The BrainSTEM Robotics First Tech Challenge Team #6931 was part of the winning alliance, which placed first at the at the First Tech Challenge PA State Tournament, hosted at Oxford Area High School in Oxford, PA, on March 2-3. This victory qualifies the team to go to the FIRST World Championships in Detroit on April 23-27.
The team is made up of local students from Pine-Richland, North Allegheny and South Fayette school districts. The winning team is comprised of: Nathan Faber (NA), Ryan Scott (P-R), TJ Ferrins (homeschool), Jack Walsh (NA), Matt Farmar (P-R), Shomik Telang (NA), Nav Shrivastiva (S.F.), and Shanna Peck (P-R).
In addition to finishing first in the tournament, the team also won the Control Award for robot design. The Control Award is given to the team that demonstrates innovative thinking in the control system to solve game challenges such as autonomous 0peration, enhancing mechanical systems with intelligent control, or using sensors to achieve better results on the field.
The team is sponsored by BrainSTEM Learning Inc. which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization supporting STEM programs for students. They are a FIRST Regional Partner for FLL and FLL Jr. in western Pennsylvania, sponsor two award-winning FTC teams (8393 and 6931), support and coordinate outreach efforts of local STEM-related companies, and put on a variety of classes for students on a variety of topics including CAD, 3D printing, robotics engineering, and CAM manufacturing.
