Monthly Archives: February 2017

China Is Now The World’s Largest Producer of Solar Power … – Collective Evolution

Posted: February 13, 2017 at 9:22 am

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Unlike fossil fuels, which use finite resources that could eventually become too expensive to retrieve, solar power, along with other renewable energy sources, is generally unlimited in availability. Solar power generation has become a popular alternative to conventional energy sources in recent years, even in less developed nations, whoare trying to reduce dependence on expensive imported fuels.

Of the countries of the world taking advantage of solar, it is China, the most populous in the world, who reigns supreme. The National Energy Administration (NEA) made the revelation after the nationdoubledits installedphotovoltaic (PV) capacity in 2016. By the end of the year, China had hit a capacity of77.42 gigawatts.

Worth celebrating? If just considering raw numbers, it certainly is. But Chinas massive population makes it much less impressive. In fact, solar energy only represents one percent of the countrys energy output.

However, the country has announced plans to focuseven more attention onclean energy, seeking to add more than 110 gigawatts within the next three years. Such a goal could help the nation increase theproportion of its renewable energy use to 20%by 2030. To date, that number stands at a mere 11%.

To help the nation reach its goal, China plans to put more than $360 billion into renewable energy projects, including solar, wind, nuclear, and hydropower. The country currently relies heavily on coal, theburning of whichcreatessmog, soot, acid rain, and toxic air emissions, while also generating waste likeash, sludge, toxic chemicals, and waste heat.

Mining, transporting, and storing coal alsopollutesthe land, water, and air. But Chinas new plan could help the nation to finally obtain cleaner skies. The plan will also boost the economy, creating over 13 million jobs.

Chinas expansive land makes the idea of large solar energy farms even more plausible. In fact,Shandong, Xinjiang, and Henan showed the greatest solar capacity increase of Chinas provinces last year. And Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai, and Inner Mongolia lead the pack of the most overall capacity at the end of 2016.

The fact that China is willing to pour out such a hefty amount of money shows the commitment it is ready to make. And such a dedication to environmentally friendly sources ought to put pressure on other nations to work harder to achieve necessary goals for a cleaner and healthier planet.

Ireland recently joined the pack of noteworthy nations in this regard, passing a bill that would make it thefirst country to rid itself offossil fuels. And Iceland is among some of the countries seeking out creative ways to divest from fossil fuels, drilling the worlds largestwell for geothermal energy.

Though its unfair to assume every country will be able to complete with Chinas increases, it should give countries like the U.S., who are falling behind on improvements, some much-needed motivation to implement policies that move away from fossil fuels and take advantage of clean energy, as opposed to protect the fossil fuel industry, which is of current concern.

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China Is Now The World's Largest Producer of Solar Power ... - Collective Evolution

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Happy Darwin Day! German Natural History Museum Is Our 2017 Censor of the Year – Discovery Institute

Posted: at 9:22 am

The often-heard assertion that a scientific "consensus" exists in favor of orthodox Darwinian theory is true on the surface, but otherwise deceptive. Yes, a large majority of scientists if pressed, especially in public, would hastily affirm that neo-Darwinism explains the development of complex biological forms.

We know, however, that this apparent agreement conceals a great deal of intellectual and personal turmoil, just behind the facade. The unanimity is maintained by a tight discipline that includes outright censorship. That's why every year Discovery Institute's Center for Science & Culture recognizes a Censor of the Year, an outstanding example of a person or institution that contributed to this pro-Darwin "consensus" through intimidation, agitation, or professional retaliation.

Now, with the debate about intelligent design (ID) taking place on an increasingly international stage, we reach across the Atlantic to name Germany's Natural History Museum in Stuttgart as our 2017 Censor of the Year.

If you follow us at Evolution News, you'll already have an inkling of the story that lies behind this choice. On Friday we announced a new Senior Fellow with the CSC, the distinguished German paleo-entomologist Gnter Bechly, formerly curator of amber and fossil insects at the Natural History Museum. In welcoming Dr. Bechly, a specialist in dragonflies, we left out one thing. After coming out as an ID sympathizer in 2015, following his private exploration of the evidence for design in nature, Bechly was the victim of retaliation and censorship by his institution. Though the addition of Dr. Bechly to our scientific community is a wonderful boon to us, the ensuing parting of the ways with his museum came with heavy personal, professional, and health costs.

