2023 Alabama Robotics Competition
In the 2023 contest, there were 55 teams participating from 40 different schools (237 overall students competing and over 400 parents/teachers attending).
Below are several links and information about the 2023 event.
Competition Photos
- A collection of photos from the event is available here.
Competition Problems
- The official contest problems for the 2023 competition are available here.
Competition Schedule and Team Rosters
- The official contest schedule and team rosters for the 2023 competition is available here.
Award Recipients
The award winners received a textbook from zyBooks, a Visa gift card, and a trophy. The following teams and participants received awards at the 2023 event (the team numbers can be cross-referenced with the official contest schedule and team rosters for student names).
Grades K-5
- First Place: Verner Elementary School #49 (240)
- Second Place: Tuscaloosa Magnet Elementary #47 (160)
- Third Place: Walter Jackson Elementary School #51 (140)
- Honorable Mention: Walter Jackson Elementary School #52 (120)
Grades 6-8
- First Place: Northside Middle School #32 (220)
- Second Place: Eastwood Middle School #22 (200)
- Third Place: Northridge Middle School #29 (180)
- Honorable Mention: Decatur Middle School #20 (160)
- Special Mention: Tuscaloosa Academy #35 (160)
Grades 9-12
- First Place: Paul Bryant High School #13 (250)
- Second Place: LAMP High School #9 (200)
- Third Place: John LeFlore Magnet High School #7 (140)
- Honorable Mention: LAMP High School #10 (130)
- Special Mention: Mortimer Jordan HS #11 (130)
Volunteers and Organizers
The volunteers and organizers of the 2023 event were:
- Contest Administrators
Dr. Jeff Gray
Jamie Thompson
Joanna Carter
Ziliang Zhang
Herart Dominggus Nurue - UA Volunteers
Alexander Newman
Anupam
Archer Taylor
Brisaac Johnson
Colin Guzenda
Conner Hall
Evan Taller
Hannah Bray
Dr. Hope Whiteside
Jill Westerlund
Dr. Joni Lakin
Jordan Mann
Jylen Tate
Kelvin Ovabor
Maclane May
Md Ubayeid Ullah
Nath Tumlin
Nico Kaple
Pratiksha Chaudhari
Rahul Mondal
Rei Wu
Ryan Strozensky
Sam Billante
Shiza Andleeb
Siva Rama Rohan Sunkarapalli
Trina Locklear
Will Little
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Dan Preston
Interdisciplinarity and Creativity in Robotics
Implementation of unconventional materials has reshaped traditional robotics applications and introduced new use cases for robots—but which materials should we use? Creativity plays a key role in answering this question. First, I will discuss robotic components made from non-living materials derived from living organisms, called “biotic” materials, that have been naturally optimized over millennia by evolution. Second, I will describe how fabric sheets can be formed into completely soft, electronics-free pneumatic computers and integrated into assistive wearable robots for low-level control. These two research areas highlight how robotics has become an interdisciplinary field open to scientists and engineers from all backgrounds and interests.
Dr. Daniel J. Preston directs the Preston Innovation Laboratory at Rice University conducting robotics research at the intersection of energy, materials, and fluids. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, the ASME Old Guard Early Career Award, and the Energy Polymer Group Certificate of Excellence. Dr. Preston earned his B.S. (2012) in mechanical engineering from the University of Alabama and his M.S. (2014) and Ph.D. (2017) in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Following his graduate degrees, he trained as a postdoctoral fellow from 2017–2019 at Harvard University in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology prior to joining Rice University as an assistant professor.
2023 Sponsors
We are very grateful to AM/NS Calvert, Firia Labs, and zyBooks as our main corproate sponsors, as well as the UA Department of Computer Science!
