Adelphi Hosts 2018 Annual Robotics Competition

On June 2, Adelphi’s Ruth S. Harley University Center was filled with 350 high school and middle school students; 150 audience members, coaches and chaperones—and plenty of robots.

The event was Adelphi’s annual, statewide robotic competition, run by Adelphi’s Science Technology Entry Program (STEP). The goal of STEP is to prepare and inspire students from underrepresented backgrounds to enter into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields through collaboration with Long Island school districts.

The competition was run by Adelphi’s Edward Tse, program technology coordinator, and Sabita Nayak, director for science advancement programs and for STEP and CSTEP (College Science Technology Entry Program) projects. Forty-three teams competed. “This was our sixth annual middle school competition and our second high school competition,” Tse said. Students program the robots to perform tasks.

The middle school students were from surrounding Long Island school districts. They designed their own robots with LEGO parts and programmed them to compete in a design challenge. The Challenge Champion trophy and First Place Overall trophy were won by two teams from Lincoln Orens Middle School.

“The Challenge Championship winners of this year’s competition—the IP Pineapples— exemplified the spirit of the competition with their tactful win,” said Nayak. “Witnessing their remarkable teamwork, leadership and skills at work was beyond inspiring. These young ladies are poised for success, and I hope this encourages other young women to explore STEM disciplines.”

The high school students came from neighboring STEP organizations and used VEX parts from VEX Robotics, a leading robotics program for students. The challenge was to have the robots cooperatively place cubes into movable slots. Two high school teams from Borough of Manhattan Community College STEP took home both the First Place Overall and Second Place Overall trophies for their age category.