[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9339]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    CONGRATULATING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS ROBOTICS TEAM

 Mr. HELLER. Mr. President, today, I wish to congratulate the 
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, UNLV, robotics team on being selected 
as one of the top ten in the world by competing in the 2015 U.S. 
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Robotics Challenge. The 
competition included a dozen teams from the United States, including 
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration, and Lockheed Martin. Eleven teams from Japan, 
Germany, Italy, South Korea, and Hong Kong also participated.
  The competition was initially created in response to the humanitarian 
need after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor incident in 2011. The 
goal of the program remains to accelerate the development of advanced 
robots capable of entering areas too dangerous for humans and acting as 
first responders in the disaster zone. The robots chosen as finalists, 
including UNLV's Metal Rebel, competed in eight tasks related to 
disaster response, including climbing stairs, turning valves, tripping 
circuit breakers, walking among rubble, and driving alone. Metal Rebel 
took eighth place out of 23 teams, bringing in a score of 6 out of 8 
and a time of 57:41. This team of students and faculty stands as a 
tribute to what dedication and hard work can achieve. I am proud to 
call them fellow Nevadans.
  The team of 15 UNLV engineering students was led by Paul Oh, Lincy 
professor of unmanned aerial systems and expert in robotics and 
autonomous systems for UNLV's Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering. 
Mr. Oh joined the competition to help UNLV and Nevada become a national 
leader in the autonomous systems industry. He was also the former 
program director for the National Science Foundation robotics. His work 
for this university and our State is greatly appreciated.
  I am excited to see local students and faculty bringing recognition 
to both Nevada and to UNLV for their advancement in a global 
competition. These students should be proud to call themselves top 
contenders in this international competition. I ask my colleagues to 
join me and all Nevadans in congratulating UNLV for its success and 
honorable representation of Nevada.

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