A robotics team comprising members from Salmon River and Massena Central schools was a regional winner at the FIRST Robotics Competition Regional in Manchester, N.H., on March 2 and will advance to the FRC Championship in St. Louis, Mo., in April.

A team of 25 Clarkson undergraduates serve as mentors for approximately 50 high school students from the Salmon River and Massena central school districts, shown in the photo above, as they design, build, program, test and prepare a human-sized robot for competition over the course of six weeks.

“Win or lose, the resulting experience is invaluable for exposing high school students to exciting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) concepts while developing a strong sense of civic responsibility and leadership skills among Clarkson student mentors,” said Team Advisor and Clarkson University Associate Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering James J. Carroll.

Carroll also credits Massena and Salmon River robotics team coaches Steve Robert and Darcie Fregoe for their active participation in the program as a major factor in the teams’ success.

This year’s FIRST Robotics Competition game, “Ultimate Ascent,” involved robots competing in alliances of three-on- three on a 27-by-54-foot field over two days of qualifying and elimination matches. The goal was for each robot trio to shoot as many Frisbees as possible into their scoring zones within two minutes and 15 seconds; 45 teams from across the US and Canada competed at the Manchester Regional.