Meet the Team
Get to know the folks behind the training.
We are a fully remote, mostly part-time team, seeking to spread as much knowledge about programming and electronics as we can. If you're interested in being a part of our team, check here for positions we are on the look-out for.
Michael Cheich
Owner
Mike is first and foremost a father and probably the best husband that his wife will ever have.
He has a passion for learning (which is good because he learns very slowly and if he didn’t have a passion he might not know anything). He spent 20 years in the US military in some form or fashion, during which he was a welder, a helicopter pilot, and has dealt so much with safety that now he lights his eyebrows on fire just to live on the edge.
His experience in electronics and programming is all from the school of hard knocks, where imprints of his forehead are scattered across the walls.
Fewer things make him happier than being able to rapidly prototype his thoughts into reality. He studied neuroscience at OSU where he earned a bachelor of science degree.
Steve Stefanidis
Technical Writer
Steve built his own development system for the 8048 microcontroller, from which he designed many projects. Later, he worked for various hi-tech companies as a staff engineer/developer, primarily dealing with computer video graphics and performance tuning.
He built an Apple IIe (at a hobby club), then became interested in digital electronics, followed by microcontrollers and low-level programming.
Steve had worked on tons of projects including temp/humidity measurement, quadcopter drone controller, large dot-matrix displays, a dancing robot, use of precision optical encoder for manufacturing + many others...
His current project is a gesture controlled robot.
Rich Schanda
Content Creator
Rich is a military pilot by trade, but became interested in electronics and programming while studying Engineering in College. He has recently gotten into 3D printing as well.
His passion lies in creating, prototyping, and implementing solutions to everyday problems. He, his wife, and their dog reside in the UK.
Josh Gilbert
Audiographer and Videographer
Originally from Minnesota, Josh resides in Kansas City broadcasting his tech-i-ness to any folks who are in need. He enjoys all things podcasts and getting his hands dirty the nitty gritty creative side of things.
His passion for audio/visual work began in his early years touring the country in a rock band. He enjoys long editing sessions tackling every unnecessary ‘um’ and unpleasant ‘s’ that comes his way.
For him, working from home means drinking as many cups of coffee as there are hours in a workday. All in all he couldn’t be happier typing his life away, if it means bringing joy to the everyday ‘Arduino-er’!”
Owen Hardy
Technical Writer
Owen is a Junior at Miami University studying Electrical Engineering. On campus, he serves as the Vice President for IEEE and serves on the Engineering Advisory Council.
He has a passion for working on projects involving WiFi and home automation. In the past, he has retrofitted his home alarm system to interface with the open-source home automation software OpenHAB. Additionally, he has installed various home automation systems for his clients based on the same software. Also interested in robotics, he’s currently leading the Miami IEEE organization’s BattleBot project.
In the future, Owen hopes to move away from his hometown of Chicago to the west coast. Ideally he would like to work for a company where he could design circuitry for consumer-based products or even industrial applications. (Apparently PEA isn't his dream job! Hey!)
Additionally, Owen is very passionate about cars and auto detailing. He can tell you the make, model, and sometimes even the year of a vehicle based off of some minute detail. Maybe the exhaust note, instrument cluster, headlights, or door handle.