Robot Challenge 2009

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First and foremost, the Baltimore Museum of Industry who graciously hosts this event every year as part of the Engineering Challenges; the Engineering Society of Baltimore (better known as the Engineers Club) that performs Administration, Advisory and Fund-raising activities; and TEAM, the Technology Education Association of Maryland, that provides the contacts and training for the Tech Ed teachers in our schools. Northrup-Grumman offers us the use of the large conference room needed for the judging of the Written Reports, and the National Electronics Museum is where all the meetings of the Robot Committee take place.

The IEEE, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Baltimore Section, is the sponsor of the Robot Challenge, and they provide funding, and many of the Judges, Administrators, Repair engineers, and Photographers who get together for two days in April each year in order to make this happen. Behind them are the Planning crew and the Mentors, who work throughout the year, and who make the impossible (such as the data display that became fully operational on Sunday) seem smooth and easy. We would also like to thank engineers and friends from other Technical Societies, as well as College Student members of IEEE, who work as Judges and Administrators.

And they are all volunteers!

Between Saturday and Sunday, 43 2-leg teams and 24 4-leg teams participated in the Robot Challenge - a record total of 67 teams, involving about 300 students.

Supporting this activity were 8 mentors who worked with the students over the internet or visited schools throughout the year, 15 engineers who judged the Written Reports on April 13, 30 judges and 15 support staff who were there on Saturday, April 18, and 29 judges and 11 support staff who came on Sunday, April 19. An additional 7 engineers are currently working on the Judges feedback data sheets that will be sent to all students and their teachers.

We would like to identify and thank all the people by name who gave of their time so that the students could benefit from their experience, and hopefully lead a number of them to choose to become engineers in the future. I am sure most of the engineers would say that they get as much from the experience as the students – and that’s why many of them come back year after year. Names in Bold type are Team Leaders.

Mentors:

Ron Aloysius
Jeff Friedhoffer
Jay Gamerman
Scott Godeke
Neville Jacobs
Dave Price
Brian Sequeira
Walt Willing

Judging Written Reports:
Ron Aloysius
John Dentler
Bill Dixon
Jeff Friedhoffer
Jay Gamerman
Jeff Gamerman
Scott Goedeke
Boris Gramatikov
Dave Kisak
David Price
Bruce Schmickley
Bill Semancik
Brian Sequeira
Walter Willing
Neville Jacobs

Judges on Saturday, 4/18

Administrators, Saturday, April 18

Judges on Sunday, April 19

Administrators, Sunday April 19

Working on Feedback Sheets

Paul Behrens
Scott Godeke
Tanner Horner
Dave Kisak
Tzer Leei Ng
Brian Sequeira
Jeff Weiss

In particular I would like to recognize Jay Gamerman, Co-Chair of the Robot Challenge and lead Administrator for the Event, Bill Semancik, who ran the PIT Repair station, did the software for the data display system, and is a trusted advisor and year-round supporter, Walt Willing, who takes the lead with the Mentors, Dave Boyd, who heads up the Track Judges, and Brian Sequeira, who coordinated the Oral Presentation Judges, while juggling his regular duties planning the next rocket launch to the moon.

Communicating with our members could not take place without Publicity, for which we thank Ron Aloysius; a good web-page is vital for reaching our students, teachers and school administrators, and we’d like to acknowledge the fantastic way that it has evolved over the years. Our thanks to Jeff Friedhoffer who created it, and to Ed Colbert who is keeping it up to date with the latest news, Robot Challenge Results and helpful information.

Finally, I would like to thank Melinda Brantel Cane, our coordinator at the Baltimore Museum of Industry, who not only does all the arrangements at the Museum for the Robot Challenge, but does the same for eleven other Challenges, plus her regular duties as Museum Project Manager.

Thank you all for participating.

Neville Jacobs
Chair, Student Activities
IEEE, Baltimore Section

PS If we have left out or spelled any of your names incorrectly, please e-mail me at Nevilleed@aol.com and we’ll have it corrected.

Updated: 4/23/09