High school students direct robots at UHV summer camp

Teressa Torres, left, a Calhoun High School sophomore, tests her robot’s ability to recognize a barrier on Tuesday as Dillon Herring, a Victoria East freshman, and Nathan Valadez, a Calhoun senior, look on. Twelve area high school students are attending the University of Houston-Victoria Summer Robotics Camp this week. Students are working on programming their robots to accomplish a variety of tasks. They are learning basic concepts of digital simulation and robotics in engineering fields with an emphasis on critical thinking and math problem solving. The camp was made possible by an Alcoa Foundation grant to the university. Because of demand, a second robotics camp is scheduled for July 17 to 20.

The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.