Inaugural North Dakota Signature event offers engineering challenges, fun and future career pathways
Robots did indeed invade Grand Forks from Nov. 1-2, but teams of high school students from across the nation and Canada ultimately emerged victorious in a VEX Robotics competition.
And one of those teams will soon be bringing their robots to compete on the world stage.
Early November was when those students, from dozens of high school robotics teams, came to the Alerus Center in Grand Forks to compete in the inaugural North Dakota Signature, a VEX Robotics Signature Event. The event, a challenging test of students’ robotics skills, was hosted by the UND College of Engineering & Mines, and was presented by Bifrost Manufacturing.
In the North Dakota Signature, student teams pit their robots — wheeled, motorized platforms that are able to grasp and manipulate objects — against other teams. The goal is to earn points by stacking plastic donuts on portable pegs, then moving those pegs to certain spots in a set amount of time.
The kicker? The students had built these robots themselves, under the tutelage of a coach and to the league specifications of VEX Robotics.
Andrew Dahlen, organizer of the event and UND lecturer in Mechanical Engineering, said holding it in the Alerus Center, where UND plays football, was a chance to honor the students’ efforts in an impressive fashion.
“We’re just celebrating their talent,” Dahlen said. “These young folks are doing the all the right things, and we want to elevate what they’re doing by showing it to the public and giving them that recognition on a grand stage.”
Dahlen, clad in a green suit that evoked one of UND’s school colors, emceed the event and gave commentary, as students set their robots to stacking the donuts and placing the pegs inside an enclosed area— and in a race against another team.
But the goals of the North Dakota Signature (and other VEX Robotics competitions) are twofold: to present a fun and challenging robotics competition for the students, while giving them a chance to become interested in careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields.
“We need to do something to get young folks excited and interested in STEM and engineering science careers,” Dahlen said. “Manufacturers are talking about the same thing. We must have that impactful experience to get folks excited and interested and point them in the right direction, then show them, explicitly, these are future career paths.”
Killian Erickson, founder and CEO of Bifrost Manufacturing, agreed. He said sponsoring the North Dakota Signature helps expose students to careers that are needed at places like his advanced manufacturing business.
“Our primary goal is building awareness of who we are, and developing the workforce for the future,” he said, adding that that exposure begins in places such as VEX Robotics tournaments.
Coach Annette Beattie, from Valley City High School in Valley City, N.D., said the competition gives her students the chance to put into practice things they learn in their robotics programs. It also leads to careers.
“I actually have some kids who have graduated from the program, and one is in engineering and the other one is in a teaching STEM field,” she said. “This is definitely a chance for them to take this competition experience and apply it to a career.”
One student, Ezra Dehaan, a junior from a team based in Sioux Falls, S.D., said being involved with VEX Robotics helped influence his educational path beyond high school, as he is looking at a STEM education at the university level.
“I’m thinking Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering at the moment,” he said. And VEX Robotics “is a great way to get into it.”
In total, 50 teams from across North America competed in the event. One team, TenTon Robotics, of West Vancouver School District #45, in West Vancouver, B.C., won the Excellence Award, which qualifies them to head to the VEX Robotics World Championship.
The event is set to be held in May and will take place in Dallas at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.
Other award winners include:
- Tournament Champions, team ISLANDERS, of Tiger Robotics, from Harrisburg, S.D.
- Tournament Champions, team Phoenix Rising, also of Tiger Robotics, from Harrisburg, S.D.
- Design Award, team WASHED, of Brownell Talbot College Preparatory School, from Omaha, Neb.
- Robot Skills Champion, team Pika Pika, of Pika Pika Robotics, from Kaysville, Utah.
- Judges Award, team Gen Z, of Generation Robotics, from Georgetown, Texas.
- Innovate Award, team Southland Blaze, of Southland High School, from Adams, Minn.
- Think Award, team 88909A, of BASIS Independent Silicon Valley, San Jose, Calif.
- Amaze Award, team Pika Pika, of Pika Pika Robotics, from Kaysville, Utah.
- Build Award, team Cereal Killers, of Cross Country High School, from Stromsburg, Neb.
- Create Award, team Gael Force Kittens, of Dublin High School, from Dublin, Calif.
- Sportsmanship Award, team Underdogs B, from Crown Point High School, from Crown Point, Ind.
UND Communications interns Elizabeth Bylander and Madison Dame contributed to this report.
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