leo League robotics competition.  This year's team, the NXT Generation, met weekly for four months to design, build and program a Lego robot and to research a presentation of global warming.  With the kids' hard work and Huaan's patient and encouraging direction, the team advanced to the State competition, where they placed in the top ten in Robot Design, Performance, Programming, Teamwork and Research.

Huaan's efforts and expertise have given thousands of young people a personal, hands-on experience with robotics.

"This is so important," he says, with a quiet smile lighting his face.  "I just want kids to have a chance to experience and appreciate engineering."   Thanks to you Huaan Zhang, they do.

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SCOTT MAZAR

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 This profile originally published in The Works' newsletter of autumn 2006.

On President’s Day 1994, Scott Mazar walked into The Works carrying George Washington’s head.   

The head, made from Legos, sat on a sensor controlled mechanism that turned the head to face you as you walked in front of it.  This was The Works’ very first exhibit,  Tracker.  Now with a colorful bug-like creature replacing George’s head, Tracker has greeted over 100,000 visitors to The Works.

Scott is the mastermind behind both Tracker and the inner works of the Light Harp, two perennial favorites. 

How does he do it?  In part, it’s his eclectic background.  Scott is equally adept in both theoretical and practical worlds — and sports a sense of humor to bridge the divide.  “The way you think the world works isn’t necessarily the way it’s going to cooperate with you,”  he notes wryly.

One reflection of this versatility is his elegant and playful use of materials;  the electrical commutator in Tracker is a piece of model railroad track, and the beam splitters in the Light Harp are microscope cover slides.

Where did he come by his talents?  “Ever since I could remember, I loved to take things apart,” Scott explains.  “I asked my Dad to get me a TV to tear apart, and he did.  I dug in and I realized about half way through that I’d never heard of anyone who made a living tearing things apart;  I had to learn how to put them together, too.”  

“My Dad let me do things even when he knew it would probably take longer that way.  He fostered my interest in electronics.  And he made me feel competent.  He also provided free rein in his basement woodshop — except for drilling holes.”

Scott has carried this tradition of direct experience instilling confidence on to his own children.   His son James, who was permitted to back Scott’s truck out of the driveway at the tender age of 6, is now a capable 15 year old who builds robots for The Works.

In addition to his day job at Transoma Medical and his loving family, Scott maintains one of the most interesting basements on this planet.  His favorite new acquisition?  An interferometric microscope, accurate down to 30 nanometers.  

Kudos, and many thanks to Scott Mazar, valued volunteer.

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