Robotics team places top in Quebec at regionals, hosts N.J. peers
Marianopolis College Robotics Team hosted two teams from New Jersey on Monday March 31, hours after returning from the FIRST competition in Mississaugua, where it ranked second among rookie teams. The Marianopolis students gave tours of the campus to students from Hillsborough and Ewing high schools and traded notes about building robots and participating in the FIRST competition. The Hillsborough team gave the College team $500 it raised to support its efforts.
Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, the visiting teams also competed at their regionals in their home state. At its own FIRST competition, March 27-29, the College team ranked first among the three Quebec schools. Overall, it placed 14th out of 66 teams.
Physics Professor Dr. Rocco Iafigliola, who directs the College team, called the afternoon “a wonderful opportunity for shares ideas and growing friendship.” Of the College’s showing at the Ontario competition, he said: “It’s an impressive showing for a rookie team.”
The team thanks Genome Quebec’s Haig Djambazian for his expertise and advice on programming, electrical and design, as well Aleks Labuda of theMcGill University Physics Department and the machine shop’s Pascal Boursequin, who spent numerous hours helping with the design and machining the robot’s more intricate parts. The team also thanks Patrick Cadotte, Patricia Di Lillo and other engineers at THALES Canada, as well as the College’s Information Technology Services staff.
Robotics students and Marianopolis Director General Françoise Boisvert, CND, check out the Hillsborough (N.J.) High School’s robot.
