MATE ROV Competitions:

Providing Pathways to the Ocean STEM Workforce

Presentation adapted by Eric Hagen

Using Jill Zande’s presentation

Associate Director & Competition Coordinator, MATE Center

VP of Education & Research, Marine Technology Society

What is the MATE Center?

National partnership of organizations working to improve marine technical education & help prepare students for ocean occupations.

What does the MATE Center do? ► Workforce studies ► Curriculum development ► Summer Institutes for faculty ► Technical internships for students

► ROV competitions

2007 ROV competition video

Available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeFctnv5vVI

BACKGROUND

– Address shortage of skilled individuals to support the marine industry

• Reach more students & get them interested in the industry

• Help students develop the skills to support marine activities

– Provide a venue for industry to become involved with education • Funds – help programs hit by budget cuts• Mentors – complement & expand students’

& educators’ knowledge and expertise

Partnering with the MTS ROV Committee to…

• Has involved more than 9,000 students in grades 4-16 who work in teams to tackle missions based on the ocean STEM workplace

• Includes one international competition and 20 regional contests held across the U.S. and in Canada, Hong Kong, Scotland, and Japan

• Involves 100s of working professionals & organizations

• Includes underwater missions, technical reports, engineering presentations, and poster displays

• Is a great way to get students excited about science, technology, engineering, and math and help them to problem-solve, think critically, and work as a team

• Is encouraging students to pursue degrees in engineering, science, and technology and eventually to get jobs in the field

TO DATE…

2011 marks the 10th anniversary!

REGIONAL EVENTS ▼ Monterey Bay▼ Texas ▼ Southern California Fly-Off▼ New England▼ Hawaii Underwater Robot Challenge▼ Florida▼ Great Lakes▼ Big Island▼ Pacific Northwest▼ Southeast

▼ Mid-Atlantic▼ Newfoundland & Labrador▼ Hong Kong ▼ Nova Scotia ▼ Scotland▼ Midwest▼ Carolina ▼ Philadelphia▼ Wisconsin▼ Japan

COMPETITION STRUCTURE

The competition is divided into 3 classes that vary depending on the vehicle specs & complexity of the mission tasks:

• EXPLORER * (advanced)• RANGER * + (intermediate) • SCOUT + (beginner)

*classes that participate in international competition+classes that participate in regional competitions

IT’S NOT ONLY UNDERWATER…

Engineering & Communication component:

• Technical reports & team spec sheets• Poster displays • Engineering presentations

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TIMELINE/COST/RESOURCES Competition timeline

►Specs and missions released in November

►Registration opens December 1st

►Regional contests in April & May

► International competition in June

Cost

►No fee for SCOUT

►$50 for RANGER & EXPLORER

Resources

►ROVER (www.materover.org)

► Teams only area

►Mentors, travel stipends, etc.

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RESULTSIs encouraging students to pursue degrees in engineering, science,

and technology and eventually to get jobs in the field

• Career connections• MIT, UNC Charlotte, Purdue University, Naval Academy• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Monterey Bay Aquarium

Research Institute

• Return-on-investments• Long Beach City College and Oceaneering International• Schilling Robotics, SeaTrepid, and more

Annual week-long Summer Institutes @ MATE• Since 1999, MATE has provided 21 institutes to more than 400

faculty from community colleges, universities, high schools, middle schools, and informal education centers

• Builds a community for networking and information sharing

1-to-3 day workshops offered by regional partners• Connects faculty to local resources ($, materials, mentors)• Builds a local community for networking and information sharing

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Schools receive a 10% discount!!!Talk to us or order from the MATE web site @ www.marinetech.org

A textbook packed with:• 780+ pages• Hundreds of color photos• “Stories from Real Life”• Instructions for SeaMATE• Diving deeper…

EVOLUTIONFocus on entrepreneurial skills

• Emphasized applying skills in new & innovative ways, working as an integral part of a team, understanding the breadth of business operations

• Asked students to form companies that design, build, perform, & “sell” their product

ITEST (Innovative Technology Experiences for Students & Teachers)• Supporting middle school participation• Building the pathway by showcasing education & career connections

The “secret sauce” recipe• Cultivating the next generation of professionals for whom mentoring is

part of their culture• Creating a sense of community - sharing and networking

How it looks atMountain Home and Glacier High

Competition 2011-12• Our school this year will compete in the hopefully in both

the SCOUT and RANGER class competitions. Scout is open to everyone (Junior High and High School)

• I am limiting Ranger to high school students or Junior High students who have participated in a past competition and have demonstrated an ability to work in a team.

• See more information on our website: www.mountainhomecharter.org click on science programs, then Underwater ROV club. Or go to www.materover.org

 

Building Materials:

• You will use relatively inexpensive materials to build your ROV. Most are built out of PVC pipe and foam that people use to winterize pipes. In addition we will provide each team with three motors, wiring cable, and control box to assemble.

• Ranger teams will incur a larger cost and may want to raise funds.

 

More specifics on competition:

For Scout - The underwater mission includes two challenges, a shallow water and deep water mission. Each challenge relates to that year’s theme. For example one year the theme was Underwater Rescue – so the deep water mission consisted of delivering emergency supplies to a submarine in trouble. Every year is different.

For Ranger – There is one deep water mission that consists of many tasks. Students must use a camera to navigate (no looking in the pool). Students typically are required to develop other sensors (temperature, sound, metal…etc) depending on the task and theme.

 

More specifics on competition:

Pictures of Ranger Teams:

Important Dates:

• October 11th at 2:00pm - ROV in a Bag workshop and intro day – meet at Mountain Home and be prepared to drive to a local pool for workshop.

• Class will meet every week starting Oct 25th, Tuesdays at 2:00 – 3:30pm unless otherwise noted for vacation.

• Robotics Contest at Monterey Pacific College on May 12th– event starts early and lasts until around 5pm.

 

What we are providing and costs:

• We will provide a weekly meeting space to work on your design then time to test and practice in the YHS pool

• We will provide some of the basic materials (PVC, motors, wire, control box materials, Foam, and battery to test with).

• We will provide some classes to help you understand key concepts of electricity, density, and buoyancy. In addition to other guidance.

• The cost to participate is free to scout students but there may be other materials your team determines it needs and will need to purchase or raise money for.

• Ranger Class teams have a $50 entrance fee (split among members) Ranger class ROV’s require more equipment and will have a greater cost to build.

 

What we need from parents:

• We need a team mentor for each group. You do not need to have experience. Mentors help keep students focused and help them work through conflicts that arise from working in a group. Mentors need to help arrange time for groups to work on project.

• Parents will need to provide transportation to school and competition

• Arrange transportation for students to meet with team at other times

• Parents need to support the mentors

 

What we need from students:

• Good attitude and respect for others• Willingness to experiment and learn• Commitment to your team• Must work on research, writing, presentation, and ROV

outside of class. This means homework during the week.• Come prepared as a group to test ROV on Tuesday pool

days. Teams that do not work on ROV outside of class will fall behind.

 

Jill ZandeMATE Center 980 Fremont Street Monterey, CA 93940jzande@marinetech.org (831) 646-3082www.marinetech.org, www.mtsociety.org

Questions?