HR: 1340h
AN: OS23A-1293    [Abstracts]
TI: Engaging Students and Scientists through ROV Competitions
AU: * Zande, J
EM: jzande@marinetech.org
AF: MATE Center, 980 Fremont Street, Monterey, CA 93940 United States
AB: The Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center's network of regional and national remotely operated vehicle (ROV) competitions for students provide a unique and exciting way for the scientific community to get involved in education and outreach and meet broader impact requirements. From Hawaii to New England, MATE's ROV competitions also facilitate collaborations among the scientific community, professional societies, government agencies, business and industry, and public aquaria. Since 2001, the MATE Center and organizations such as the Marine Technology Society (MTS), NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration, and the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, among others, have challenged 1,000+ students to design and build ROVs for underwater tasks based on science and exploration missions taking place in the real world. From the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), more than 60 scientists, engineers, and their organizations have supported the students participating in these events and, in doing so, have contributed to E&O and increased the awareness and impact of their work. What does it take to get involved with this E&O effort? That depends on the time, technical expertise, facilities, equipment, building materials, and/or funds that you can afford to contribute. Examples of how scientists and their institutions have and continue to support MATE's ROV competitions include: -Serving as technical advisors, judges, and competition-day technical assistants. -Sharing time and technical expertise as mentors. -Providing access to facilities and equipment. -Donating building materials and supplies. -Hosting the event at your institution. In addition to helping you to become involved in E&O and meet broader impact requirements, benefits to you include: -Exposing yourself to technologies that could support your science. -Getting ideas for creative and inexpensive solutions to challenges that you may face while doing your work. -Recruiting students to your institution. -Heightening your and your institution's visibility within the scientific community -Building a positive image within your own local community. -Networking with other scientists and research and academic institutions as well as professional societies, industry, government, and other organizations such as aquaria. Whether or not you use ROVs to support your work is not important. What is important are the knowledge and skills that you do use to accomplish your research goals. In the case of the competition, ROVs are the vehicle to teach concepts such as physics, oceanography, math, science, and engineering - the same concepts that you understand and apply when doing your science. By sharing your time and expertise, you can help students solidify what they are learning as they design and build their ROVs and make the connection to how it can be applied to other disciplines.
UR: http://www.marinetech.org/rov_competition/index.php
DE: 0805 Elementary and secondary education
DE: 0810 Post-secondary education
DE: 0815 Informal education
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting