ARLINGTON, Va.—Middle and high school students from across the U.S. and Hawaii will come armed with their remotely operated vehicles (ROV) and battle it out in the inaugural National SeaPerch Challenge, to be held May 23-25 in Philadelphia.
Co-sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Naval Engineering Education Center (NEEC), the two-day event at Drexel University will give students the opportunity to drive their SeaPerch robots through an underwater obstacle course. NEEC oversees the National SeaPerch Challenge.
“SeaPerch has been a great way for ONR to show teachers, students and parents the importance of a STEM education,” said Dr. Kam Ng, ONR’s deputy director of research. “Having student teams build and compete their own robotic vehicles gives them a hands-on introduction to naval engineering, science and technology.”
Created to help develop the next generation of naval engineers and scientists, ONR’s SeaPerch program is part of a national effort to inspire students, in particular girls and underrepresented communities, to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers. ONR has displayed SeaPerch at numerous events, most recently at the National Robotics Week in April in Baltimore and the San Diego Science Festival in March.
In June, the SeaPerch program will be displayed at Fleet Week New York City. It will also be highlighted at the Naval STEM Forum June 15-16 in Alexandria, Va., where senior Navy leaders will outline their vision for the service’s STEM program, explore partnership opportunities with participants and discuss education outreach and research.
SeaPerch plays a significant role in STEM, teaching students to build propulsion and electrical control systems, developing motor and sensor controller, investigating principles of weight and buoyancy, using tools safely and working together as a problem-solving team.
According to the Navy, Nearly 65 percent of current naval science and technology professionals are over age 40, and more than 50 percent will be retirement eligible by 2020. If not addressed, the expected shortage of skilled workers could decrease the nation's global competitiveness and result in a lack of expertise in mission-critical areas.
The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers developed SeaPerch into a national program for ONR and provides the basic kits to schools and groups. Students are encouraged to modify their ROV, Ng said. “That’s the innovation part.”
In 2010, 3,532 SeaPerch kits were delivered to schools in 36 states, Ng said, while more than 1,800 teachers/mentors were trained. There were 750 students across two states building ROVs when the program first started in 2007. Over the past four years, more than 27,000 students have built SeaPerch robots.