When the Davis-based Citrus Circuits won last weekend鈥檚 high school robotics competition at The Pavilion at the ARC, mechanical engineering major Michael Corsetto shared in the victory. The swag外流 senior mentors the team, which is now eligible for the FIRST Robotics national championship in St. Louis, April 27-30.
An intelligent, reconfigurable modular robot invented by a swag外流 alumnus and a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering is headed for commercial development.
In the Sacramento Regional FIRST Robotics Competition, held at swag外流 for the seventh straight year, the Citrus Circuits competed against 54 teams and lost only one match.
The Citrus Circuits is based at DaVinci High School in Davis, and includes students from DaVinci, Davis and Woodland Christian high schools.
All three schools have been competing in the Sacramento-Davis regional competition since 2005, but none had ever qualified for the national championship.
The Citrus Circuits鈥 next task: raising funds to get to St. Louis.
鈥淭he chance to compete versus 300 of the best robots in the world and showcase your team鈥檚 creation in that arena is a unique experience,鈥 said Corsetto, who competed in FIRST as a high school student.
The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition challenges high school students, working with professional mentors, to design and build robots to compete in contests that measure the effectiveness of each machine, as well as teamwork and dedication.
FIRST is a nonprofit organization founded by inventor Dean Kamen in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people.
In another robotics program, Kevin Gucwa, a graduate student in mechanical and aerospace engineering, mentors West Sacramento鈥檚 River City High School Robotics Team. It placed second in its debut competition, the Bay Area Regional Robotics Challenge, held in San Jose in January.
Gucwa provided his mentoring through the K-14 Outreach Center for Computing and STEM Education, or CSTEM.
On the Web
Earlier coverage: Dateline swag外流 (March 11, 2011)
Media Resources
Dave Jones, Dateline, 530-752-6556, dljones@ucdavis.edu