As told in the documentary Revolutionary (see an excerpt below), his doubts on evolution were first stirred in 2009 when he organized an exhibition to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Origin of Species and the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth. The exhibit included a display of a "scale" weighing the Origin against a collection of ID books by Michael Behe, Stephen Meyer, William Dembski, and others. Bechly's "mistake" was to actually read those books.

This commenced a journey for him, motivated by scientific curiosity, not religion. As he recalls in the film, he had no religion to begin with, but only a love of and fascination with nature and animals.

He kept his interest in and support of ID private until October 2015, when he broached the subject on Facebook and a personal web page. Even then, Gnter kept his ID writing strictly separate from his work for the museum. But word got out. He has shared it all with us, though some must be kept back, including names and positions, to protect innocent parties.

It began with strange smiles from colleagues, icy faces, and backstabbing gossip, moving on finally to open hostility. Without warning, his applications to acquire new fossil material -- say, a collection of mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber -- were blocked by unprecedented bureaucratic obstacles. He learned that a position he relied on, his amber preparator (handler), was proposed to go unfilled after its previous occupant retired.

Emails among his fellow scientists asked, "Have you already heard that Bechly has become a creationist? How shall we react and what can we do about it?" Conspiratorial meetings took place behind his back, as a colleague wondered, "How can we help Gnter?" as if he were unwell. Co-workers placed phone calls to scientists outside the museum to ask if they knew about Bechly's turn to "creationism."

He was told that the large amber collection he was responsible for as curator would be moved away from his office. He was directed to resign from a position as ombudsman for the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation), a research-funding group.

A colleague sought to draw out evidence of his heresy in a seemingly friendly email exchange, after which Gnter was summoned for a discussion of his future at the institution. Says Dr. Bechly, he was told that "as a big threat to the credibility and reputation of the museum," he was "no longer welcome, and that it would be appreciated if I would decide to quit." The museum also informed him that colleagues no longer want to collaborate with him.

To reinforce the impression that Bechly would no longer enjoy a comfortable, supportive, and productive professional life there, the museum deleted his webpages (which made no mention of ID) and erased him from its own website. It dismissed him as scientific head of a major exhibition he had conceived and designed, "Life in the Amber Forest." Dr. Bechly was now forced to report as an underling to a colleague with no expertise in his area. He asked if he was being accused of any misconduct, and received the answer that, no, that certainly wasn't the case. On the contrary, his 17 years of work at the museum had been exemplary.

Seventeen years of fine work! And he was being gradually forced out over privately held views. "After a few days of soul searching and long discussions with my wife," says Bechly, "I decided that it did not make sense anymore to continue working in a hostile environment that makes productive research and collaboration with colleagues impossible." He resigned this past December, and now joins us.

"It was offensive, humiliating, and unfair," Bechly concludes in an apt summary. A few weeks after his resignation he received a troubling medical diagnosis of severe heart problems. He faces heart surgery later this month.

His story reminds us of many other cases, some involving past Censors of the Year. It recalls in particular evolutionary biologist Richard Sternberg's experience at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. That was after Dr. Sternberg published a peer-reviewed article by ID proponent Dr. Stephen Meyer in a journal that Sternberg edited, Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. (I wrote about that in the Wall Street Journal and at National Review Online.) For his offense -- editing an article! -- Sternberg suffered retaliation including being denied access to specimen collections, having his master key taken away from him, and an internal investigation of his religious and political belief. As with Bechly, colleagues refused to work him, and he was eventually forced out of his position.

This is how the "consensus" for Darwinian evolution is maintained. Oh, not only or primarily through outright censorship. Vanity is the single most effective tool that ensures uniformity of opinion. Men are monsters of vanity -- males especially, but women too. The pressure to be on the prestige side of any significant disagreement is intense, a fact often unacknowledged unless you are pretty honest with yourself. This holds across science, the media, education, politics, religion, and other fields.

Dr. Bechly was among the contingent of ID-friendly scientists present at the Royal Society meeting ("New Trends in Evolutionary Biology") in London last November. Another scientist on hand, we noted, a senior figure with views on Darwin overlapping with ours but allergic to ID itself, was visibly skittish about even being seen talking with us. So it goes.

Doubts about Darwin are also held in check by fear of what will happen to you if the suspicion gets around that you're in league with the "creationists." That word alone -- a masterpiece agitprop tool in the hands of Darwin enforcers, applied to everyone from Biblical literalists to the most sophisticated scientists examining objective evidence of design in nature -- does all the work of intimidation needed to keep most people in line.

