Robots return to Vegas

March 30, 2009 by Lisa Rush 

Students show the fun, competitive sides of science

Teenagers donning safety glasses and dressed in everything from lab coats to colored Mohawks invaded the Thomas & Mack.

High schools from across the country sent 1,500 students to put their robotic creations to the test Friday and Saturday at the FIRST Robotics Regional Competition.

For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) is a high school robotics program aimed at showing young adults that science can be exciting and inspiring them to pursue careers in science and engineering. For the UNLV Howard Hughes College of Engineering, the goals have been paying off.

The college of engineering has seen a significant rise in undergraduate enrollment since it began hosting FIRST in 2004. Organizers hope the event will continue to help attract talented students to UNLV and help the engineering college gain a reputation of being a desirable choice for high school students entering college.

If the success of Las Vegas schools is any indication, UNLV can expect some bright rising stars.

Locals students from Cimarron-Memorial H.S.  proved that their National Championship in 2007 was no fluke, winning the Regional Championship and receiving the Chairman’s Award, the highest individual honor available. Cimarron will move on to compete in the world championship April 16-18 in Atlanta. Newcomer Boulder City H.S. advanced to the semifinals, earning the Rookie All-Star Award.

Awards were given for everything from team spirit to gracious professionalism. Boulder City was still enthusiastic even after their team was eliminated.

Students are involved in much more than just constructing the robots. Many are involved in other ways, including marketing, Web design, and fundraising aspects of the competition.

The teams were given six weeks, a limited amount of parts and no instructions on how to design and build their robot. The time constraints occasionally had some dedicated students working on their project around the clock.

Cody Wall, 16, a sophomore at Cimarron-Memorial disliked “working late nights.” His teammate Manuel Valdez, 17, grinned and chuckled, “Are you kidding? Those nights were the best.”

The pair explained how their team used belts instead of chains this year to cut down on noise and improve efficiency of their robot.

The functions the robots have to perform change from year to year. This year’s competition, entitled “Lunacy,” honored the 40th anniversary of the landing of the first man on the moon.

Robert Abdella, associate dean of undergraduate programs at the college of engineering, understands the benefits that problem-solving and team-building experiences like these can reap for participants in the future.

“[Events like FIRST] allow kids to see other kids constructing things, encountering problems and troubleshooting to solve them,” Abdella explained.

“That’s what life is about – learning how to deal with problems and work in groups together to find solutions.”

Editors note: An earlier version of this story identified the Boulder City team as the winner of the Chrysler Team Spirit Award. This was actually awarded to Classical Academy High School of San Diego. The Rebel Yell regrets this error.