[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 13137-13138]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            IN HONOR OF THE APTOS HIGH SCHOOL ROBOTICS CLUB

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 2, 2013

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Aptos High School 
Robotics Club--winners of the 2013 International Marine Advanced 
Technology Education (MATE) Underwater Robotics Competition. The club, 
which independently designed, built, operated, and competed with their 
remote operated vehicle (ROV) in this year's competition, has won the 
MATE competition for the second time in three years. This year's 
original design, ``The Kracken'', is a deep-water ROV engineered to 
maintain ocean observing systems. This fully functional submersible, a 
collaborative effort by fourteen bright and young scientific minds, 
demonstrates that people of all ages have much to contribute to the 
science and technology necessary to better understand our treasured 
oceans.

[[Page 13138]]

   The MATE competition challenges K-12, community college, and 
university students from all over the world to design and build ROVs to 
tackle missions modeled after real world modern science scenarios. The 
competition requires students to think of themselves as 
``entrepreneurs'' and transform their teams into companies that 
manufacture, market and sell ``products.''
   In addition to engineering their ROVs, the students are required to 
prepare technical reports, poster displays and engineering 
presentations that are delivered to working professionals. This 
structure allows competitors to experience the ``real world'' aspects 
of bringing such products to the marketplace; not only highlighting the 
importance of ocean observation and exploration, but also the 
intrapersonal and professional skills needed to effectively contribute 
in a professional environment.
   Mr. Speaker, I am immensely proud of these talented and hardworking 
young oceans leaders from my congressional district and congratulate 
them on their remarkable achievement. These students have proven, on an 
international level, that the innovative mind and entrepreneurial 
spirit is alive and well in all generations of Americans. Constituents 
in my district have long recognized the value of our oceans and coasts 
and the Aptos High Robotics Team has developed an important prototype 
that will help scientists gather more ocean observing data. I commend 
the team for their efforts and encourage them to continue to pursue 
their passion for ocean science and exploration.

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