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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Jan. 21, 2020) — Milligan College has established the region’s first collegiate robotics team. The team will build remote-controlled robots that can navigate through a series of underwater maneuvers and will compete in Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) competitions.
“To produce a working robot, our students will combine skills from engineering, computer science, mathematics, business and information systems,” said Dr. Teresa Carter, professor of information systems and one of three faculty advisors to the robotics team. “Throughout the process of building and maneuvering a robot, our students will better understand how to apply these skills and solve real world issues.”
Milligan’s first competition will be the Appalachian Highlands MATE ROV Regional Competition on May 9, in Kingsport, Tennessee, competing against student teams from the Southeast. There, the team can advance to the International MATE ROV Competition at Villanova University in June.
MATE ROV competitions require teams to tackle problems affecting the world. Milligan’s team will focus on the identification and removal of plastics congesting rivers, lakes, waterways and oceans.
“Our robotics team provides students a unique opportunity to work on a global problem and successfully produce a global solution,” said Carter. “Our goal is to produce a remote-controlled robot that can identify and collect data from waterways and oceans to determine the impact of plastics.”
Computer science major Cody Mudrack is looking forward to how the robotics team will bring to life the programming skills he is learning in the classroom.
“I look forward to applying my programming skills to something tangible and beyond a computer screen,” said Mudrack. “I also appreciate how our final product can help clean our local rivers and lakes to improve our community.”
To learn more about STEM programs at Milligan, visit milligan.edu/STEM.