ATLANTA, Georgia — Meadowbrook High School’s robotics team has won one of five top awards presented at the 100 Scholars Robotics Alliance FIRST LEGO Regional Tournament in Atlanta, Georgia.

The St Andrew-based school took Best Robot Design on Saturday, December 14.

It was Meadowbrook’s first official entry in the annual tournament which attracts hundreds of STEM students from middle and high schools in Georgia and adjoining states in the US. Last year, three students — Shemoy and Garry Weller and Adam Mollison — attended as special guests/observers and impressed the organisers with their on-the-spot robotic design and programming.

Members of the Science & Robotic Club were excited when head of the school’s science department, Dr Rose Knight, received an invitation from 100 Scholars Robotics Alliance to participate in the tournament this year. Eight students were selected to participate — Jon-Pierre Harris, Donovan Dixon, Giovanni Leach, Tahir McKenzie, Tristian Russell, and the three ‘pioneers’ Shemoy, Garry, and Adam. They were accompanied by science teacher Petra-Ann Campbell.

Meadowbrook is the first school outside the US to participate in the tournament.

Guided by FIRST Lego League’s City Shaper theme, Meadowbrook competed with students from more than 30 schools vying for five top awards. They were challenged to think like scientists and engineers and design, build, test and programme their robot to help cities, towns, and communities solve a common, real-world problem.

The Meadowbrook High robot, named ‘Adam’ after the youngest member of the team, completed its assigned mission on the game field without errors. It was programmed to leave its base, ascend a ramp, and elevate and test the efficiency of a structure. Following the mission, the team spent 10 minutes with the judges presenting a robot design executive summary, explaining its manipulators and programming, and answering questions to complete the judges’ assessment.

Tahir McKenzie, who, like Giovanni Leach, wants to pursue studies in mechanical engineering, described the tournament as “a really good experience that will help me focus on my career goal”.

Commenting on the design features of Adam the robot, Shemoy Weller said: “We purposely designed Adam without excesses so that it would be effective at achieving our project goals.”

Past students and friends of Meadowbroo High attended the tournament to support and celebrate with the team.

100 Scholars Robotics Alliance, a project of the 100 Black Men of Atlanta organisation, is staged annually at the Johnson STEM Activity Center on the Johnson Research & Development Company campus, downtown Atlanta.