But fear of punishment is a major factor too. When a scientist really does cross the line, as Gnter Bechly did, the hammer almost always comes down, ruthlessly. So it proved at Stuttgart's Natural History Museum.

Gnter's case, like others, is revealing. We know of many science professionals whose career or research would be endangered if we said a word here about their ID sympathies. Instances like that come to our attention all the time, and prudence keeps us from saying more.

Someday, a tipping point will come. Numerous closets will open in a swell of confessions: "I've doubted the straight Darwin story for years." "I've long suspected that design or teleology of some kind must have played a role in evolution, but I would never admit it till now." And at that time we'll stop giving out Censor of the Year awards. But that day has not yet arrived.

I'm on Twitter. Follow me @d_klinghoffer.

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South Carroll Robotics teams compete at Maryland State Robotics Competition – Carroll County Times

Posted: at 9:22 am

Using controllers to command their robots, South Carroll High School's robotics teams competed against other robotics teams from around the state. Mount St. Mary's University and STEMaction Inc. hosted 48 teams who competed in the 2017 Maryland FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Tech Challenge Championship Sunday in Emmitsburg.

A total of 107 teams from Maryland and Washington, D.C., went through six qualifying tournaments to determine which would attend the Maryland Championship. The top four teams will advance to the East Super Regional in Pennsylvania in March and from there to the FIRST Championships in St. Louis in April.

South Carroll High School teacher Sean Lee mentors FIRST Robotics teams 6284 RoboCavs Black and 10001 RoboCavs Silver. He explained that the teams each compete in five matches. During the two and a half minute matches, the teams create two-robot alliances who work together to shoot small balls into goals, claim infrared beacons and raise large balls.

"You have to accumulate as many wins as you can," Lee explained. "You have to learn to cooperate with your enemies. It's all about gracious professionalism. We encourage teamwork and cooperation as much as competition. We encourage the kids to go out and do their best."

The students build and program their robots throughout the school year. They continually update and modify the robots.

"It can take weeks or months to get the robots to do what you want," Lee said. "There's plenty of learning opportunities. We don't call them mistakes."

The students compete with two controllers and each button has a specific function.

"Each function is a design challenge that the kids have to work on," Lee said. "They have to decide what they want the robot to concentrate on."

The South Carroll High program is sponsored by Bechtel, Leidos and the W.R. Grace Foundation. Students also raise additional funds for the program through fundraisers and the tuition paid to attend a robotics summer camp.

Lee said the program started five years ago and only had eight students. Now 50 students are involved in it.

"They get real engineering experience," Lee said. "We've graduated 23 kids through the program. Twenty-one are in engineering or science related fields at major universities."

Lee said when the program began, there were no female students involved. The program now has 10 females who participate, and they have formed their own team, RoboCavs Silver.

"There's a friendly rivalry between the teams," Lee said. "The girls tend to be more focused on the engineering process, allowing them to produce a more reliable robot. The boys are more about thinking outside of the box. We hope to combine the two thought processes to make a great team next year."

South Carroll High School senior Lauren Bahnsen, of Mount Airy, said she joined the program because she wants to be an engineer.

"I'm learning to appreciate the difference between the physical and theoretical world," Bahnsen said. "Earlier this season, we wanted the robot to lift the ball, but when we were designing it we realized that it would be more difficult than we expected."

Bahnsen said they ended up "scrapping the whole idea and deciding to make a complimentary robot."

"We focused on doing things that other teams wouldn't think of," Bahnsen said. "We designed it to help our ally as much as possible by delivering balls and going after beacons."

Junior Chris Scalzi, of Westminster, said he "really liked the competition this year."

"It's neat to see the other robots. You see a lot of cool ideas," Scalzi said.

Senior Michael Shockey, of Mount Airy, said he joined the program because he was "into building things. I fell in love with it."

"It's an experience you don't usually get," Shockey said. "I love the challenge."

Shockey said the team members "really work together well and everyone put forth their best effort."

