Union team takes crown at Robot Rivals
On the set with their leaf-raking robot, the Union team takes a break with Buzz Dawson, their consultant in the TV competition. |
"Do you do autographs?"
That was the first question asked of Marissa Post, Jason Fishner and Adam Retersdorf after a screening on Tuesday of the final championship episode of Robot Rivals, in which the Union's key-collecting robot outperformed the entry from the University of Pittsburgh.
The show brought spontaneous shouts from the Union audience, some good-natured booing when the show focused on the rivals and an ovation as Union captured the title.
The teams that win on Robot Rivals are the ones with the "nuts and bolts engineers," said Larsen Jay, producer of the show that airs on the DIY network. "The engineers who think too much lose every time."
Jay was on hand at the screening to congratulate the team and present a check of $2,000 to the College's Engineering Division. He also announced that the high-tech "plasma ball" Engleberger Trophy will be on loan to the College.
While some teams carefully calculate the coefficient of friction and try to build overly elaborate designs, the Union team had a practical sense for building simply and working as a team, he said. And the Union team had one other advantage: "they can hold a conversation and talk things through."
Union was selected because of its unusual combination of engineering and liberal arts, Jay said. The team's selection, and their eventual win, had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Jay is engaged to Union alumna Adrian MacLean, whose mother is a trustee of the College, Jay joked. He also pointed out that Adrian's father is a graduate of Dartmouth, a team that Union defeated in the first round.
Along the way, Union's team also beat the Princeton University and the University of Rochester.
For more on the show, visit http://www.diynet.com/diy/shows_drob/0,2044,DIY_14305,00.html