Iron Panthers win big

“Robotics isn’t necessarily celebrated as much as sports teams or things like that, so to have random teachers or students in my classes say congratulations, that was incredible to see,” Serena Koopmans, junior and co-captain, said.

In recent years, the team has had ongoing issues of not enough trained engineers, not enough parts, or not enough budget, Zack Weinberg, senior and co-captain, said. Last year the team was in the bottom quartile of robots ranked. But, a commitment to streamlining processes, preparation and looking forward ultimately paid off.

To compete, teams must design a robot capable of picking up balls to shoot into a goal, and then the robot must cover the goal. Students are responsible for driving the robot, tuning it up and repairing technical issues as they arise.

The Iron Panthers made sure to learn from their previous seasons, and spending extra time and effort in anticipation of this competitive season paid off early on. Their first iteration of their competitive robot was built in a few days, when it typically takes much longer, Weinberg said. At the team’s first regional competition this year, the Burlingame team beat out last year’s world champion, setting a high expectation for success. 

“COVID hit our team really hard, so we’ve had to rebuild a lot of our processes,” Koopmans said. “The theme since January that I’ve had in mind is trust. To trust in our systems, trust in the students around me, that they knew what they’re doing.”

While the global team title has been greatly celebrated, the team’s growth this year is almost more enjoyable, Koopmans said. 

“We’ve had this amazing success, but I almost view the competitive success as secondary,” Koopmans said. “I think our team is closer than ever, more bonded than ever. I think our systems are better, we’re more organized, we’re on top of it, and people want to be there.” 

The Iron Panthers now have two global titles on their resume, a success that is in part due to the competitive robotics culture back home, the co-captains said. 

The quality of teams along the Peninsula and throughout Silicon Valley have proven regional tournaments to be more difficult than statewide or national, Weinberg said. While getting past regionals is difficult, the rigor prepares the team for anything by the time they face teams from around the world. 

“The teams here are some of the best in the world,” Weinberg said. “It means that when we’re at regional events, we have to perform at the highest level of competition in order to qualify.” 

In recent years, the Iron Panthers have been one or two matches away from winning at the regional level, which has motivated the team to go the extra mile this year to get over that cusp and get to compete globally. Weinberg estimated that the amount of teams in the Bay Area have doubled since 2019, making the feat even more significant this year. 

“I think that’s kind of motivated people to optimize every little thing,” Weinberg said. “Our whole team across the board has really stepped it up to get that extra 1% of optimization and I think that really helps us to not only qualify this year, but to ultimately win the whole thing.”

Rather than feeling threatened by the sheer volume of competitive robotics programs in the region, Koopmans said the team looked to embrace all their home offers and made extra effort to connect with local industry professionals as mentors. 

The teams’ motto is “student build, student run” and practically every decision is made by students including booking hotels, designing robots, budgeting and grant writing. Mentors and teacher advisors guide the students and give advice, but give students the opportunity to learn from trying things hands-on. 

“I’ve seen a  lot of our students really grow not just in their knowledge but in their ability to lead, to plan, and to be self-sufficient engineers and business people and programmers. It really sets us up well for the future.” 

While the team is reveling in its accomplishments, Weinberg looks to take his experiences and knowledge to Purdue University as an incoming freshman in the fall, and Koopmans is keeping her eyes looking forward. 

“Being a junior and having this experience, it kind of has my wheels turning for next year,” Koopmans said. “Obviously we had this success, but its’ not guaranteed and we have to work just as hard next year.” 

ana@smdailyjournal.com

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