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Persp Mar 29 04 Nords electronic engineering class have
been working feverishly since December
seven days a week; after school until late
at night when the custodian kicks them
out to be ready in time for the Phoenix
event.
Phoenix is a great place for us to cut
our teeth and get an early start on our
learning curve, Nord reports.
The students and their team instruc-
tors, Nord and Paul Klarer, a Sandia
National Labs robotics engineer who
serves as consultant, are sleeping-walk-
ing-eating the trial-and-error process that
grips them in their quest to build the right
robot from the ground up.
The end result of their labors will be,
they hope, a robot that can get balls into
two goals, one stationary and one mobile,
for each team. The goals are plastic poles
set upright in a circle.
The robots rebound the balls back
to the humans, says Christopher
Chavez, a Valley HS sen-
ior. They also have to
pick up a 36 diameter
ball and cap one of the two
goals, plus lift themselves
up and suspend from a bar
for a period of time. 50
points are awarded if the
robot remains suspended
after the match ends.
Chavez is part of the tow-
hook team that worked to
design a special hook
attached to Thor that
pulled a mobile goal to a
defined shooting area of
the playing field.
Gabe Chavez, a home-
schooled senior from Los
Lunas, said his biggest
technical challenge is the
wiring because, There
are a lot of stringent requirements and
rules to follow and if you dont, it dis-
qualifies you. The main thing is they
dont want it to light on fire.
A robot in the 2000 FIRST competi-
tion did catch fire, and Whammo. Fire
extinquishers were required, says Nord.
Thor has not had any problems.
Bob Pasekoff, who graduates from La
Cueva this year, worked on the robots
large ball gripper assembly that he reports
was problematic.
It broke several times. Its difficult to
measure each piece accurately and to
sculpt in steel so the chain doesnt bind,
Pasekoff says.
Its a great thing to see 30-odd peo-
ple work together so well, Pasekoff
adds. You cant expect it to just appear.
We realized we needed to get into the
physical stage and out of the theoretical.
Thor was born on a computer using
Perspective
Albuquerque Public Schools
March 29, 2004
An employee newsletter Thor robot is ready to
roar
Steve Stucker a hit with
students .............................Page 2
Algebra for all coming this fall
..........................................Page 3
Barcelona students discover
Islamic culture ...................Page 5
Literacy leader enjoys support
..........................................Page 8
In this issue . . .
R
esembling a gro-
cery cart with
outstretched arms,
Thor, the student-
built Career Enrichment
Center (CEC) robot, is
ready to take on all cyber
comers this month in
Phoenix in the FIRST robot-
ics competition.
FIRST is an acronym:
For Inspiration &
Recognition of Science and
Technology, an international
robotics competition
launched by Dean Kamen,
inventor of the Segway.
Hundreds of student teams,
about 100 of them funded by
NASA, will compete in
regional competitions this
month. Qualifying teams in
the Southwest move on to another
regional event in Denver. Then, if they
qualify, to the final national competition
in Atlanta in April, to see which robotic
team reigns supreme.
Nearly 1,000 teams from around the
world will try to qualify for the final.
Not to worry. Twenty-seven highly
brainy students in CEC teacher Mike
Student-built robot is ready to take on competition
Students Gabe Chavez, (left,) and Bob Pasekoff are two of 27 students
who have been working feverishly to prepare Thor (seen in background)
for a robotics competition in Phoenix this month.
I am APS
I am APS
More
, See Thor robot, page 2 This year, students in the School-to-Careers
Office
Occupations program heard the life story of Steve Stucker, a
popular and well-liked TV personality in the community known
for his sunny smile and disposition.
His childhood background, as told to students one day in
March during a Student Reflection Session, was surprising. Both
of his parents dropped out of high school and they had little
money. His father, a sheet metal worker who labored under cold
and dirty conditions, had to work a second job to make ends
meet.
Both his parents were clear about one thing for their children,
however: they were
going to college.
I always had this thought in my head; that I was going to
college, he told them.
