Three Traverse City Central High School students recently competed at the 2008 Marine Advanced Technology Education Center’s (MATE) International Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Competition at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego, California. Matt Madion, Jacob Schaub, and Brian Tiefenbach qualified for the international competition by finishing 2nd at the Great Lakes Regional in Alpena in April. This year’s theme was “Uncovering the Mysteries of Mid-Ocean Ridges.” Students had to design and build a submersible ROV that would retrieve rock and crab samples from a simulated geothermal vent as well as take an accurate temperature measurement from the top of the vent. An underwater camera mounted to the ROV is used with a surface monitor to navigate through the underwater environment. Students also had to present and defend their design and construction to a panel of judges.
TC Central High Schools’ ROV team competed in San Diego against twenty-five teams across the country and from Canada, Scotland, and Hong Kong. The team finished 14th overall and finished all the missions in the required time limit. Matt Madison, Jacob Schaub, and Brian Tiefenbach all graduated from Traverse City Central High School last month and plan to study engineering at the University of Michigan, Michigan Tech University, and Purdue University respectively.
Brian Tiefenbach stated, “I was proud that our efforts took us to the international competition. Most importantly, I was pleased that we could modify our ROV and improve its propulsion before our final trial as this modification enabled us to achieve a perfect score on the mission aspect of the competition.” Matt Madison added, “We felt very happy with our performance. We scored well in the areas where we put all our effort and, through simply our core high school physics and technology classes, were able to accurately explain all the intricacies of our ROV. I am thrilled to have gotten the opportunity to participate, learn, and enjoy the MATE International ROV Competition.”
The Traverse City Central ROV team was sponsored by TCAPS’ SCI-MA-TECH Program and funded by a grant from the Convergence Education Foundation.
For more information or to arrange a visit or demonstration of the ROV, contact Traverse City Central High School and SCI-MA-TECH Teacher Keith Forton at 231-933-8536.