Robohub.org
Dan Mantz: Growing Interest in STEM, Soft Skills, and Labor Shortages | Sense Think Act Podcast #21
In this episode, Audrow Nash speaks to Dan Mantz, who is the CEO of the Robotics Education and Competition (REC) Foundation. The REC Foundation is a nonprofit that works with VEX Robotics to build interest in STEM related career opportunities. Dan speaks about the different competitions REC facilitates, why REC is a nonprofit, how REC works with VEX Robotics, on the importance of soft skills, on workforce gaps, and on the future of education.
Episode Links
Podcast info
Audrow Nash
is a Software Engineer at Open Robotics and the host of the Sense Think Act Podcast
Audrow Nash
is a Software Engineer at Open Robotics and the host of the Sense Think Act Podcast
Sense Think Act Podcast
is a long-form, technical podcast about all areas of robotics that is hosted by Audrow Nash and sponsored by Open Robotics
Sense Think Act Podcast
is a long-form, technical podcast about all areas of robotics that is hosted by Audrow Nash and sponsored by Open Robotics
Related posts :
A multi-armed robot for assisting with agricultural tasks
Lucy Smith
18 Mar 2026
How can a robot safely manipulate branches to reveal hidden flowers while remaining aware of interaction forces and minimizing damage?
Graphene-based sensor to improve robot touch
University of Cambridge
16 Mar 2026
Multiscale-structured miniaturized 3D force sensors for improved robot touch.
Robot Talk Episode 148 – Ethical robot behaviour, with Alan Winfield
Robot Talk
13 Mar 2026
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Alan Winfield from the University of the West of England about developing new standards for ethics and transparency in robotics.
Coding for underwater robotics
MIT News
12 Mar 2026
Lincoln Laboratory intern Ivy Mahncke developed and tested algorithms to help human divers and robots navigate underwater.
Restoring surgeons’ sense of touch with robotic fingertips
Horizon Magazine
10 Mar 2026
Researchers are developing robotic “fingertips” that could give surgeons back their sense of touch during minimally invasive and robotic operations.
Robot Talk Episode 147 – Miniature living robots, with Maria Guix
Robot Talk
06 Mar 2026
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Maria Guix from the University of Barcelona about combining electronics and biology to create biohybrid robots with emergent properties.
Developing an optical tactile sensor for tracking head motion during radiotherapy: an interview with Bhoomika Gandhi
Ella Scallan
05 Mar 2026
Bhoomika Gandhi discusses her work on an optical sensor for medical robotics applications.
Humanoid home robots are on the market – but do we really want them?
The Conversation
03 Mar 2026
Last year, Norwegian-US tech company 1X announced “the world’s first consumer-ready humanoid robot designed to transform life at home”.
