Oblivions (left to right): Loch Ludwig, Eric Anderson, Ryan Lowe, Kai Jung, Baliey Berg, Tom Galligan (Coach), Mariah Boyd, Austin Williams, Charles Ludwig (Coach), Kyle Mashek, and Patrick Albright. Not pictured: Maria Morris and Nasir Salcedo.Three County Robotics Teams Advance to World Championship
St. Mary's County was well represented at the Maryland State VEX IQ Championship on Saturday, Feb 20, in Towson. Seven county teams advanced to the State level after strong performances at the local CSM Maryland Qualifier and the Ft. Washington State Qualifier earlier in the month.
After some very tough competition against 31 of the best teams in Maryland, two local teams earned invitations to compete at the World Championship in Louisville, Kentucky April 19-23.
Ridge Elementary School: team RES Rockets earned the Elementary Excellence Award. Excellence is the top award and given to the team that exemplifies overall excellence in the VEX IQ robotics program. Areas considered for the award are rankings in the teamwork challenge, robot skills, programming skills, design and engineering, STEM Research Project presentation, other judged areas such as sportsmanship, team spirit and overall quality of the robotics program.
Spring Ridge Middle School: team Roboclan and team Oblivion both received invitations to the World Championship.
Team Roboclan received the STEM Research Project Award for their project on alternative energy sources. STEM Research is given to the team that best demonstrates, through their presentation and discussion with judges, their understanding of the research process and their ability to develop and effectively share the results of their STEM Research Project topic.
Team Oblivions skills ranking was excellent and they were invited to fill one of only two wildcard slots for the state based on their overall performance is Robot Skills.
The VEX IQ program continues to gain momentum in Southern Maryland, doubling in size over the past two years. The program is part of the VEX Robotics Competition (VRC) and was designed to bridge the gap between LEGO league and VEX. The program's success is largely due to the College of Southern Maryland (CSM), which has taken the lead on the region's robotics programs, from helping develop new teams to hosting the numerous robotics leagues and competitions. CSM is a critical component to our students' success in these programs.
Both Ridge Elementary and Spring Ridge Middle School share another common thread: both programs received their VEX IQ equipment and competition tables from The Patuxent Partnership (TPP) as part of a STEM initiative to bring robotics programs to local schools. According to The Partnership's Executive Director, Bonnie Green, "Robotics is one of the most popular STEM programs in the nation. Whether it is VEX, LEGO, FRC, Botball or some other division, having a viable robotics program in every school should be our goal if we are serious about growing our future STEM workforce."
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NGC) leadership clearly agrees. NGC recently gave a $10,000 grant to SMCPS in September 2015 to support the growing robotics demand. Jason Hayes, Supervisor of Science, identified 17 schools within the county to receive robotics equipment and / or support, to include implementing new VEX IQ programs at Lexington Park Elementary, Leonardtown Middle School and the Chesapeake Charter School.
Scott Stewart, NGC Corporate Lead Executive, has been a proponent of STEM-for-All activities and believes that STEM education and initiatives at an early age can change the way our children view themselves, and their decisions about education and career paths as they mature. "Initiatives such as robotics allow a wide range of students to experience STEM and STEM related education without being enrolled in specialized courses or class rooms. These are the students that we need to target for outreach … the ones that don't have daily access to the technology and equipment found in the STEM Academies" Said Stewart.
To learn more about Northrop Grumman's commitment to Corporate Citizenship, please visit www.northropgrumman.com.
NAVAIR Leaders to Provide Update at March 10 TPP/ANA Panel
The Patuxent Partnership and the Patuxent River Squadron #18 of the Association of Naval Aviation announce their next panel presentation "NAVAIR Update: Commander's Intent, Strategic Imperatives," on Thursday, March 10 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum.
Keynote Speaker, Vice Adm. Paul Grosklags, Commander, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) will be joined by naval senior leaders including: Rear Adm. Mark Darrah, Program Executive Officer for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons (PEO(U&W)), Rear Adm. Paul Sohl, Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers (COMFRC), Rear Adm. Dean Peters, Commander, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division(NAWCAD)/ Assistant Commander for Research and Engineering (AIR 4.0), NAVAIR and Rear Adm. Brian Corey, Commander, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD)/Assistant Commander for Test and Evaluation (AIR 5.0), NAVAIR.
