Theresa Richards – Robohub

‘It’s a reminder we are making a difference in the world’: Girls of Steel follow up

Theresa Richards — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 13:15:26 +0000

Photo: 2016-2017 Girls of Steel Robotics students in grades 8 to 12.

The Girls of Steel – a competitive FIRST team in Pittsburg, PA – is on a mission to engage more young women into engineering. Over the last few years, we’ve heard what it’s like to be part of an all-girls robotics team and spoke with team’s mentors. Now, we’re following up with the team to talk about their successes and developments since being listed in our 25 Women in Robotics list.

What has changed for Girls of Steel in the last two years?

On the technical side, we created a new subteam called the design subteam. After a team brainstorming session, the team decides on the tasks they want the robot to do. Then design subteam uses suggestions of all the tasks and designs and CADs (using Solidworks) a robot to fit all of their designed requirements. The addition of this subteam has made the team more organized and sped up the building process due to increased accuracy.

Photo: Outreach at the 2016 Pittsburgh Maker Faire.

Girls of Steel changed their mission statement and to make it clearer and less vague. The new mission statement is, “To empower women and girls in the pursuit of STEM by exemplifying female success in robotics”. Our team goals also changed within the last two years. The 2016-2017 goals are:

Talk to 5,000+ people face to face – to inspire people, especially young girls, about STEM.
Have our robot score as many autonomous points as possible during competitions.
Make sure every girl knows her contribution to the team and the robot.

What are some of your latest accomplishments and achievements?

The team has won multiple awards yearly at regional competitions, which includes:

the Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Entrepreneurship award (2014, 2015, 2016), which celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit by recognizing a team that has developed the framework for a comprehensive business plan to scope, manage, and achieve team objectives,
the Engineering Inspiration award (2014, 2016), which celebrates outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team’s school and community,
the 2015 Regional Chairman’s Award at the Buckeye Regional, the most prestigious award at FIRST, it honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST,
and the Comcast NBCUniversal Media and Technology Innovation Award that recognizes the team that develops and implements the most outstanding digital experience, marketing strategy, and rationale for digital channels to disseminate content to its audience and further the FIRST mission.

2016 Engineering Inspiration Award at Queen City Regional, Cincinnati, OH

In addition, the team was recognized in 2016 by the North Hills Pittsburgh Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) with the Gateway to Equity Award.

We participated at the first White House Frontiers Conference in Pittsburgh with our “Inspiring Girls Through Robotics” exhibit where we demoed our Chassis Project activity, met other exhibitors and even experienced the simulation of docking a spacecraft to the International Space Station at the Boeing CST-100 Starliner Simulator demo. Here’s a link to a clip of President Obama’s speech at the conference where he mentions Girls of Steel.

Boeing CST-100 Starliner Simulator demo at the White House Frontiers Conference.

How did being on the “25 Women in Robotics” list impact the group?

While a lot of the girls that experienced the full impact of the article have now graduated, being mentioned so highly still astounds many members of the team. Even girls who were new members are shocked we were considered to be in the top 25, out of every woman in robotics in 2014. It made a big mark on our community that we were recognized. It truly is a reminder and validator that we matter and are making a difference in the world around us. That is one of the best things that can be said about what we put our time and effort towards.

Young participant assembling the chassis at the White House Frontiers Conference in Pittsburgh, PA

How do you cope with changing membership as girls move on to new study/work opportunities?

At the end of each season, we elect a new Leadership Council for the upcoming year. A form is sent out to the girls asking if they are interested in a leadership position and why they think they would make a great leader. Then a panel of Girls of Steel mentors and alumni conduct interviews for all applicants and discuss and select the leadership council for the upcoming season. To incorporate new girls into our team we hold a new girl orientation meeting, we invite them to come to the leadership council meetings, and we create a group of three girls: returning, new, and junior member, a triad, which gets together during meetings. This creates our sense of team culture – friendly, welcoming, and fun.

As one of our new parents said, “My daughter has found her tribe.”

How important has robotics been to new career options for the team?

Girl of Steel Robotics has increased the interests of many girls pursuing a career in the STEM fields. It also helps develop the skills needed for a variety of careers in STEM. It has given the girls confidence to enter fields that are traditionally male dominant and helps teach them the tools to excel.

What do you want to get out of being in the women in robotics network?

