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SD school wins world robotics championship

Prize took more than building a machine for High Tech High Team

By Maureen Magee 08:35p.m. May 1, 2013

The status of the robotics team at High Tech High in Point Loma ranks so high, it just might be on par with varsity football in Texas.

So when the team known as the Holy Cows won top honors at the largest, most prestigious school robotics world championship in St. Louis this past weekend, it was a really big deal.

“Winning this award was quite possibly the proudest and happiest moment of my life. I still can’t believe it,” said Carmel Fiscko, 17. “It’s the first time I put so much of myself into working for a goal. It paid off in a way that has changed my life.”

The Holy Cows were among 58 of the best ranked robotics teams eligible to compete for the Chairman’s Award at the FIRST World Championship in St. Louis. All told, some 10,000 students from the U.S. and abroad participated in the competition before a crowd of 25,000.

The Chairman’s Award is the highest honor given at the competition, one that is awarded to the team “that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST.”

Here’s just a few of things that caught the judges eyes. The Holy Cows doesn’t just win competitions (it has five regional championships under its belt) it also mentors 47 other teams, offers workshops and developed a robotics smartphone app.

“We’ve been working toward this for years. It’s an amazing way to celebrate our science heroes and to help inspire our kids to get into science, technology, engineering and math,” said David Berggren, a High Tech engineering teacher and regional director of FIRST who helps coach the team. “Our robotics team is like our football team, it’s the most well-known and well-respected team on campus.”

The FIRST Robotics Competition — For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology — was founded in 1989 by Segway inventor Dean Kamen and MIT professor Woodie Flowers in an effort to promote science and technology. Student robotics have since taken off to the point that teams have become campus staples that are as common as organized sports, choir and Spanish club.

Robotics teams build and program robots that are put to the test in intense competitions. Students also take on academic and public-relations tasks that promote their club on campus and in the community.

High school teams get assistance from engineers, scientists, designers and other professionals who help students prepare for competition and perhaps a college education or career in a related industry. Many get corporate sponsors. The Holy Cows’ sponsors include Qualcomm, SAIC and Nordson Asymtek.

When it comes competition time, each team gets six weeks to build its robot, from the same set of parts, and program the 5-foot, 130-pound mechanical entries to complete certain tasks — this year it was tossing discs into goals. Those vying for the Chairman’s Award must also submit an essay, deliver a presentation and participate in a question-and-answer session with judges.

But winning isn’t everything in robotics. Teams must build alliances with other teams and they get rewarded for using strategies that demonstrate cooperation over competition.

The rise of robotics has been helped by a national push to get more students interested in STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — as the country seeks to improve its international status in these subjects that are increasingly essential to for students when it comes to college and careers.

For Carmel, the experience on the High Tech robotics team helped her decide to major in electrical engineering at UC San Diego, which she will attend in the fall.

“Robotics and meeting with people working directly in the field has really helped me figure out what kind of engineering I want to go into,” Carmel said.

High Tech High is one in a network of charter schools that — with technology — promotes project-based learning. Students often work on projects that combines disciplines, such as math and science.

“Our Holy Cows team really just does embody our commitment and passion for STEM education,” said High Tech Principal Brett Peterson. “It’s really just exciting to see an authentic application of math and science…”

President Barack Obama has lamented that lackluster math and science scores are hurting American students in their ability to take advantage of new jobs. He has called for the recruitment of 100,000 STEM teachers this decade.

A 2011 study by the U.S. Department of Commerce found that during the past decade, growth in STEM jobs was three times greater than that of non-STEM occupations. The report also predicted that STEM jobs would grow at a faster rate than others in the coming years.