Manufacturers proclaim Eagle Valley Middle School Jedi engineers team junior tech partners

The Micromanipulator Company recently hosted the award-winning 2016-17 Eagle Valley Middle School Jedi Engineers of Carson City, along with school district officials, local businesses, families and friends.

During the Thursday, March 16 event at the company’s facility, the Jedi Engineers were presented with a proclamation from the Western Manufacturing Alliance naming them the first “WMA Junior Technology Advancement Partners” in recognition of their robotics achievements.

Emmanuel Alvarez, Ryan Cooley, Bryar Fancher, Cash Farnworth, Nevin McIlwee, and Kai Miller are the 2016-17 Jedi Engineers of Eagle Valley Middle School.

The school’s STEM Lab Facilitator Lisa Stocke-Koop is their coach, and Eric Fancher and Jason Koop are the team’s assistant coaches and mentors.

The Jedi Engineers won a First Place Champion’s Award at the Northern Nevada FIRST LEGO League Championship earlier this year, and will represent Nevada at both the FLL World Festival next month in Houston, Texas and the FLL International Championship being held this summer in Bath, United Kingdom.

FLL has programs for middle and high school students “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.”

The league hosts several types of competitions for middle and high school students including one focused on robotics. It requires students to design, build and program a robot using LEGO MINDSTORMS technology for competition on a table-top playing field.

The Jedi Engineers demonstrated their FLL robot during the event at Micromanipulator. In addition, the team presented their innovative and cost-effective solution for animal shelters.

Pointing out that while dogs come in a variety of sizes, animal shelters often do not have ideal cages that fit various canine needs.

The Jedi Engineers designed configurable cages with easy-to-move clear plexiglass walls, that would comfortably accommodate varying numbers and sizes of dogs while providing visibility of each other. According to the team, research has shown that both factors were important to reduce the anxiety that the dogs may feel while they are waiting to be adopted.

“Part of WMA’s mission is to help manufacturers adopt Next Generation Manufacturing best practices to enhance their competitive advantage. Robotics are expected to play an important role in the advancement of new manufacturing technologies,” said Gino DiSimone, WMA Executive Board President and General Manager, Betra Manufacturing. “The proclamation issued by WMA was recognition of what the Jedi Engineers have achieved so far, and to support what they have yet to accomplish.”

Micromanipulator CEO/President, Mike Jackson, emceed the event with his wife, Kathy Jackson. Both are active members of the Carson City Schools Foundation. He also is President of the NNDA Executive Board and a member of the WMA Executive Board.

“Micromanipulator was proud to host the Jedi Engineers so they could share the amazing amount of work they have put into their projects, along with the knowledge and capabilities they have learned from their efforts and dedication,” said Mike Jackson.

“The business and technical challenges faced by these remarkable students are similar to those that entrepreneurs and startups have to deal with. Responding with determination, persistence and innovative thinking, the Jedi Engineers worked through the difficulties and emerged as winners.”

NNDA Executive Director, Robert “Rob” Hooper, who attended the event, said, “Economic development is as much about tomorrow, as it is today. These students are the future of the Sierra Region, demonstrating that there is more innovation happening in our four-county area than most folks realize.”

Several donations were presented to the Jedi Engineers to help offset their competition costs and supplement their many fundraising efforts. A GoFundMe account has been established in their name and additional funds are still needed.

About WMA: Western Manufacturing Alliance™ (WMA) is a Nevada Domestic Nonprofit 501(c)(3) Corporation. An innovative, first-of-its-kind industry organization, it is focused on member profitability and on support for the implementation of Next Generation Manufacturing (NGM). WMA does not replace existing manufacturing associations or organizations. Its goal is to complement them, and help all manufacturers to be aware of the many opportunities and resources available to support their success.

About Micromanipulator: From its worldwide headquarters in Carson City, Nev., The Micromanipulator Company supplies the semiconductor industry with analytical probing equipment for design verification, device modeling and characterization, design and market FA, process verification, and quality control. Their innovative products have positioned us as the dominate supplier of pre and post tape out wafer, package, and system level analytical probing tools for integrated circuits for the entire semiconductor product development process.

About NNDA: Northern Nevada Development Authority (NNDA) is a Nevada domestic 501(c)(6) nonprofit corporation. For over 30 years, it has been the state-designated Regional Development Authority (RDA) for the Sierra Region of Nevada: Carson City, Douglas County, Lyon County, and Storey County. Established in 1981, NNDA has assisted hundreds of companies with relocation or expansion. Since 2010, NNDA has had an economic impact of over $1.7 billion in the Sierra Region and assisted 67 companies with their relocation to Northern Nevada.

WMA Proclamation Jedi Engineers by Carson Now on Scribd