Stucker spent an hour with the students, telling them about
his circle of life philosophy and belief in destiny. He said, Be
prepared to fail; but dont expect to fail. He also told them to,
Always make an effort to help someone worse off than you.
Positive thoughts lead to actions and peoples actions determine
their destinies, he said, so think some positive thoughts and make
a life plan.
Students evaluating the session afterward said theyd gained
much from listening to his story and his helpful suggestions.
2
Perspective, March 29, 2004
Community Relations
Office
Rigo Chavez
Director
E-mail: chavez_ri@aps.edu
Jennifer Dunstan
Assistant Director, Perspective Editor
E-mail: dunstan_j@aps.edu
Linda Padilla
Technical Assistant
E-mail: padilla_li@aps.edu
Carol Sawyer
Secretary
E-mail: sawyer_c@aps.edu
(New location and phone numbers)
6400 Uptown NE, Suite 490W
Albuquerque, NM 87110
Phone: 881-8421
Fax: 872-8860
Local TV anchor inspires students
Steve Stucker, Ch. 4 morning anchor, is no stranger to adversity. His inspiring life
story was the focus of a recent Student Reflection Session for Office Occupation stu-
dents organized by Yolanda Garcia, Job Net coordinator with School-to-Careers.
Steve Stucker a hit with students Thor robot is ready to roar
,
cont from page 1
CAD software, but students also built a
practice robot, the mule, to work out
kinks.
Because kinks are almost inevitable,
Thor has a twin. The team built a second
robot Thor B, a clone, so his parts can be
instantly harvested if something malfunc-
tions during the competition.
Win or lose, Nord says his classes and
the robot project have the full support of
CEC Principal Kathy Sandoval. If it
wasnt for her, we wouldnt be here. It
takes a gutsy boss to take risks on pro-
grams like this.
Other supporters include former
nuclear submarine captain Jamie Deuel,
FIRST mentor to Nord, who helped get
the project off the ground at the CEC
through fund raising and public relations.
Jamie urges me to shoot for the
stars, Nord says.
A CEC parents club feeds the long-
laboring robotics team every night, and
Nord happily reports they provide real
food. The parent club also meets every
three weeks and has its own web blog, or
web journal. The students web site is
located at www.cecrobotics.com.
Klarer, owner of a private engineering
company in town and an engineer for
Sandia National Labs, has strong ties to
the business community. He says CECs
robotics team, have skills that grads
from a four-year engineering school dont
have. They know how to build things.
These students are going to blow
their professors away, Klarer adds.
Nord and Klarer say support from the
business community has been good, and
when the business community sees value,
thats cool. Beyond providing students
with good paying summer jobs, Klarer
says the business community needs to
show students, they can make a good
living doing this.
Support has also been strong at UNM,
where professors have visited the CEC
robotics classroom and are excited about
the CEC programming class.
The robotics class could easily double
or triple next year as word gets out about
the opportunity to combine theory with
hands-on, real world experience.
There are different levels to it, says
one student. Theres robotic interaction,
alliances you have to form with other
teams that forces us to think dynamically.
Nord asks us to accomplish college level
challenges.
Student Gabe Chavez concludes that
his experience in Nords classes the past
three years have changed the way I act.
Once I came here I knew I was going to
be an electrical engineer for the rest of my
life.
Further information about the FIRST
competition can be found at
www.usfirst.org. Perspective, March 29, 2004 3
Algebra for all coming this fall
A much-anticipated change in freshmen math course require-
ments takes effect with the 2004-05 school year, when all high
school students, except some special education ones, will take
algebra, or Interactive Math Program classes and geometry
classes to meet new graduation requirements.
Freshmen needing more content preparation for the new
requirement can take an algebra readiness class as an elective,
and students needing some tutorial help with Algebra 1 can take
a math lab in conjunction with the class, receiving one math
credit and one elective credit for the math lab.
Some students may take
Algebra Models instead of
Algebra 2, depending on teacher
recommendation.
Virginia Duran Ginn,
director of Teaching &
Learning Systems, says the
math classes, four years in the making, are aligned with the dis-
tricts commitment to high standards for all students.
The former system