April 8, 2013 | SharkAdmin [image 1]Getting K-12 students to focus on math and science is not always easy, but at Northwest Vista College, we have our Texas Institute for Educational Robotics or TIER under the leadership of Andrew Schuetze to get students engaged. A big thanks goes to TIER and the Alamo-FIRST Region for hosting one of the largest robotics events at the Henry B. [image 2]Gonzalez Convention Center on Easter weekend. Over 3,000 students from the U.S. and Mexico participated in three robotics competitions with winning teams heading to St. Louis for the world championship in late April. I was there Friday morning and had the opportunity to chat with members from several teams. The enthusiasm was infectious, the knowledge and teamwork amazing. I could tell I was seeing our future scientists at work. The event also featured other activities to get the community involved. Over 100 high school girls attended a “Women in IT” luncheon that was sponsored by the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce’s IT committee. Eighteen local [image 3]organizations from the military to businesses participated in a Technology Expo. The organizations provided information on STEM field careers – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Time Warner Cable sponsored a VIP breakfast to increase the awareness of robotics programs and their effectiveness at building a STEM pipeline. CPS Energy had a huge presence, inviting students to get a “robot driver’s license” by driving the CPS robot. Rackspace was the title sponsor and showcased their “Geek Bus” during the entire time. [image 4]TIER was also assisted with volunteers from the college. Pat Fontenot and Rachel Perez volunteered as judges for the FRC Chairman's award on Friday and Saturday. Felix Salinas volunteered as a project judge for FLL on Saturday. Zak Cernoch volunteered as the head referee for FLL on Saturday after staffing the NVC workforce booth on Friday. Angelica Esparza volunteered as a referee for FTC on Friday with her daughter volunteering for field reset. Joy Zhou volunteered as a FLL Referee on Saturday. Qi Wang volunteered as the FLL scorekeeper on Saturday. Amparo Polendo served as the FTC and FLL volunteer coordinator and pit administration lead along with her children. Melissa Monroe-Young volunteered on Saturday as a videographer and reporter. Lynn Dean volunteered on Thursday evening and Friday as a FTC judge. From SAC: Dan G. Dimitriu and Klaus Bartels volunteered as FLL robot design judges on Saturday. And of course Andrew Schutze was everywhere doing work behind the scenes.
