By David Humphrey
For The Herald Bulletin
PENDLETON — What do you call a nerd after graduating from high school?
Boss.
Pendleton engineer Tony Soverns has heard all of the countless number of nerd jokes and has been on the receiving end a few times, too. But Soverns knows what it takes to be successful in the field of engineering, and is passing his knowledge on to some ambitious high school teens.
Soverns and fellow engineers serve as mentors to 15 or more engineering-minded students from Madison County high schools. Collectively known as Team Roboto 447, they meet once a week at I Power Energy Systems on Martin Luther King Boulevard in Anderson.
At meetings, the teens learn math, physics, science and how to build operable robots.
“This is a good place for kids to learn and gain interest in engineering,” Soverns said. “The skills they learn here will be used on engineer jobs. All but one of our kids have gone on to study engineering after graduating from high school. Even in a bad economy there is always a need for good engineers.”
Now in its 10th year, Team Roboto 447 has had past members graduate from Purdue University, Indiana University, Indiana State, ITT, Sullivan University, Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, Anderson University and IUPUI.
Though learning is the No. 1 priority of Team Roboto 447, there is also time for students to roll up their sleeves for some head-to-head robotic competition.
In the past, the team has won numerous awards including the Boilermaker Engineering Inspiration Award, National Galileo Division Finalist, Midwest Regional Robotics Championship Finalist, Motorola Midwest Regional Rookie All-Star Award and NASA/VCU Regional Finalist.
Currently, the team is preparing for the 2009 FIRST Robotics Competition Game called “LUNACY.” Scheduled competition dates are March 12-14 in Milwaukee and March 19-21 at Purdue.
But first, the team will need a robot.
“We are not sure of the competition theme until the first Saturday in January,” Soverns said. “You then have six weeks to get your robot done. Every year the theme is different and this year it is the moon. Our team needs to design and build a robot with a certain style that will complete the required task. NASA is sponsoring one hundred teams, so that makes LUNACY even more interesting.”
LUNACY is played on a 54-foot by 27-foot low-friction field. Robots are equipped with slippery wheels and payload trailers. LUNACY game pieces are “Orbit Balls” designated as Moon Rocks, Empty Cells, or Super Cells.
Two three-team robot alliances collect and score “Orbit Balls” in trailers attached to the opposing teams’ robots. Human players are positioned around the perimeter of the arena and can score from their stations.
Robots are autonomous during 15 seconds of play, and teleoperated for the remaining two minutes. Trailers begin each match empty, but robots may be loaded with up to seven Moon Rocks by their team prior to the start of each match.
“It sounds complicated,” Team Roboto 447 mentor Scott Ray said. “But it is a lot of fun.”
While a student at Highland High School, Ray was a member of the team. Today, he is employed by Frakes Engineering in Fishers and has a degree in mechanical engineering from IUPUI.
“We welcome everyone to our meetings,” Ray said. “Even those kids who know nothing about engineering but would like to learn. We are always looking for new members to join.”
“The skills the kids learn here will be used in engineering jobs,” he added. “Every day I use something I learned here. There are so many fields to go in to, and you can get a taste of it here.”
It costs about $6,000 to build a robot with all money coming from donations and community sponsorships. However, there is no fee to become a Team Roboto 447 member.
When members of Team Roboto 447 were asked if they ever watched the Discovery Channel or other educational programs on television, an eerie silence fell throughout the vast I POWER plant.
Pendleton Heights High School student Sara Niccum stated that no one on Team Roboto 447 has the desire or time to watch television.
“When you are sitting in front of a television,” Niccum said, “that leaves no time to be creative on your own.”
