Robotics program preparing students for technical careers

The team practices and plans year round, but Rippetoe said the competitive season begins the first weekend in January when all 2,500 competing teams around the world receive a problem that a robot they construct must solve. Teams then have six weeks to construct their robots before regional matches begin. Rippetoe said his team worked every day after school for hours, including eight-to-10-hour days on Saturdays every week leading up to the championship.

"It's very strategy driven, and the design of the robot reflects the strategy, not the other way around," senior Shyan Raghavan said.

The team not only learns technical skills and problem solving, but also management skills, Rippetoe said. Students work with management software and learn how to budget as they order materials.

Raghavan and junior Varshu Kishore both said they plan to pursue engineering at the collegiate level. Having finished his fourth year in the program, Raghavan said winning the championship as a senior was special. He will attend Carnegie Melon University in the fall.

"I want to [pursue engineering] basically because of this [program]," he said. "Because I enjoyed it so much, it's what makes me want to come back everyday."

Rippetoe encouraged anyone with an interest in the program to sign up, and said even incoming freshmen without knowledge of robotics are welcome, as training is provided in the fall and summer. For more information on Texas Torque, go to www.texastorque.org.