While neither of the teams were chosen for the finals, the RoboCavs Silver finished with 2 wins and 3 losses, and the RoboCavs Black finished with 1 win and 4 losses.

michel.elben@carrollcountytimes.com

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twitter.com/MichelElben

6284 RoboCavs Black

Scott Simpson, Sander Cochran, Chris Scalzi, Connor Gleason, Matt Dolecki, Alex Seidel, Jacob Sabonis, Zach Sweeney, Matt Graham, Cole Stricker, Michael Shockey, Jackson Foran, Jacob Wolff, Mat Erickson, Aidan Yeo

10001 RoboCavs Silver

Veronika Fermin, Joy Nunez, Sydney Arcuri, Lucia Hadsall, Chloe Kerwin, Lizzy Gabel, Allie King, Anna Plass, Madison Snyder, Lauren Bahnsen

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Cave Spring High School’s Robotics Club wins in the First Tech Challenge Robotics competition – Roanoke Times

Posted: at 9:22 am

Cave Spring High School's Robotics Club competed against 50 teams in the First Tech Challenge Robotics Competition at Norfolk State University on February 4.

The club won the following awards:

- Second place team alliance

- 1st Place Controls Award - Goes to team with best controls design.

- 2nd place Inspire Award - Goes to team that has a top robot, engineering designs, notebook, outreach, and shows a lot of effort to help other teams in competition

- 2 team members selected to state semi-finals for Dean's list award

- Qualified for States Championship

We had an amazing weekend and even though we had a TON of issues the entire day, we always found a way to overcome the challenge at hand.

Submitted by Scott Hudson and CSHS Robotics Rampage

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Young Alberta engineers face off in robotics showdown – CBC.ca

Posted: at 9:22 am

Alberta's top young engineers faced off in Edmonton this weekend with robots they designed and built themselves.

Telus World of Science hosted25 teams from middle schools and high schools across the province for the First Tech Challenge.

The students spent months working on their robots.Each teamhad two minutes in a ring on Sunday to show what it could do.

Trevor Dawyd, who attendsLillian Osborne High School in Edmonton, said there's a lot of pressure on the teams to get their robots to pick up little plastic balls and shoot them accurately into a round hoop in the short time frame.

"In two minutes, we try to get as many points as possible," he said.

His team's robot, which, like all the teams' robots, was supposed to haveboth self-operating and control-operating options, struggledin the early round with the autonomousfunction.

Dawyd said they took what they learned there to make improvements.

"We've learned troubleshooting skills and then also working with teammates to get along and overcoming obstacles,"he said.

Connor Bresee, who attends Lacombe Composite High School, said his team also had difficultywith the autonomous function.

"We just didn't turn it on because it has a chance to make the robot's driver-controlled one, which does work, not work, which was unfortunate," Bresee said.

He said the process, which has basically been one of trial and error,has taught him the value of not giving up.

"Resiliency and determination is a lot of what I learned today," Breseesaid.

"All the pieces to make it work really well are there, but they need to be refined so that they're more accurate."

Jennifer Gemmell, the program manager of Telus World of Science's science garage, said the competition gives students a taste of what engineering and robotics could be like as a career.

"There's lots of creativity. There's lots of different ways to express yourself with your robot. There's lots of different ways to complete the same challenge," Gemmel said.

"It's a really unique and exciting and modern way of kids getting to do something that will actually have an effect later on."

roberta.bell@cbc.ca

@roberta__bell

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Local students go head-to-head in national robotics competition – WHAG

Posted: at 9:22 am

EMMITSBURG, Md. - All eyes were on the PNC Mount Saint Mary's Sports Complex as 48 robotics teams and over 500 middle and high school students compete in Maryland's first tech challenge championship.

Students practiced hands on STEMactivities then teamed up to build driving robots. These teams went through 6 qualifying tournaments to make it to this championship.

"These little particles and putting them into center vortexes to earn points and capping balls and moving stuff around on the field while being cooperative so competing and being cooperative with the people they're competing against" , said Zachary Trautwein, a STEM teacher at Southern Garrett high school.

The first tech challenge program is designed to inspire students to become technology and engineering innovators.

"Trying to build robots that's are eighteen by eighteen to compete with a certain challenge since then. And were at the state championship to see who will move on to super regionals to see who will go on to St Louis in April", said Mariah Bolden, a STEM student at Southern Garrett high school.

"This is a great opportunity for the students its shows that we as a society values science and engineering. It gives them a place to showcase their skills, they're going to do stuff here that they probably aren't doing in school in regular science class.", said Jeffrey Simmons, the Dean of Natural Science and Math at Mount Saint Mary's University.

In this program, the students are also strongly encouraged to work as a team to cooperate to foster a culture of gracious professionalism.

The top competitive teams will advance to compete at the final robotics championship held in St. Louis in April of this year.

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Cornerstone Prep robotics team brings home trophy in first year – MDJOnline.com

Posted: at 9:22 am

ACWORTH Ten Cornerstone Preparatory Academy students worked like a well-oiled machine last semester by building a robot that took home the first trophy for the schools robotics team at a regional competition.

