UFH: Ian Mackenzie

[JVN]

Ian,
Congratulations! You're the man!

Let me tell a (not so short) story about my experiences with this GREAT guy:

I first met Ian back in 2002 at the Toronto Regional.
229 and 188 ended up working together for a qualification match.

I think we ended up winning, but that doesn't really matter.
See, Ian was the 188 coach, while I was coaching 229.
What I distinctly remember was how much fun it was working with Ian.
We had a great time! It is one of the only qualification matches from my 5 years in FIRST that still sticks out in my mind as being a ton of fun.

We chatted a bit after the match, and then ended up going to the Team Social and hanging out.
(See, those crazy Canadians were trying to make us American teams feel at home. Something they go out of their way to do.)

Ian and I discussed FIRST philosophy a little bit, but mostly we just talked gearboxes. I remember he showed me 188's 6 motor drive, which impressed me to no end. They were one of the first teams to implement the "Tim Allen" solution to drivetrain (More power! *grunt grunt grunt*).

Later on, we ended up partnered together for the finals!
229 and 188 ended up on an alliance run by our friends Delphi E.L.I.T.E.

This was quite the experience...
Eric O'Brien was the 229 coach for the finals, but I got the chance to participate in the strategy meetings. What I remember is how sharp Ian was. He truly is a great strategist, and a fine coach.
We ended up getting eliminated in the semi-finals, but it was still a great time.

Cut to later that summer and into the next year:
I decided I needed to learn more about Mechanical Design to help out 229.
During my search for information, I came across some of the work Ian developed for some of the Canadian teams. This was the first time I began to understand exactly how involved Ian was, and some of the incredible things he (and others) were doing up north to promote and strengthen FIRST.

This past season, Ian and I ended up at the same competition again in Long Island. 229 and 1114 were both competing.
He was now lead designer for 1114 (and my... what a pretty robot did he help produce!) It was like Canada all over again. 1114 and 229 became close immediately. When we allied together in the finals, it seemed meant to be.

Again, working with Ian (and this new character named Karthik) was a GREAT time. It's always a pleasure.

So seriously... I'm rambling.
The point of this is that Ian is (another) one of the most professional, sharp people I've had the pleasure of working with. The incredible things he does to support FIRST and FIRST in Canada are almost beyond comprehension. I am in awe of some of the Mechanical Designs he has done. I have been told that 90% of the technology team 188 uses in their much touted 6 motor shifting gearbox was developed by Ian. He is probably the best Mechanical Designer from our age group, and one of the better designers in the FIRST competition.

For all the above reasons; I respect him a great deal, and so should you.

Again, congratulations Ian. You truly deserve this recognition and honour. Enjoy it.

Your Friend,
JVN


PS - Props to Karthik for nominating Ian. Thank you, K-man.