The most rewarding part of being a girl involved in robotics is inspiring other girls and women who are intimidated by the STEM fields. By giving a clear example of female success in STEM, we can encourage other girls to get involved and eliminate the mindset that girls do not belong in male-dominated fields. At Carnegie Mellon University, we also have access to a supportive Society of Women Engineers chapter that is always looking to make connections with other girls.

Do you have anything you’d like to say to other young women?

We would like to tell others: they really can do it! No matter how difficult or intimidating STEM fields seem there is always a supportive network of women ready to support and encourage you in your pursuit of different careers. Also, as a woman, you are more than capable of succeeding in any field you set your mind to!

Read more about the Girls of Steel, here:

Mentors of Steel: The role of mentoring in robotics education

Theresa Richards — Fri, 27 Sep 2013 19:23:29 +0000

The Girls of Steel – a competitive FIRST team located in Pittsburg, PA – is on a mission to draw more young women into engineering. We’ve already heard what it’s like to be part of an all-girls robotics team, we now catch up with the team’s mentors, Theresa Richards and George Kantor, to hear about their roles in inspiring and mentoring the team. Here’s what they have to say …

How and why did you become a mentor?

George: My lab, the Field Robotics Center at CMU, was approached by Patti Rote about creating an all-girls FIRST Robotics Competition Team in the summer of 2010. I have been involved in various K-12 robotics outreach activities dating back to the 90s, and I had always wanted to learn more about FIRST. So I offered to lead the team.

Theresa: I became a mentor because I was very interested in learning more about FIRST robotics and about how I could work with the FIRST program to support and encourage girls in the interdisciplinary field of robotics. The study of robotics includes all STEM fields.

Did you have a mentor when you were growing up? If so, can you tell us about this person and the impact they had on you?

George: Growing up, I had a swimming coach who taught me lessons about setting goals and perseverance. In graduate school and throughout my time as a researcher at CMU I have had a series of mentors who have helped shape my technical career.

Theresa: I had several mentors when I was growing up. Most of my mentors were my high school science teachers who offered opportunities for me to do activities with them outside of school. For example, my biology teacher invited me to participate as his teaching assistant at an evening class he taught. My chemistry teacher helped me get a part-time job and she introduced me to my college – the same one she attended, and my zoology teacher took a group of us on a special field trip and she arranged for an “extra credit” dissection lesson after school. These awesome teachers recognized my interest in science and made sure to offer opportunities. When I think back about it now, I feel so grateful that they took extra time with me. That’s what I try to do for my students.

Do you have any suggestions for teachers or others who may want to get started as a mentor?

George: Just do it! There are plenty of opportunities to mentor young people, and it is an extremely rewarding experience.

Theresa: Other teachers who are interested in finding out about a FIRST robotics team should go to the website and click “What teams and events are located in my area?” I bet they’ll find a robotics program that will welcome them with open arms. If the teacher feels unsure about being a robotics mentor, he/she should attend a meeting or two before making a decision. Working with the students is inspiring because of their interest in creating something and learning so many new things. And it’s amazing to hear a student say, “So that’s why we learned this in math or in physics” or “I never would have considered engineering if I weren’t on this team.”

What’s the hardest part about mentoring?

George: It is important to encourage people to dream big, but on the other hand aspiring engineers often have unrealistic expectations about what they can accomplish. Helping students define achievable goals often involves encouraging them not to pursue some of their more ambitious ideas, and delivering that message in a positive way can be a challenge. I want my students to believe they can do anything, but I also need to teach them to approach their dreams in a realistic way.

Theresa: The hardest part about mentoring – there really isn’t a hard part, except that having meetings during after school hours from 5 pm until 8:30 or later means we have some late nights, especially during the 6-week build season. Mentoring is a rewarding experience on multiple levels. I enjoy the experience of working together with students, and colleagues and parents who have similar interests of encouraging girls in STEM fields. Like they say in FIRST, “It’s the hardest fun you’ll ever have” – that goes for mentors as well as students.

Do girls need female role models?

George: Yes. It is inspiring for girls to see women in the roles they aspire to, especially in fields like computer science and engineering that are currently dominated by men.

Theresa: Girls need female role models in STEM fields in order learn about various careers and to be able to see themselves in various positions or careers in STEM fields. Girls also benefit from belonging to a network or group of girls who share similar interests while in high school, college, and beyond.