The fifth- and sixth-grade students from the private kindergarten to 12th grade school in Acworth joined forces to become Stormbots Cornerstones first Lego Robotics team this school year.

The team took home its first trophy, celebrating the teams good sportsmanship, at a Georgia Institute of Technology-sponsored competition in December in Roswell, the first the team had participated in.

Students programmed a robot no bigger than a shoe box to perform tasks such as pushing, pulling and grabbing small objects, said team member David Baines, an 11-year-old fifth-grader from Kennesaw.

In addition to programming the robot before the competition, the students created a five-minute skit to perform for the competitions judges.

Theres a lot more to (robotics) said fifth-grader Isaac Sanchez, 10, of Acworth.

Teams had to present a problem and solution for an environmental issue that affects both animals and humans to satisfy the competitions Animal Allies theme.

The Cornerstone teams skit addressed the possible extinction of honey bees, which is predicted to severely impact humans, said David.

After (honey bees are) extinct, (mankind) will have less than four years of life left, he said.

The skit featured fifth-graders Madelyn Beatty and Sarah Sanabia dressed as bees while fifth-grader Keaton McCollum performed in a head-to-toe yellow outfit as pollen. Patrick Garner, an 11-year-old sixth-grader, performed in a beekeeper outfit provided by Kennesaws Hometown Honey.

Cornerstone won the core values award for their teamwork, and their robots performance landed the team a ticket to a super regionals competition.

The team finished its season after competing in the super regionals on Jan. 14.

With the season over, the fifth-graders are buzzing to continue building the team next year and bring home more trophies.

Cornerstone Prep has an enrollment of 480 students and was founded in 2004.

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Cougar robotics team advance to Super-Regionals – Times Bulletin

Posted: at 9:22 am

The Van Wert robotics Team won medals over the weekend at the state championship. They will now advance to the North Super-Regional competition. (Photo courtesy of Bob Spath)

The team overcame a couple losses in early rounds, persevering and eventually landing a partnership with the number two team going into the semi-finals. After sweeping the first best of three semi-finals, the team faced the top seeded team and, after losing the first match in the finals, the Van Wert High School robotics team along with the robotics team called TBD from Aurora, Ohio, took the final two matches.

Only five teams from Ohio advance to the next level; winning the state championship advances the Van Wert team to the North Super-Regional competition in Iowa at the end of March where the top teams from 11 states will compete for coveted spots in the World Championship.

Coaches Zane McElroy and Bob Spath are thrilled to have the opportunity to represent Van Wert at the Super-Regional competition.

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Robotics Competition slated for Monday – San Angelo Standard Times

Posted: at 9:22 am

Jerry Lackey, Special to the Standard-Times Published 2:20 p.m. CT Feb. 12, 2017 | Updated 18 hours ago

The Robotics Competition at the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo.(Photo: contributed)

For the second year, Robotics Competition takes the spotlight Monday at the 85th San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo in the Auto Wrangler Livestock Pavilion.

The popular sport is open for 4-H and FFA teams, plus public, private and home-school teams.

Registration is from 8:30 to 10 a.m., and the first round starts at 10:10 for juniors in grades 3-5. Intermediates and seniors will follow. Each division will have two rotations.

Monday at the San Angelo Fairgrounds is perhaps at a slower pace, as barns are cleaned and prepared for the next wave of livestock. The Wells Fargo Pavilion Commercial Exhibits, Creative Arts Building and midway food vendors open at 10 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m. The Alon Carnival will be open from 5-11 p.m.

Tuesday is move-in day for Junior Market Barrow in the swine section of the Auto Wrangler Livestock Pavilion. Across midway at the 1st Community Credit Union Spur Arena, Ag Mechanics Show entries will be setting up starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday. Judges will spend Wednesday evaluating and placing an expected number of entries of more than 600.

Theres much more stock show and four more rodeo performances in this final week. The stock show will culminate with the Junior Premium Sale at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and the rodeos last performance will also be Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with the $100,000 Chute-Out.

Meanwhile, during a lull in competition while new entries arrive, this would be a good time to highlight the Ambassador program which plays a very important part in the SASSRA program, not only during rodeo time but year around.

Some of us remember when the primary function of the Ambassadors was to set pivots for the grand entry and post colors for the National Anthem. Since that time the program has grown to 12 members on the drill team.

