CLC Science Faculty Engage Students with NASA Grant Funded Project

Central Lakes College instructors in Physics, Robotics, and Geoscience have been awarded a NASA grant to provide select students an opportunity to participate in a Quad-Copter competition. In this competition a team of 5 students will assemble, learn to fly, and modify a quad-copter. The project ends with a competition at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities in April. 

Students selected for this team will compete with five other 2-year colleges across the state in a test of design and flying skill in performing challenging tasks with the a quad-copter vehicle. The quad-copter, a remotely piloted helicopter-like vehicle with four rotors is a battery operated unit, with limited capabilities, but unlimited potential. Students involved in this competition will participate in the difficult and exacting assembly process, learn to fly the vehicle, design and manufacture attachments that will perform with the vehicle, learn 3-D printing, CAD design software, and programming that enable the vehicle to perform new and challenging tasks. Each student team member will receive a $2,860 stipend in exchange for the time spent as a team member. The team, as specified by the NASA grant, will meet gender-balance and diversity requirements as a way of achieving a NASA goal of building a diverse Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics educated workforce. CLC has been awarded a two-year grant to participate in this competition. Over the grant period, two teams will compete in two separate competitions. 

Student applications are still being accepted for this opportunity. Interested CLC students must be US citizens to apply. PSEO students are not eligible to participate.

To apply, or to get more information contact Yoshinao Hirai at 218 855 8169, yhirai@clcmn.edu; Nathan Peterson at 218-894-5144, npeterson@clcmn.edu; or David Kobilka, 218 855 8233, dkobilka@clcmn.edu