Students get technical at PCC robotics camp

On Monday, students in a machine manufacturing technology camp at Portland Community College’s Sylvania Campus were busy in the college’s machine shop, getting used to band saws, drill presses, lathes and milling machines.

What the 18 students and two adults were hoping to get out of the three-week course was the ability to craft parts that will allow their robotic creations to run more efficiently.

Debra Mumm-Hill, regional director for the Pacific Northwest for FIRST, which stands for For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, said 14 different high schools took PCC up on the offer for the class.

The program attracted students from Westview, Jesuit, Tualatin, Oregon City, Catlin Gabel and other area high schools.

“These kids love being together because they’re like-minded,” said Mumm-Hill, whose organization sponsors annual robotics competitions.

She said the hands-on experiences of the class were important to students studying technological fields.

“Many engineers in America have never built anything,” she pointed out.

Jackson Pugh, who will be a senior at Westview and joined the school’s robotics team in January, said he was learning a lot at the camp.

“It’s pretty sweet,” said Pugh . “You get to do a lot of things hands on.”

Although his main job is writing code and programming for Westview’s Team 1510, Pugh said one of the most important things he’s learned is how to communicate with other students.

Team 1510 currently is the only one in the Beaverton School District, but includes students from Science and Technology High school and Aloha High School.

Patrick Kraft, PCC department chairman for the machine manufacturing technology program, said this is the first time the summer program has been offered and one of the goals of the class is to get students oriented with using a variety of manufacturing tools.

“A lot of students have never had this opportunity to make something,” said Kraft.

In the past, students sometimes accompanied Kraft, who has volunteered with the Westview program over the last several years, to watch him create the parts they needed.

Now they have the opportunity to do that themselves.

“They can come down anytime in the (next) 12 months … and use PCC’s machine shop and build parts for their robots,” said Kraft.

Trevor Burtzos, a senior at Catlin Gabel School, said he believes he’ll use what he’s learned from the course and take it back to his team, The Flaming Chickens.

The team has been enjoying a string of successes, having most recently attended national competition in Atlanta last year.

Bob Hendel, who along with Mark Garcia coach the Westview Rotbotics Team 1510, said he’s been impressed with the robotics camp.

“This is phenomenal,” said Hendel, who previously spent 18 years working at Intel.

Hendel said a doubling of funding from Intel will result in the formation of a second Westview team. Meanwhile, a third team, consisting of students at other Beaverton-area high schools, could be created as well.

On the other side of the machine shop Monday, Zeno LeHericy, who belongs to Tualatin High School’s robotics team, TETRA, was busy milling a plastic box to store his newly created ball peen hammers.

“This class has been wonderful,” he said. “I’ve learned so much. It’s been a ton of fun.”

LeHericy, who will be a junior at Riverdale High School in Dunthorpe, is a founding member of the Tualatin team, which now numbers 27 students. His team had an impressive year as well.

“We got to semi finals in Seattle,” he said. “It’s more fun than you could ever imagine.”