Ending a long drought in Kempsville’s participation in the school division’s annual STEM Robotics Competition, three Kempsville teachers are forming a student team to field in the ever-growing competition spearheading the school division’s push for student achievement in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Physics teacher Mr. Paul Behson and technical education teachers Mr. Donald Nelson and Mr. Barry Garvin are seeking students interested in participating in the June event.  Both teachers have served as competition administrators years past.  Describing this year as “a trial year” for the team, Mr. Behson said the biggest goal for this year’s effort is to simply develop interest in the competition over the long-term.

“We have several people who want to be involved, several I think somewhat passionately,” Mr. Behson said. As of a mid-January interview, the team had not yet officially been launched yet, but Mr. Behson said the design process would begin in earnest in late January and early February.

The theme for this year’s competition is “Sustainability.”  Teams participate in one of two levels of competition: Level One designed for fourth-graders through high school seniors, and Level Two designed for high school students with robotics experience.  The specific tasks robots must complete in each level of competition have not yet been advertised, but each task will involve the 2014 theme and center on environmental issues.

Mr. Behson said problems with capacitors supplied by the competition’s administrators to the participating teams posed a major hold-up to beginning the design process in earnest, but team activity will increase after the proper equipment and materials arrive.  He estimated that for a first-year team the design process would last about three months.

“I think we’re going to start dividing up tasks, and even if we don’t physically have the equipment we can certainly learn about the process involved here,” Mr. Behson said.

This year’s team will include a group of physics students Mr. Behson hopes to involve in the robot’s programming and electronics design.  Mr. Behson said he plans on gradually incorporating lessons on electronics and programming into class time.

Senior A Salvato is one of the students interested in joining the team.  An AP Physics student, Salvato said the robotics competition would give him a chance to further explore his career interests.

“I’m interested in pursuing a career in electrical and computer engineering, so I feel like this would just be a good experience for me,” Salvato said.

Though Kempsville has not fielded a school team before, this year’s competition will not be the first involving Kempsville students.  Senior J Rawles, a student at the Advanced Technical Center, participated last year in the competition and will participate again with his ATC team in Level Two competition.  He said last year’s competition also centered on environmental issues and required robots to perform simulated beach clean-up tasks.

“It was a lot of fun being there,” Rawles said.  “There were a lot more people than I expected.”

Mr. Nelson said students interested in joining the team should come prepared to work, troubleshoot, and think on their feet.

“Not everything is going to fall into a kid’s lap,” Mr. Nelson said of the challenging nature of the design process.  “When you have the cell phone that does a million things and is right there in your palm – this ain’t it.  You got to be hungry for it, staying after school some, and you’re going to have to be thinking and examining things.”

Mr. Behson said the school division’s active promotion of the STEM competition falls in line with a larger push in education nationwide to “make America more competitive in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.”

“Everyone is behind this,” Mr. Behson said.  “We’re doing what we can to get Kempsville in.”