FSU Scientists Invite Student Inventors To Test Their Underwater Robotics Skills

– April 24, 2014

Nine teams from Florida and Alabama will test homemade robotic creations and their own mettle in the second annual Deep-C ROV competition.

(From DothanFirst.com) — The event is sponsored by the Deep-C Consortium, a group of 10 universities and research institutions that received a $20 million grant from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative to conduct research on the impact of the oil spill and do educational outreach. Months of preparation preceded this year’s competition where students will showcase their remotely operated vehicles (ROV) and demonstrate how effectively they perform scientific missions in a series of underwater competitions.

“The purpose of these competitions is to excite and prepare students for majors and careers as scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians in order to meet the growing demands of the 21st century,” said Eric Chassignet, director of the Deep-C Consortium and the Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies, which houses the consortium’s efforts at Florida State. “ROV competitions are a way to engage and challenge students in these fields.”
The student teams are from Madison, Ala., Jacksonville, Ala., Bayou la Batre, Ala., Tallahassee, Fla., Milton, Fla., Apopka, Fla. and Pensacola, Fla.

The event’s activities, hosted by the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) in Alabama, will begin on Friday afternoon and conclude Sunday night. In addition to two rounds of competition and student design presentations, planned activities include workshops, a guest lecture by University of South Alabama Associate Professor Will Patterson, and a trip aboard the RV Alabama Discovery. The competition schedule is as follows:

SATURDAY, APRIL 26
ROUND ONE OF COMPETITION 9 A.M. – 12:45 P.M.
ROUND TWO OF COMPETITION 1 P.M. – 4:45 P.M.
BISHOP STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, MOBILE, ALA.

SUNDAY, APRIL 27
DESIGN PRESENTATIONS/TEAM INTERVIEWS
8 A.M. – 11 A.M.
AWARDS CEREMONY 4 P.M.
DISL, DAUPHIN ISLAND, ALA.

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