(Photo Courtesy of River Hawk Robotics YouTube Channel) “Robotics Project from Riverhawk Robotics Club.”
Maxi France
Connector Staff
One of the ways to cope with college stress is to join a club. A main draw to extracurricular life on campus is that it gives students a chance to explore their academic interests in a wide variety of areas. The River Hawk Robotics Undergraduate Club does just that for students interested in advanced technologies, and for helping expand opportunities and skillsets for dozens of UMass Lowell students.
Located on North Campus in Dandeneau 407 and meeting from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesdays and 7-9 p.m. on Wednesdays, the club’s main mission is to get students involved and increase interest in STEM. They help students of varying backgrounds and levels of skill gain hands-on experience and develop technical expertise, from incorporating practice with Arduinos, to coding languages like Python and C++.
A typical day in the life of the club involves members discussing and working on electrical and programming projects. The club operates with three main teams in action: the electrical team, the programming team and the mechanical team.
“Our electrical team designs custom boards, and programming works with electrical to design things like microcode,” says club vice president Jesse Silva, a senior computer engineering major. Through this collaborative process, the club comes together to design and build their robots.
Nicholas Merkle, the lead for the mechanical team, explains the complex process of robot designing. “We use SolidWorks CAD software to design the robots, then we fabricate and put together the robots. We either buy the parts or make them, and we’re able to fabricate the parts that we can’t buy or sell,” he says.
The club also emphasizes getting involved in the broader community, says club president Lauren Rafferty. They visit elementary schools at their science fairs. “We hope we can keep doing community outreach and we’re always looking for volunteers,” she says.
In addition, the club showcases their skills on a national level. They participate in battle bot competitions, putting their creations to the practical test. In addition to the National Robotics League (NRL), a club favorite is the National Havoc Robotics League (NHRL). The club travelled to Connecticut for the Season Five Open Championship, where their robots were physically pitted against those from other STEM associations.
“It was a lot of fun to see all the robots fighting,” Silva says.
On a local level, the team competes in the sled race during Engineering Club Night. This team-based challenge involves a robot pushing a sled across a rink. One person steers the robot while another rides or balances on the sled as it moves.
A strong reason why students should join the club is that members can learn practical skills or lessons from being part of the club that they might not get elsewhere. For example, treasurer Alex Art learned about printed circuit board design from his time at the club.
“Employers look for it,” Art says, explaining that it is a skill tied to electrical engineering, a lucrative career field.
For prospective members, there are multiple ways to contact the club in person. Representatives from the River Hawk Robotics Club set up a booth at the engagement fairs on campus to encourage new members to join. They also attend engineering club fairs held on campus.
As for the logistics of joining the club, Silva says that the club doesn’t require a large time commitment. It is open to every major, not just those who have a background in engineering and technology.
“We’ll take anybody,” Silva says. “Business programs, arts majors, anyone who wants to learn. We’re happy to increase engagement in STEM.”
Additionally, the club is structured in such a way so that students can find new friends and engage in conversations with others who are like-minded. “This club is a great way to get to know people who share your interests,” says Rafferty, who also mentions that members tend to find that they share majors with each other.
All in all, The River Hawk Robotics Club is a great opportunity for both experienced and novice STEM enthusiasts to collaborate on projects and develop marketable, practical skills. Anyone wanting more information for what the club has to offer can contact riverhawkrobotics@uml.edu or interact with the club on their social media platforms.