These days, the ambassadors perform fast-paced drills during rodeo performances in San Angelo, and around the Lone Star State. The group is required to attend numerous, extensive practices year round to ensure the drills go off without a hitch.

Drill team members must be excellent riders and horsewomen. Page Allison, a junior at Wall High School, is captain. Lauren Feller, who attends Irion County High School in Mertzon, is co-captain.

Other ambassadors include: Shayleigh Albert, Miles Junior High; Mikaela Avila, Wall student; Jordayn Berryhill, Bronte High School; Caylee Hardin, Christoval High School; Susannah Mann, Christoval 8th grader; Lana Mitchell, Christoval senior; Logan Price, Lake View High School sophomore; Maricela Rojas, Christoval senior; Daisy Shivers, Grape Creek High School; Abby Walker, Christoval 8th grader; and Hanna Weatherly, Bronte High School senior.

Jerry Lackey(Photo: Standard-Times file photo)

Jerry Lackey is agriculture editor emeritus. Contact him at jlackey@wcc.net .

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Center Grove robotics team headed to state competition – Daily Journal

Posted: at 9:22 am

The challenge handed to them months ago was to make a robot that would earn points by shooting balls into two corners of a field and into a middle vestibule.

And now, the robots they have spent nearly six months building will compete at a statewide competition.

Center Groves FIRST Tech Challenge teams Panic in the Build Room 8149 and Cyber Storm 6190 will compete at a state competition later this month.

Fourteen-year-old Kris Huff and mentor Dave Stevenson work to finish up the installation of a new motor on Tuesday, February 7, 2017. The Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 will compete in a state competition later this month. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

Thirteen-year-old Jacob Tallman programs a change in the movements of his team's robot on Tuesday, February 7, 2017. The Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 will compete in a state competition later this month. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

Members of the Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 watch as their robot shoots a ball toward a target on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at Center Grove High School. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

Members of the Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 work to replace a faulty motor on their robot Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at Center Grove High School. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

L-R Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 members 15-year-olds Ethan Matei and Josh Stevenson work together to replace a faulty motor on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at Center Grove High School. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 member 15-year-old Ethan Matei attaches a plug to the end of a motor on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at Center Grove High School. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

A cellphone is used to control the robot of Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at Center Grove High School. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

Members of the Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 practice using their robot on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at Center Grove High School. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

A cellphone and video game controllers are used to control the robot of Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at Center Grove High School. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 members work together to replace a faulty motor on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at Center Grove High School. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

The junior varsity teams are made up of mostly eighth and ninth grade students who can later join the FIRST Red Alert team at Center Grove High School that is mostly sophomore and upper class students. The junior varsity teams earned a berth to state by placing among the top three or four teams at qualifying events across the state, mentor Mark Horne said.

In September, the 28 students, split between the two teams, got their task at the same time as other teams across the world. No blueprints on what the robot should look like or how to build it were shared.

Students had to come up with every aspect of their robot themselves, said Imogen Horne, a freshmen and team captain for Panic in the Build Room.

We figured out what parts of the game we wanted to do, she said.

Then, they got to work.

Students split up into groups and each group came up with a few ideas for one part of the robot. Then, the team came together and decided which ideas were the best and used those as the blueprint of their robot.

We picked the best ideas to build the prototype, she said.

The robots have one cellphone strapped to the top and a second cellphone with a controller allows the students to control their robot.

Now that the state competition is a few weeks away, students may make improvements to their prototype, versus building another robot from scratch, Horne said.

In the past few months, students had to run their robot and decide what worked and what ideas they could come up with to improve their creation, said Annalise Tugan, an eighth-grader at Center Grove Middle School North.

It was a lot of trial and error to put it together and make right, she said.

Their Cyberstorm robot cost $15 to make, with most of the parts coming from recycled parts from past years, said Walker Grove, an eighth-grade student at Center Grove Middle School Central.

Students must make the decisions on how to build their robots to do what they want them to do. Any parts they cant salvage from past projects can be ordered at specialty robotic part websites, students said.

And students must stick to the budget. Each team gets around $5,000 for their season, with money coming from sponsorships and student fundraising. Most of the budget is used up with registration fees for competition, with some competitions costing a few thousand dollars for students to participate in, Horne said.

About 162 students participate in the robotics program district-wide and even students who dont find themselves drawn to engineering or actually building the robot can find a purpose on the robotics team doing other jobs, such as marketing and fundraising, Horne said. The teams work out of the school districts new innovation center, with their own separate area.

There are a lot of different aspects to it, he said.

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