Primary topics of the night will include NAVAIR's two strategic imperatives: improving current readiness and increasing speed of new capability to the Fleet. Vice Adm. Grosklags will kick off the panel discussion with a brief overview, and then toss the mic to the panelists, who will discuss efforts underway in their organizations. A question and answer period will follow.
The event is open to the public. Advance registration is $10.00 and strongly recommended at www.paxpartnership.org, or $15.00 at the door.
New date for NAWCAD brief with Ms. Leslie Taylor
The Patuxent Partnership (TPP) has rescheduled the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) presentation for Tuesday, March 29, at the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center. Check in begins at 7:30 a.m., and the program begins at 8:00 a.m.
The event is free and open to the public. To register for this event, visit TPP's website: http://paxpartnership.org/. Previous registrants do not need to register for the new date.
Vice Adm. Mike McConnell to Present "Cyber Threats—A National Perspective," March 21
The Patuxent Partnership invites its members, the business community, DoD and the public to a special presentation, "Cyber Threats—A National Perspective," with VADM Mike McConnell, USN (ret) on Monday, March 21, at the new Patuxent River Naval Air Museum, beginning at 5 p.m.
McConnell's career has spanned over 40 years focused on international development and foreign intelligence issues. His 29-year distinguished career as a US Navy intelligence officer included significant assignments that impacted national security issues.
After retiring from the Navy in 1996 as a Vice Admiral, Mr. McConnell joined Booz Allen, and led the development of the firm's Information Assurance business and the firm's Intelligence business focused on policy, transformation, homeland security, and intelligence analytics, rising to the position of senior vice president.
Upon being asked by President George W. Bush in 2007 to become the second Director of National Intelligence, he left Booz Allen and served as the DNI for two years under Presidents Bush and Obama.
The cost to attend this program is $15 and advance registration is required at http://paxpartnership.org/. All proceeds will be donated to the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum.
March 8 TPP/INCOSE Award Ceremony to Celebrate Special Award Winners
The 56th Annual St. Mary's County Science and Engineering Fair was held on February 13, 2016, at Great Mills High School. This year 106 entries were submitted from St. Mary's brightest young minds.
Join us on Mar. 8 at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum to celebrate the students who have won The Patuxent Partnership (TPP) and International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) Special Awards. Winners will showcase their projects and be available for in-depth explanations about their scientific process.
Special guest speaker Dr. David Kung, Professor of Mathematics, St. Mary's College of Maryland will speak about the importance of STEM education and the accomplishments made by each of the special award winners.
Four middle and four high school participants earned TPP Special Awards in the areas of Aeronautics/Aerospace, Electrical/Electronics, Environmental/Biological, and Unmanned Systems with cash prizes totaling $600.
2016 TPP Special Award Winners:
Aeronautics/Aerospace
Senior Category: David DeLuca
Project: Inducted Fan Motor
St. Mary's Ryken High School
Junior Category: Maya Lee
Project: OutSTANDing Origami
Spring Ridge Middle School
Electrical/Electronics
Senior Category: Jay Lee
Project: Creating a Spherical 3D Printer
Great Mills High School
Junior Category: Zoe Coughlan
Project: Child Alert
Spring Ridge Middle School
Environmental/Biological
Senior Category: James Kelly
Project: Development of a Low Cost Neuroprosthetic
Great Mills High School
Junior Category: Hannah Jarboe
Project: Does Ocean Acidification Affect the Chesapeake Bay?
Spring Ridge Middle School
Unmanned Systems Chief Engineer Award
Senior Category: Jonathan Yu
Project: Wireless Sensing of Blade Impacts
Great Mills High School
Junior Category: Ryan Williams
Project: STACS—Spatially Targeting Air Cooling System
Spring Ridge Middle School
Lead judges for TPP were Mr. Greg Olson, Wyle, and Mr. Robert "Bob" Ernst, NAVAIR. Judging for this year's TPP Special Awards was extremely challenging with a large number of extraordinary project entries.
The TPP/INCOSE awards reception is open to the public and advanced registration is requested. A $5 registration fee is requested to help cover the cost of refreshments. For more information, visit www.paxpartnership.org or contact Julie Lemmon, (301)866-1739 x 318.
TPP is a proud sponsor of the region's Science Fairs and Expos, as well as many other STEM related programs and competitions. With the help of our Benefactors, Board of Directors, and Corporate Members, TPP provides support including logistics, sponsorship, and judging. For more information on TPP, please visit www.paxpartnership.org.