Susan Nelson News

This year the SeaPerch Program will celebrate a half decade of national underwater robotic championships. On the last Saturday in May, the fifth National SeaPerch Challenge will be held on the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMassD) campus where 150 teams of middle and high school students from across the country will compete on the national stage. The phenomenal growth of the event is evident with a simple look back to the inaugural National Challenge, staged in Philadelphia five years ago attracting 38 teams and 187 students.

The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS, and the Mississippi Regional SeaPerch Committee in mid-May hosted the Fourth National SeaPerch Challenge on the campus of Southern Miss. It was here that 108 teams of 451 middle and high school students – students from 19 states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and for a first time ever, and international team from New Zealand – convened at the University’s Payne Center and Johnson Natatorium for a weekend of competition and fun.

Excitement continues to build for the Fourth Annual National SeaPerch Challenge, as 2014 will see the largest group of SeaPerch competitors ever to assemble and compete for the title of National Champion. Hosted by the Mississippi Regional SeaPerch Committee, this year’s national competition will be held at the University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss) in Hattiesburg, MS, on Saturday May 17, 2014. Here, more than 100 middle and high school teams from all over the country will come together for a weekend of learning, sharing, competing and fun.

The City of Indianapolis and the Indiana SeaPerch regions were the ideal combination to host the Third National SeaPerch Challenge at the Natatorium on the campus of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) on May 17 – 19, 2013. On Friday evening, May 17, 83 top robotic teams from middle and high schools, after school and out-of-school programs in 23 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico convened at the IUPUI Natatorium for a weekend of competition and fun-filled activities.

In a few weeks, SeaPerch, a national educational outreach program using underwater robotics, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), will hold its 2013 National SeaPerch Challenge. Hosted by the Indiana State Regions this annual competition will take place on the campus of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) on Saturday, May 18, 2013, at the University’s Natatorium housing the Olympic pool. There the top 100 winning teams from regional competitions…

In only a few weeks, SeaPerch, a national educational outreach program using underwater robotics, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), will hold its 2013 National SeaPerch Challenge. Hosted by the Indiana State Regions this annual competition will take place on the campus of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) on Saturday, May 18, 2013, at the University’s Natatorium housing the Olympic pool. There the top 100 winning teams from regional competitions…

The theme of the 4th International RoboBoat Competition, sponsored by The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Foundation and the Office of Naval Research (ONR), was “The Four Elements.” Teams of students designed and built autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) that faced challenges involving earth, air, fire and water. The competition was held at The Founders Inn and Spa, Virginia Beach, VA, June 8-12, 2011 and included 15 teams representing colleges and universities around the world.

The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) announced that a program dedicated to the training of future naval systems engineers will soon be realized. A $3.2m contract awarded May 6 from the Naval Sea Systems Command, which includes five additional years of optional extensions that could add up to $49.9m, will establish a Naval Engineering Education Center (NEEC) Consortium in partnership with fifteen leading US colleges and universities, SNAME and the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE). For over a century SNAME has been the international society for practitioners of the maritime arts and sciences. The Society has long supported educational opportunities to advance the state-of-the-art in naval architecture…