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October 2011 www.sname.org/sname/mt (student perspectives )T he first-ever National SeaPerch Challenge was held on May 24 at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for top middle and high school robotics teams from as far away as Hawaii. e teams represented 28 schools, school districts, and student interest groups with established SeaPerch programs from across the country. At the national chal- lenge, students participated in a two-day series of events, which included team presentations, a vehicle underwa- ter obstacle course, and a simulated sea-oor oil spill that required teams to cut the ow, cap the well, and conduct recovery operations. SeaPerch is the underwater robotics program?spon- sored by the Oce of Naval Research and managed by the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME)?that trains teachers and provides a curricu- lum to instruct students on the building of an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) in an in-school or out-of- school setting. Students build their own ROV from a kit com- prised of low-cost, easily accessible parts, such as electrical motors and PVP pipe, following a curric- ulum that teaches basic engineering and science terminology and principles with an ocean and marine engineering theme. e Kvalinator team from Bloomington High School South in Bloomington, Indiana took the top prize in the high school category, followed by the under Chickens from Southern Indiana Career & Tech in Evansville, Indiana. The Upper Darby High School Robotics & Engineering team from Upper Darby, Pennsylvania was the third place winner. e CPUs from Piccowaxen Middle School in Silver Spring, Maryland was the top middle school team. is event was the realization of a dream?four years of building programs one by one until we had a critical mass of enough programs to host a national challenge, and it exceeded our expectations,? said Susan Giver Nelson, director of outreach with SNAME. e program has come a long way, and because of the programs expansion to 38 states, it was time to have this national championship.? Cap the Well and Save the Sea The 2011 National SeaPerch Challenge was engineered to inspire careers in ocean and marine engineering BY EDWARD LUNDQUIST PHOTOS BY UNITED STATES NAVY PUBLIC AFFAIRS SPECIALIST JOSEPH BATTISTA Captain Alexander Desroches, NSWCCD-SSES commanding ocer, welcomes participants to the National Sea Perch Challenge, held May 24-25 at Drexel University. NSWCCD-SSES Philadelphia provides the navys primary technical expertise and facilities for both naval machinery research and development and naval machinery lifecycle engineering.