Young Girls and Their Robot ‘Explore’ the Arctic in UA Engineering Program

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A team of area girls, ages 9-14, is using a robot they have built to accomplish several missions in the Arctic – they are camping on ice fields, building weather towers and escaping from polar bears. Well, hypothetically that is.

The girls are participating in a revolutionary program called the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) at The University of Alabama College of Engineering, in which they design and build computerized robots to solve real-world problems.

The UA group is directed by Dr. Beth Todd, associate professor of mechanical engineering, and was organized by the University’s Society of Women Engineers. The team has been named “Bama Babes” by its members, who are busy constructing a computer-operated robot using LEGO bricks, sensors, motors and gears.

FLL focuses on developing creative solutions to problems, as kids discover the rewards of science and technology. The national program is sponsored by For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) through a partnership with the LEGO Company. Teams of children are formed at the local level by mentors in education or industry, and team members work together to design and build LEGO robots to meet assigned challenges. They then participate in preliminary and state tournaments, where they are recognized for factors such as teamwork, problem solving, strategy and leadership.

Each fall a new challenge describing real-world scenarios is issued to teams nationwide, and the local teams of up to 10 members then have eight weeks to build a robot with the necessary attributes to accomplish the tasks. The teams are responsible for all documentation, programming and building of the projects, while guided by their coaches in team building, negotiation and conflict resolution.

They also research and prepare a hypothesis presentation, to effectively connect the scientific principles they are studying to robotics.

This season’s challenge relates to situations experienced by researchers during a mission to study global temperature changes in the Arctic, including moving fuel and instruments on ice fields, constructing a weather tower and avoiding polar bears.

Todd said she became a team coach as a way to encourage young girls to participate in science. “We are trying to involve more girls in science and engineering,” she said. “And seeing these areas as something people get excited about should increase their interest in a technical career.”

Along with Tongsay Vongpaseuth, a mechanical engineering graduate student at UA, Todd helps the girls focus on creative and analytical problem solving. “What this program does is teach them the fundamentals of programming and teamwork. So in some ways, we are teaching them what we teach our undergraduates,” explained Todd.

Commenting on her participation in the FIRST LEGO League, Emma Whitaker, a fifth grader, said, “It’s hard, but it’s fun. Every little thing counts.” And perhaps someday, hopes Todd, these lessons will help provide a foundation for Whitaker’s future as a science student, researcher or technologist.

The Bama Babes have been invited to compete at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tenn. on Dec. 8. to put their robot to the test against other teams from the Southeast in the “Arctic Impact Challenge.”

For more information or to find out about participating in future FLL teams, contact Todd at 205/348-1623.

Note to Reporters and Editors: Photographs to accompany this release are available by e-mail from Janice Fink at jfink@coe.eng.ua.edu.