Titan Robotics Club takes on the world – Jackson Clarion Ledger

Nell Luter Floyd, Clarion-Ledger correspondent 4:09 p.m. CT May 23, 2017

Ridgeland High Robotics Team comes out in the top 6 percent of teams in the world; second place in the math division of the competition; and it ranked in the top 12 alliances in the world. Barbara Gauntt/The Clarion-Ledger

The Ridgeland High School Titan Robotics Club recently attended the attended the 2017 VEX World Robotics Championship in Louisville, Kentucky. The team progressed further than any Mississippi team ever has before, ranking in the top 6 percent of teams in the world.(Photo: Special to The Clarion-Ledger)

The Ridgeland High School Titan Robotics Club is full of surprises and perhaps that accounts for some of the creativity, innovation and thought students apply to the robots they design, build and put to the test in competitions.

One of the unique things is the number of languages spoken, said Bill Richardson, a Ridgeland High School instructor in engineering and robotics and adviser for the robotics club.

Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Russian, Punjabi, Guajarati, Hindi and Cambodian are among languages various members of the club, which has 30 members, speak in addition to English.

Three teams of students from the club recently attended the 2017 VEX World Robotics Championship in Louisville, Kentucky.

Team 7536A, comprised of students Randy Townsend, Keelan Horne, Victoria Jiang, Daniel Hits, John Michael Graves, Austin Chester, Jarrett Huddleston and Kelvin So, learned during the world championship how helpful speaking a second language can be. (A team member who speaks Spanish was able to communicate and form an alliance with another team from Colombia, South America during competition.)

While just advancing to the world championship that drew 563 teams from 40 countries is a huge feat, Team 7536A progressed further than any team in Mississippi ever has, Richardson said.

We did far better than expected, he said, due to the dedication of the students and myself to make sure we were the best we could be.

Heres how Team 7536A fared:

It ranked 35th out of 563 teams at the championship based on skills in programming a robot and driving it. That means theyre in the top 6 percent of teams in the world, Richardson.

It earned second place in the math division of the competition.

It ranked in the Top 12 alliances in the world. Thats impressive because the competition requires teams build alliances with other teams.

Presented by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation, the VEX Robotics Competition is said-to-be the largest and fastest growing middle school and high school robotics program globally with more than 17,000 teams from 40 countries playing in over 1,350 competitions worldwide.

Students learn robotic skills through VEX Educational Robotics, a curriculum designed to help students in grades 7-12 learn fundamentals of robotics and the engineering design process while using CAD software and VEX classroom and competition robotics kits.

Each year, an engineering challenge is presented in the form of a game; the recent one called for building robots that could toss cubes and oversized stars.

While robotics most often appeals to male students and few female students, thats not exactly the case at Ridgeland High School.

We have about nine girls in my engineering classes and six of those are in competition robotics, Richardson said. Thats a high number.

Many of the students about one third in the robotics club also devote time to the schools band program.

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There arent a lot of athletes in robotics, Richardson said, noting an exception is senior Randy Townsend who has played football and baseball at Ridgeland High School and plans to study engineering at Mississippi State University in the fall. This is more brain than brawn.

Richardson, who also teaches STEM class and robotics class at Olde Towne Middle School in Ridgeland, said since the teams returned from the world championship hes noticed that numerous middle school students have shown an interest in robotics.

Ever since we got back from the world championship, there have been more students coming to me saying I want to be in robotics, what do I do? he said. Ive had several others say How do I get in that engineering class? How do I get on the teams?

The club helps students build leadership skills, Richardson said. Students designated as team captains are responsible for working with students who build, program and engineer the robots as well as those who design them and keep whats known as engineering notebook up to date.

In addition to building engineering skills, students learn to work as a team, to collaborate and persevere when there are problems to solve and to talk to others, Richardson said.

Robotics club members learn to multi-task and hone their time management skills. Said Beverly Graves, whose son, John Michael Graves, is in the club.

A lot of what they do is done after school and, depending upon a students schedule, may be done during the school day, she said. Theyre busy kids, and theyre all really great kids. The upper classmen are supportive of the lower classmen and want to teach them what they know and to hang out with them.

Many of the students plan to study engineering, coding or the STEM fields after high school graduation, Richardson said.

Kelvin So, a senior who speaks Cantonese and served as a team captain, plans to study mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama next year. He credits participation in the robotics program with making him a better person.

My decision-making is better and so is my problem solving and leadership, he said.

Daniel Hits, a junior who has participated in the robotics for three years and also plays trumpet in the school band and participates in JROTC, said hes drawn to robotics because of the challenges.

It teaches you how to deal with risks and how to live with mistakes, he said.

Hits said he has also learned how to handle tension thanks to competitions that proved to be tough. You learn to re-group and chill out when it is stressful, he said.

Sneha Patel, an eighth grader at Olde Towne Middle School who participates on a middle school robotics team and helps out the high school robotics club, said she likes robotics because it offers a way to be part of a team without requiring athletic ability.

We can be competitive in something that doesnt involve athletics, she said, noting that she plans a career in possibly aerospace or mechanical engineering.

Victoria Jiang, a junior, said the diversity of the students, their knowledge and knack at working together makes it worthwhile. I really like teamwork, she said.

Keelan Horne, a junior who plays saxophone in the school band, credits robotics with improving his communication skills. He has participated in robotics since middle school.

When I first joined robotics, I didnt talk that much, he said. But robotics improves your social skills. I talk to everybody at school now.

Jarrett Huddleston, a tenth grader, said robotics draws on one of his strengths.

Im a builder (of robots), he said. I can see it. Ever since I was little, I liked how things were put together and worked.

John Michael Graves, who uses CAD software to draw robot designs, remembers the world championship every day by wearing the buttons he collected on a team hoodie.

Getting to know students on the team and working together that make robotics worthwhile, said John Michael Graves, who plays trombone in the school band.

Were all close friends, he said. I think thats part of the reason for our success.

Beverly Grave said shes amazed by the success of the robotics club and the knowledge the students have gained.

You hear so many times about Mississippi being on the bottom, but this is something positive, she said. Were proud of what theyve done.

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Titan Robotics Club takes on the world - Jackson Clarion Ledger