NEWARK, CA — Two Newark teens, Pranav Bellannagari and Pooja Kanthala, competed last week in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics World Championship in Houston. They competed in the Championship Division Highest Rookie Seed category.
Their team is called the Mechanical Magicians, made up of 17 high school students from the Bay Area which was founded by Bellannagari, who also serves as their captain.
“The team was established with the goal of providing hands-on STEM learning opportunities to students of all backgrounds and experiences,” Bellannagari told Patch. “The team spent countless hours at a not-for-profit community makerspace located at the Livermore Airport hangar, operated by their partner, Robot Garden.”
At the team’s first competition, the San Francisco Regionals, they made it to the semifinals and placed third…
