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Show 12 | MyWeberMedia.com| March 21, 2019 By KAINOA NUNEZ Reporter pixabay.com Junior high and high school students gathered in the Swenson Gymnasium on Feb. 23 to participate in the 2019 FIRST Tech Challenge robotics competition. Hosted by Weber State University’s College of Engineering, Applied Science & Technology, the event challenged students grades seven through 12 to design, build, program and code robots. A total of 36 teams from Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming competed for two spots to move head to the FIRST world Championship in Houston, Texas. The event sold out to a total of 820 people including families, friends, students, volunteers and faculty members. “It’s exciting to bring all these students here, but it’s also great that as a community, we can provide this service to our university,” said Dana Dellinger, director of the Center for Technology Outreach. This year’s theme was “Rover Ruckus” and centered on the idea of using autonomous robots to explore other planets. Teams participating in the competition performed certain tasks before switching alliances and competing against one another, encouraging a collaborative and competitive atmosphere. During the autonomous period, the robots operated using only pre-programmed instructions and sensor input before they moved to the the driver-control period. Alliances earned points by placing minerals into their cargo holds. The more minerals that each team collected, the more points they earned. Park City’s Checkmates won the com- petition and received the Inspire Award, which is a strong ambassador for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology programs. They will move on to compete at the world’s competition. “It’s fantastic to see them working together and everyone brings their own skill set to a project,” said David Ferro, the dean of the College of Engineering, Applied Science and Technology. “What makes FIRST stand out is that it’s a very holistic approach,” Dellinger said. “It’s not just about being the best coder or designer. It’s about being a person who can work with others and treat each other well with respect.” Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com EX-WSU COACH TO PAY BILLS IN WASHINGTON By JOE TRAUB Desk Editor For the second time this offseason, the Weber State University football team has lost an assistant coach. This time, it is quarterbacks coach Kelly Bills who is on his way out. He is headed to Ellensburg, Washington, where he will be the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Central Washington University. Bills made his announcement in a tweet in which he expressed apprecation for Weber State. “I have so much gratitude to have coaches at Weber State football for the last three years,” Bills wrote. “The relationships are everything to me and make it so hard to leave. I can’t tell you how much of a bet- State head coach Jay Hill since 2016, ter coach I am because of Jay Hill and the which marks the best three-year stretch in men on our staff.” school history. He was Bills will remain a “I couldn’t have asked wide receivers coach in Wildcat, as that is also for a better first hire to 2016 and 2017, workthe mascot for CWU. start my coaching career ing with wideouts such “I couldn’t have as Cameron Livingston, asked for a better first than to get Kelly Bills on Darryl Denby, Drew hire to start my coach- staff. Coach Bills is a man Batchelor and Rashid ing career than to get of high character who will Shaheed. Kelly Bills on staff. do a great job leading our Bills was quarterCoach Bills is a man of backs coach in 2018 young men.” high character who will and helped guide Jake CHRIS FISK do a great job leading Constantine to imCWU Head Coach our young men,” CWU prove throughout the head coach Chris Fisk season. After a rocky said in a press release. start, Constantine had a five-game stretch Bills had served on the staff of Weber near the end of the year where he threw 10 touchdown passes against just two interceptions. This departure comes after longtime assistant Colton Swan left in January for the linebackers coach position at the University of Utah. Dave Schramm, who joined WSU last season as offensive coordinator, will assume the role of quarterbacks coach while also keeping his play-calling duties. Weber State went 28–11 with Bills on the sidelines, a stretch that included two Big Sky Conference titles and three trips to the FCS Playoffs. The ‘Cats have fallen in the quarterfinals in each of the last two seasons. Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com |
