Students enjoy JBU Engineering Academy

Janelle Jessen/Herald-Leader Bryson Cobb, a high school senior from Lewisville, Texas, did a test run with his robot on Wednesday afternoon.
Janelle Jessen/Herald-Leader Bryson Cobb, a high school senior from Lewisville, Texas, did a test run with his robot on Wednesday afternoon.

High school students from across the country got a chance to explore the field of engineering last week at John Brown University's Engineering Academy.

Thirty students, ranging in age from entering ninth grade this fall to recent high school graduates, spent the week building robots and doing side projects, such as designing and printing 3D objects. They also got a chance to visit Walmart Innovations Labs in Bentonville and SWEPCO Power Plant in Gentry.

This is the first year JBU has hosted the engineering academy, according to Tim Gilmour, assistant professor of engineering. The university also hosted a piano academy in June.

The engineering academy was designed to inspire the next generation of engineering students. It focused on showing students three main areas of engineering -- electrical, mechanical and renewable energy -- and how those types of engineering can be used in many different fields, Gilmour said.

Ted Song, assistant professor of engineering, said students started from scratch, building and programming robots to meet a series of challenges. They tested their robot prototypes in a fun competition on Saturday.

The basic challenge was for the robot to follow a black line on the floor from one end to the other, Gilmour said. The line had some curves but no branches. Five additional challenges included having the robot stop and do some kind of dance along the course, a color challenge requiring the robot to read a colored line, a rescue challenge where the robot picks up a lego man, a blind challenge crossing a "no-line" zone, a memory challenge and a GPS challenge.

Awards were also given for creativity in artistic design, mechanical design, electrical design and for the greenest robot, which uses the least power.

Through the robot challenges students learned programming, electronics, troubleshooting and 3D design skills, Gilmour said. They also learned to solve problems as a team, Song said.

In addition to the robot project, academy students did side projects related to engineering. Will Holmes, associate professor of engineering, led students in a 3D solid modeling competition. Teams of students used design software, which specializes in analyzing compression and load, to engineer two-inch tall towers. The concepts were then printed on 3D printers.

The teams were pitted against each other as a load testing machine was used to crush the towers.

Isaac Anthony, a 10th-grade student from Fayetteville, and Jonathan Roberts, a recent high school graduate from Littleton, Colo., were excitedly discussing and examining one of the winning towers after the competition on Wednesday. They explained their own tower had failed because they changed the scale after their original design.

Anthony said he attended the academy because he was interested in both architecture and engineering, and enjoys both designing and building things. He hoped the experience at the academy would help him have a better idea of which field he wants to pursue. Although only half-way through the week-long camp, Anthony said he was already leaning toward engineering.

Anthony said has enjoyed learning about programming the most as well as seeing how the different aspects of his team's robot work together in the final product.

Roberts said he has already applied to John Brown University and learned about the academy through an email. He felt it would be a good opportunity to try out engineering before he began college.

"I think it's awesome," he said of his experience at camp.

Roberts said he likes circuit programming. He originally planned to go into mechanical engineering but now is more interested in electrical engineering.

The two students were also working on the same team to design their robot. While the concept of building a robot with a light sensor and programming it to follow a black line might seem pretty easy, it can take up to four or five pages of code to achieve a simple turn, Anthony said.

Both students said they enjoyed the trial and error aspect of the project, such as replacing parts and making adjustments to the robot.

Marissa Olivo, a high school senior from Plano, Texas, said the academy has helped her realize she most definitely wants to go into engineering.

"So far I'm loving it," she said.

By Wednesday, Olivo said she discovered she doesn't like coding and is interested in focusing her education on mechanical, environmental or architectural engineering.

Olivo said the most interesting thing she learned at the camp was the idea of applying Christian values to any subject, including science and engineering. In the pasta Olivo said had thought people kept their spiritual and work life separate but the camp showed her the two areas can be combined.

Holmes said he hopes the academy will give high school students a better understanding of what engineering is and encourage them to pursue math and science, as well as academic excellence.

"The goal is to help them make that decision (of whether they are interested in engineering) and have some fun while they do it," he said.

General News on 07/29/2015