William Bales

Designer, Engineer, Idea generator, Inventor, Student, World traveler

My name is Will Bales, and I am currently a Sophomore in Engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States. I was a Junior at Ransom Everglades High School in Coconut Grove, FL, United States when I joined TED. I was the President of our robotics team which specialized in Battlebots under the Bots IQ program. In 2009, our robot, Fluffy, won 2nd in the 15lbs divsion. In 2011, Fluffy De Large, our 120lbs robot, got 1st place in the national 120lbs high school division, and our other robot got 2nd place. Afterwards, we foolishly took on the 120lbs, 2 year running, college/pro champion and miraculously won. We went to Robogames in San Mateo, CA and most of the robot didn't work, bursting into flames at points. But we enjoyed ourselves, so who can complain. My Parents, Tom Bales and Connie Ryan, are also TED members and have gone to TED in Long Beach for the last few years.

CAD & 3D Modeling, Machinist and Fabricator, Making Cool Stuff, napping, robotics