UCS robotics team engineers FIRST win

A new Utica Community Schools robotics team has engineered a FIRST.

The Crevolution robotics team, open to all UCS high school students, earned its first tournament win in a competition known nationally as FIRST - For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.

The team captured the top spot in Waterford District Competition with its tournament partners from the International Academy Central and Huron Valley Schools.

For a team that has been building quickly since its inception four years ago, the tournament win means that the UCS students - know in FIRST as Team #2851 - will most likely make it its second trip to state finals.

"It is nice to have this accomplishment," said Head Mentor and UCS teacher Bryan Battaglia.

The FIRST program is a national effort to encourage student interest in science and technology by having them design, build and control a robot that competes in a sports-like competition. This year's game is basketball themed.

CEO Eric Riedel, who attends Stevenson and the Utica Center for Math, Science and Technology, said the tournament's goal of creating excitement is met and exceeded through the nearly year-long process.

"I really like the hands-on aspect of FIRST," he said. "You get to actually build the robot."

The robot arrives in a kit from the national FIRST organization in early January. Students then have six weeks to transform the kit into a working robot that will compete in a tournament that changes every year. Crevolution students meet an average of five days a week to practice at a makeshift practice area they built at Rose Kidd Elementary.

The students are paired with a business mentor that offers its professional support to the project. For Crevolution, the business partner is BAE Systems, headquartered in Sterling Heights.

"It's really impressive to see how they can create the robot so quickly," said BAE systems engineer Mays Overton. "You also like to see the change in the students as they gain more confidence."

In addition to gaining confidence, Battaglia said the tournament also helps show students how their academic studies translate into their future careers. The team is run like a company and develops skills in such areas as marketing and business principles.

"As a teacher, you want to create opportunities that allow your students to have real-world application to what they are learning - this does that," Battaglia said.

His sentiments are echoed by Stevenson High School junior Mike Mills, who plans to study engineering in college.

"I joined the team because I am in design engineering classes, and I wanted to put what I have been learning to work," he said.

For more information on the Crevolution team, please visit its Web site at http://crevolutionrobotics.org.

Student members in Crevolution this year are:

Salvatore Amato Jr, UAIS
Claudia Colin Fr, UAIS
Jaime Henderson So, UAIS
Rachel Semaan So, UAIS
Lauren Cocco Sr, Stevenson
Maher Daman Sr, Stevenson
Robert Dube Sr, Stevenson/UCSMST
Zack Gratti Jr, Ford
Shruti Jha Sr, UAIS
mike mills Jr, Stevenson
Marcus Murray Jr, UAIS
Eric Riedel Sr, Stevenson/UCSMST
Austin Rudisill Sr, Stevenson/CSI
Logan Sackey So, UAIS
Peter Sam Fr, UAIS
Amit Shah Sr, Stevenson/CSI
Connor Sweet So, Ford
Kashan Wasti Jr, UAIS
Maile Wise So, UAIS