Conor has been a practicing engineer for over 20 years. He received his Bachelors in Mathematics and Engineering from Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) and his PhD in Computer Science from that same institution. He was a founder and CEO of a software company after college, and then moved on to join the Internet wave in Austin, Texas. He got into robotics when he joined NASA in 2002 and has never looked back. Since then he has been an active researcher in the robotics community, having developed cutting edge technologies that have been used on Mars Rovers (while he worked at NASA), undersea autonomous vehicles (at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) and personal robots (at Willow Garage). Conor lives with his wife and 2 children in San Carlos, CA.

Raphael Mahpour is the Program Director of Wizbots. He transforms classrooms into engaging sets of challenges that make learning fun. Growing up in Silicon Valley, he’s always had an affinity for technology and has lectured on the utilization of new technologies at local Silicon Valley chapters of BOMA and Chambers of Commerce. He also holds the position of Productions Director at the Silicon Valley Chapter of the Social Media Club. Raphael Mahpour is a recipient of the Academic Excellence Award from the University of California, Santa Barbara where he completed his degree with honors in both Psychology and Art History with an architecture and environment emphasis. When he’s not working, he’s usually found somewhere his bots have difficulty getting to: surfing the stellar waves of the Coastal Bay Area.