Which students should participate in robotics competitions?

George: All students, especially those with technical interests. Robotics competitions are easily accessible, and they provide an opportunity to learn valuable technical skills in a fun way. They also provide an opportunity to learn life skills that are useful regardless of what career they decide to pursue: teamwork, goal setting, time management, etc.

Theresa: I believe all girls will benefit in some way from joining the Girls of Steel or another FIRST robotics team. The level of the benefit will depend on their level of participation. Participation on the Girls of Steel FIRST robotics team can range from 4 to 20 hours a week during the year. The number of hours depends on the “season” – preseason, build season or competition season – and on a girl’s particular role on the team – e.g. leaders spend time preparing for team meetings and have additional leadership meetings to attend. Why do you recommend robotics competitions for everyone? Not only do the students apply what they’ve learned in computer science, math, science, and engineering classes they also learn that it can be fun to work hard. They learn so much about themselves by being a part of the team. For example, I’ve heard girls say things like “only girls on the team understand why I like ….”, “I found my best friends on the team”, “now I know the difference between a personal goal and a team goal” , “ Only you get my jokes,” and more.

There are many robotics competitions for students. Why FIRST?

George: I really like FIRST’s approach to competition. Winning is important, but greater importance is placed on cooperation and professionalism. FIRST has invented words that capture this spirit and are central to everything that FIRST does: “coopertition” and “gracious professionalism”. In addition, FIRST goes to extra efforts to make its events exciting. The games are well designed, with attention paid to making the matches interesting to watch. The competitions are narrated by professional emcees and the field set-up has a high production value. The result is something that is a cross between a rock concert, a sporting event, and a science fair.

Theresa: I really don’t know much about other competitions except that some involve “fighting robots” rather than “game playing robots,” and the robots vary in size. FIRST® (USFIRST.org) is an organization that promotes robotics competitions for all ages that involve more than just a robot. Our team competes at the FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) level that involves designing and building a 120 lb. robot over a period of 6 weeks to play a game with 5 other robots on the field. The awards structure of FIRST promotes other aspects of the team – like fundraising (to raise money for registration fees), outreach, teamwork, public speaking, leadership, media, and more. We’ve found that having a FIRST team seems to be like running a business with students having the opportunity for major leadership roles. High School level FIRST teams are encouraged to support STEM awareness for younger people in the community. Publishing Lynn’s comic about the 2012 FRC season on our website and on Robohub is just one way the Girls of Steel FIRST robotics team contributes toward that goal.

Thank you both very much for your time, and best of luck to you and the Girls of Steel in future competitions!

Theresa Richards on “What’s the best way to get a robotics education today?”

Theresa Richards — Sun, 15 Sep 2013 11:45:03 +0000

At the high school or middle school level there is no single best way for students to get a robotics education: there are many ways, and each way reaches the students differently. The easiest way is for students to join an established team: FIRST^® Robotics (FLL, FTC, or FRC) teams, VEX robotics teams, BEST Robotics teams, and Botball teams. For a shorter-term experience, students can enroll in various summer camps at a local science center or other locations. Finally, their teachers can offer to integrate commercially-available Hummingbird Robotics kits into the curriculum at multiple levels.

My educational robotics experience ranges from FRC- and FLL-level FIRST robotics teams to using the Hummingbird Robotics kits in the classroom and at summer camp. For the past three years I have worked with the Girls of Steel FIRST Robotics team at Carnegie Mellon University as a high school faculty advisor/business mentor, and in each of the past two years my high school human anatomy students at The Ellis School used Hummingbird Robotics kits to create a robotic arm as a part of the unit on muscles. Most recently, my robot arm lab lesson was successfully adapted for middle school students in a C-MITES summer camp at CMU called “Anatomy and Robotics.”

The greater Pittsburgh area in Pennsylvania is a wonderful place to get a robotics education if you are a middle school or high school student. Teachers here have access to workshops and professional development programs so they can be trained to bring robotics into the classroom using the Hummingbird Robotics kit or the LEGO Robotics kits. Students can enroll in summer camps to learn robotics at the Carnegie Science Center, Carnegie Mellon University, or Sarah Heinz House, and they can join FIRST or VEX community robotics teams at CMU (Girls of Steel) and Sarah Heinz House or the teams at their schools.