AREVA’s summer high school apprentices compete in the annual SUMO Robot Wars
Team Woochuk, Samantha Blanks (left) and Devon Morris (right) pose with their robot after being announced as the winners of Robot Wars.
by Kelsey Massie, AREVA Corporate Communications Intern
Most high school students dread the approaching of summer’s end; however, for 10 Lynchburg, VA area high school students, the end of summer is exactly what they have been waiting for. These 10 students are AREVA’s summer high school apprentices, and for them, the end of summer means war. Robot Wars, that is.
For the past four years, the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Talent Expansion Program Grant funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) has allowed Central Virginia Community College (CVCC) and AREVA to provide a program dedicated to teaching and experiencing the nuclear industry in a unique and dynamic way. The goals of the summer program are to power future leaders and create a local pipeline of engineering talent to fill future job vacancies in our area. AREVA and CVCC are working together to cultivate a new generation of educated and innovative individuals who want to explore the engineering field as a career.
The SUMO Robot Wars is the capstone project for the apprentices. From staying under budget to modifying the robots for competition, the project is solely the students’ undertaking and simulates the conditions engineers work under on a daily basis. This year, five apprentice teams were mentored by AREVA engineering experts. The mentor assigned to each team assisted the students in modifying their stock robots to create the fiercest machine to compete for victory by pushing their opponents outside of the battle ring.
