Elizabeth De Zulueta

Lizzy is a robotics engineer who started building robots at the age of 14, an author, startup founder and mentor. She has competed in, assisted in, and mentored teams in competitions for BattleBots, NASA, DARPA, and VEX. Lizzy has been the founder of two ventures and consulted for many robotics companies, and her work has been recognized by organizations such as Babson’s Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership, the Miami Herald, and the Small Business Administration’s Emerging Leaders program. 

In 2012, she graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) with her BS in Robotics Engineering, and completed her MS in Robotics Engineering in 2014. After finishing her master’s degree, she returned to BattleBots, mentoring a team of high school students who competed when the BattleBots TV Show aired on ABC. Lizzy loves encouraging students to build cool projects and to see the impact these projects will one day have on our day-to-day lives.

When Lizzy isn’t working on robots, she is usually swimming in the ocean or dancing, whether it’s at her local belly dance studio, salsa with her family, or in the car with her friends. Lizzy hopes to be a role model for young girls, demonstrating to them that one can always keep dreaming, learning, and discovering possibilities. 

Nola is a STEAM powered woman who developed her talents and skills using the tools shared in this book. Nola has had an extensive career teaching robotics and engineering, has received multiple national and international awards recognizing her work, is an author and much more. She served two terms on the Florida Board of Professional Engineers and worked at the College of Engineering at Florida International University, engaging local educators and expanding their knowledge and understanding of Engineering and STEM careers. 

Nola’s passion has always been to make a difference in the lives of others, especially young people. Nola founded the United States Alliance for Technological Literacy and was the head of the first all-female team on the wildly successful BattleBots TV show. Nola inspired, encouraged and educated many young women to pursue careers in STEM related fields as co-founder of StarBot Technologies, one of the nation’s oldest and most successful STEM education centers.  StarBot has positively impacted thousands of students, families and teachers across the country with hands-on programs, teacher training and extraordinary events. 

Nola has created many programs for under-represented minorities, kids with disabilities, children of incarcerated parents and kids from all economic backgrounds. She recognizes that all kids need and deserve access to programs that empower them to develop their potential and live happy, productive lives.