Recently, the PPCHS robotics teams competed at the Tech Titan competition in Miami. Out of the total of 43 different teams competing in this event, PPCHS’s The Department of Microwave Repair robotics team ranked 3rd, were undefeated, made it to the semifinals, and also won an award!

   Nikhil Sangamkar, one half of the part of the team that works on the notebook, says that making it to the semifinals felt amazing and as a whole, the team was surprised about how they made it to third place.

   “We had to make quite a few last-minute changes, but still managed to pull something together for the competition,” Nikhil says.

   Matthew Estevez, the team’s driver and leader, says that for their first competition here in Miami, they did very well.

   The team ended up qualifying for states, which will take place next month on March 13th.

   “We are ranked 6th in south Florida currently, so we have a good chance. Due to the size of robotics here, there are actually 15 spots to qualify for the world championships,” Matthew informs.

   One of the team’s main goals at the moment is to earn their spot for worlds. Matthew says that their goal may be “a little too ambitious,” and will require several hours of all of their hard work.

   “We all have a passion for engineering and STEM, which is what makes us so dedicated to robotics,” Nikhil says. “The entire engineering process of design, testing, and building takes a while, but it’s incredibly satisfying once our efforts pay off!”

   Congratulations to The Department of Microwave Repair on their many accomplishments, and good luck to them on their future competitions!