#PeopleofSTEAM: Meet Enmanuel
August 22, 2025
FIRST® LEGO® League team Heschel RoboHawks has had an amazing STEAM journey, starting with FIRST®. Led by their mentor, Kathy, this team was able to go from curious participants in the third grade, to securing a patent for their FIRST-inspired innovation before even graduating high school, proving that anyone – at any age – can be a person of STEAM.
This is a story of ingenuity, supportive mentors, and STEM skills that will take you anywhere: from designing medical technology to ideating products that can be used where most of us have not gone yet – space.
Keep reading to learn more about the Heschel RoboHawks’ incredible innovation journey and all they have done to showcase that ingenuity is not just for the adults. 
2016
The Heschel RoboHawks had their rookie year participating in FIRST LEGO League as third graders. Their mentor, Kathy, begins documenting their journey as they make their way into the world of STEAM, supporting them passionately along the way. Kathy is a science teacher at Abraham Joshua Heschel Day School who mentors the school’s robotics teams.
2018
The team participates in the INTO ORBIT season. The first iteration of their unique innovation called “Pinacal,” a light therapy device, is created by the students. This was designed to help solve the health problems caused by astronauts not having regular day and night sleep/wake cycles. This device is meant to adjust lighting to help the body properly release serotonin and melatonin at the appropriate times. Later in the season, the team won first place for their invention.
Team member Aaron explained the invention like this: “The light mimics the sunrise at the desired wake time and dims down at the desired sleep time. It allows your brain to slowly tell your muscles to shut down and get ready for bed at the end of the day.”
Pin = Pineal Gland (releases melatonin/serotonin)
Cal = Tribute to Melvin Calvin (Nobel Prize winner for “path of light”) 
2019
In January of 2019, this determined group of students, with the help of their mentors and parents, applied for and were awarded a United States patent for their invention.
Their work would go on to be recognized and applauded by LEGO®, as well as the Director of the University of Southern California, Space Engineering Research Center (USC-SERC), Professor David Barnhart. Professor Barnhart even went so far as to share that inventions like these were the kind of advanced projects they valued and looked further into at the University.
In May of this year, the Heschel RoboHawks participated in the FIRST LEGO League Championship event in Uruguay. There they were awarded finalist status for the Global Impact Award. This award was created to showcase teams that created real-world, innovative solutions.
2023
In 2023, thanks to their FIRST LEGO League-inspired invention, each team member received a personalized letter from a NASA scientist inviting them to participate in NASA HUNCH (High Schools United with NASA to Create Hardware). This competition was created by NASA to give young engineers the opportunity to come together to create incredible space technology.
2024-2025
The Heschel RoboHawks received personal invitations from NASA scientists for two years in a row. They are the first high schoolers to ever present their project and poster to the NASA Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop. This workshop is designed to report progress, collaborate and network, and discover research results of groundbreaking space technology.
Massachi, another team member, reflects on their journey. “We have been exposed to a really broad intellectual community because of this invention: Meeting with scientists from across the world who have broadened our understanding and passion for science.”
2025
Now, the team has been spotlighted in places like The Los Angeles Times and are currently waiting for an article about their invention to be published in the Advances in Biosciences and Biotechnology journal.
Their longtime mentor, Kathy, praises the team for their growth. “I am more amazed at their maturity and their ability to be very articulate about the research. I’m really proud of them.”
With their dedication, ingenuity, determination, and hard work, these students have demonstrated that the skills you learn through participating in FIRST will allow you to reach new heights – perhaps even ones outside of our atmosphere.
Are you a person of STEAM? Share your story with #PeopleofSTEAM on social media or send us your story at marketing@firstinspires.org.