Two high school students — senior Margaret Schiffer and sophomore Rosie Sirk — traveled to Los Angeles to represent the National Robotics League on behalf of Beaumont School at the SolidWorks World Conference.
“This is an international conference which gives our girls the unique opportunity to demonstrate their skills, show their leadership capabilities and showcase their superior communications skills, all while celebrating their successes with robotics,” said biology teacher Gretchen Santo. Santo coaches the Cleveland Heights, Ohio robotics team, which currently consists of Schiffer and Sirk, along with fellow Beaumont students Kimberly Browske, Nora Duncan and Hayley Muhvic.
The team’s robot, Stobor, according to competition guidelines, weighs less than 15lbs — and is designed specifically to destroy other teams’ robots with a revolving steel mechanism that spins at 8,000rpm and is capable of flipping enemy robots.
At last year’s national competition, the Beaumont team took fifth place overall, placing ahead of several college teams. That year’s team was the highest-placing all-girl team, and also won top honors for best documentation and best presentation, which included a book, compiled by Sirk, documenting the strengths and weaknesses of possible opponents.
Click here for an interview with Sirk and Schiffer on WKYC local news.
Related Glossary Terms
- robotics
robotics
Discipline involving self-actuating and self-operating devices. Robots frequently imitate human capabilities, including the ability to manipulate physical objects while evaluating and reacting appropriately to various stimuli. See industrial robot; robot.
Author
Evan Jones Thorne, who served as associate editor of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine through February 2017, holds a bachelor’s degree in English and communications from Northern Illinois University. Evan joined Cutting Tool Engineering in October 2013.
