The 19th Annual MESA Olympics & Robotics Competition took place on Saturday, April 28, 2012 from 8:30 – 2:00 pm at San Diego City College.

108 MESA students, staff, and volunteers across the MESA programs at San Diego State University, San Diego City College, Southwestern College, and from Roosevelt and Mann middle schools in San Diego and Southwest and Imperial high schools in Imperial Valley who are part of the MESA Schools Programs in their counties, participated in the competition.
The competition segmented in problem-solving sessions, prosthetic arm and/or robotics competition designed to promote teamwork, engineering and problem solving skill development.

The OLYMPICS competition has teams of 4 students solve technical problems in mathematics, chemistry, physics and engineering. The competition is broken down in 3 academic levels.

The ROBOTICS competition uses the LEGO Mind storm NXT 2.0 robotics kits for teams of 4 students to build robots to complete 2 challenges-an obstacle course, and a head-to-head competition.

This year, for the first time, a Prosthetic Arm competition for middle school students was included in the event. Two groups created a prosthetic arm using materials provided to them. The projects were judged on dexterity and design.

The Hamilton Sundstrand Training Academy took place at Hamilton Sundstrand Power Systems in San Diego, California, on Friday, April 13, 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The purpose of the training academy was to expose a diverse group of college level engineering students to Hamilton Sundstrand, business development, and the skills needed to succeed in the workplace as an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) Market Analyst.

Business Development Manager David J. Gideon facilitated discussions regarding Hamilton Sundstrand, business development, and their APU Market Analysis internship. Mr. Bob Edie and Ms. Maria Charles provided an extensive facility tour that included: safety, product line, packing, shipping, turbine assembly, rotor assembly, APU test cells, and the tail end of certain aircrafts.

Students also received classroom training on the APS5000 APU, an APU found on the Boeing 787 aircraft. Topics of instruction and discussion included: APU theory, line maintenance, fault isolation, technical specifications, the global economy, and export control. Older turbines, wheels, inlet guide drains, and rotor assembly parts were available on hand for closer inspection.

San Diego City College MESA Program Director Rafael Alvarez was interviewed on November 22, 2011 by NBC 7 reporter Rory Devine, in response to a Forbes Magazine article on Hispanics in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Below are links to the NBC 7 video and Forbes article. Also included in the video is a San Diego State University (SDSU) MESA student and President of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) – SDSU Chapter.

The Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement Student Leadership Conference held in Oakland last month offered extensive professional and leadership development through direct interaction with industry mentors and speakers. The hand-picked students, all majoring in engineering or computer science, were from 25 universities and community colleges across the state.

Teams consisting of MESA students at San Diego State University, San Diego City College, Southwestern Community College, Imperial Valley High School, and Holtville High School competed against each other in exams that spanned Calculus, Physics, Chemistry, and some Engineering material.

Each campus was also allowed up to 3 teams who would program a LEGO MindStorm NXT robotics kit to compete in 2 missions. The first mission required speed and intelligence to maneuver from a home area through a slalom course. The second mission was a combination control and head-to-head event where robots raced to collect the most LEGO pieces and return them back to their home base under a constrained area and time limit.

Caltrans, via their headquarters and traffic management center shared with CHP, provided ‘in-house’ training; students learned technical skill sets and gained professional development to enhance their professional development and further their employment opportunities.

The 10th Annual Leadership Summit took place at the Indian Hills Camp in Jamul on the weekend of February 11 – February 13, 2011.

49 MESA/MESA Engineering Program (MEP)/Maximizing Science Potential (MSP) students from San Diego City College, San Diego State University, Southwestern College, Crawford High, Morse High, Lincoln High, Mark Twain High, San Pasqual High, Southwest High, and Calexico High Schools participated in various competitions that promoted the use of their leadership skills and various strengths attributes.

Another very special thanks goes to PBS&J for allowing the Leadership Summit to take place with its grant award to SDSU MEP. Without this grant award, the 2011 Leadership Summit would not have taken place.

Engineering and computer science students at San Diego State will benefit from increased services thanks to a grant from Sempra Energy Foundation.

The San Diego State Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) center will receive $6,000 to support students in retention and graduation.

MESA, an academic preparation and enrichment program, supports students so they can earn degrees in math-based fields. At San Diego State, more than 260 students are involved in MESA.

Four other MESA centers in Sempra’s service area will also receive $6,000 each: Cal State LA, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Long Beach and CSU Fresno. MESA currently serves more than 1,000 students at those five campuses.

On Thursday, August 12, 2010, Raytheon Expeditionary Warfare Center and Rick Engineering Company hosted more than 50 student leaders and industry professionals for the 2010-2011 San Diego Region Joint Planning Conference for Engineering and Science Student Chapters.

The purpose of the annual event was to provide a forum for the leaders of various student and professional organizations.

Representing the 53rd district of California, Congresswoman Susan Davis presented advice for current college students, updated attendees on project’s she and her staff are currently working on in support of education in light of the current California and nation economy, shared thoughts about where the future of high education lies in regard to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields, the status of state and federal aid in the educational field, and lastly, touched upon the value of engaging in community service.

Teams consisting of MESA students at San Diego State University (SDSU), San Diego City College (SDCC), Southwestern Community College (SWC), Morse High School, Imperial Valley High School, and William Moreno Jr. High School competed against each other in exams that spanned Calculus, Physics, Chemistry, and some Engineering material.

Each campus was also allowed up to 3 teams who would program a LEGO MindStorm NXT robotics kit to compete in 2 missions. The first mission required speed and intelligence to maneuver from a home area through a slalom course. The second mission was a combination control and head-to-head event where robots raced to collect the most LEGO pieces and return them back to their home base under a constrained area and time limit.