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The engineering experience of a lifetime.

Start Date: Saturday, Jan 4, 2025 | 10:00 am

You’re thinking about a STEM career, but you’re not sure what that means. You don’t have much experience and you’re not sure where to begin.

We understand, there aren’t many opportunities and it’s a hard path to travel alone. The Vector Space FRC team is your chance to get started. Vector Space knows hands-on education. We know how to make the connection between what you’re learning in school, and how to apply it in the real world.

Don’t let great potential go to waste. Apply now to be part of the FRC team. It’s an experience you’ll never forget.

"I cannot express enough gratitude for the incredible opportunities Vector Space has provided for my children. Through a variety of STEAM workshops, my kids have had the chance to work on projects that push the boundaries of their creativity and technical skills. The thrill of building a robot from scratch and competing in the Hill City Robot Combat competition was an unforgettable experience for my son. However, the most significant impact has been on my daughter, whose experiences at Vector Space have sparked a passion for engineering that she plans to pursue as a career."

- Swathi Prabhu, Parent of Vector Space Participant

Overview

In the words of FIRST, this is the ultimate sport of the mind.

Under strict rules and limited time and resources, teams of high school students are challenged to build industrial-size robots to play a difficult field game in alliance with other teams, while also fundraising to meet their goals, designing a team “brand,” and advancing respect and appreciation for STEM within the local community.

Schedule

The FRC program is divided into three seasons:

Build Season: 6 weeks of robot building madness.
Competition Season: The following 6 weeks, which involves traveling and competing in nearby events (Richmond, Blacksburg, NOVA).
Post Season: 4 irregularly spaced community engagement events

Students are expected to attend at least 75% of meetings for each season.

Eligibility

There will be a maximum of 15 students selected for the FRC team. To be eligible, all students must be in grades 9-12 (ages 14 to 18). Students from any area public, private, or home school are eligible.

The registration fee is $400. Scholarships are available based on need. Registration covers all team expenses during build season and travel for two competitions.

Additional Information

We have compiled a list of Frequently Asked Questions to help your family decide if FRC is a good fit for you.

Click here to learn more.

Sponsors

Our sponsors and partners make this program possible, growing STEM appreciation and experience in Lynchburg.

Instructors

Andrew Burks Andrew has a passion for robotics and machinery that started with Legos and FIRST robotics. It grew during his time at Carnegie Mellon through his involvement with the Robotics Club and Robotics Institute. After graduation, the passion was applied in the development of automated industrial equipment at SpaceX. After nearly 10 years of working in Los Angeles Andrew moved back home to Virginia where he works as an independent consultant for companies that need help tackling large, interdisciplinary, technical, automation problems.	Adam Spontarelli Adam began his career as a Mechanical Engineer in the Nuclear Industry, modeling the flow of fluid and heat through pipes and debris, around baffles and impellers, across differing liquids, gasses, and solids. If the laws of Thermodynamics seemed to misbehave and joules of energy went missing, Adam helped find them. After nearly a decade in the field, he left his desk job to pursue his passion for science, engineering, and making by founding Vector Space. Adam has built coffee roasters, drones, thermally conductive LED boards, arcade machines, childrens' bikes, robotic painting pianos, smart thermostats, and everything in between. He's fascinated by the way things works, and the more technical it gets, the better. The only thing he enjoys as much as making things is teaching others to make things. As the Director of Education, Adam is responsible for crafting educational programming that excites and engages students. He incorporates the compelling work of Makiguchi, Dewey, and Papert into his teaching methods, placing experiential learning at the forefront of his efforts. Adam has led students to build their own quadcopter, launch capsules into space, race RC cars at 60 mph, build giant flip books, custom bicycles, skateboards, autonomous boats, and so much more. His programs have been nationally recognized by the Nation of Makers and shared with the maker education community through Maker Ed. Adam is always coming up with new ideas and looking forward to the next adventure.
Miguel Gonzalez Miguel is originally from Houston, TX, however he's working on making Lynchburg his new home. His favorite machines/tools in the metal shop are the cnc plasma, TIG welders and the bandsaw. Miguel is the Metal Shop Captain at Vector Space, and works as a Welding Engineer at BWXT. Outside of the metal shop he enjoys 3D printing and a fun fact is that he's fully fluent in Spanish.	Nick Lonce Nick works as a Tooling Engineer at Framatome in Lynchburg. Previously, he interned at Andritz Hydro in Charlotte, NC, and has a BE in Electrical Engineering from UNC - Charlotte. Nick is a member at Vector Space and participates as a mentor for our Engineering Mentoring program, working along high school students to introduce engineering principals and practical applications.
Emily Griffen Emily Griffen is a mechanical engineer who loves math. Her work experience includes Senior Automation and Controls Engineer at Spacex, and roles at Dematic, Pratt & Whitney and Xerox. Emily holds a Master Of Science in Mechanical Engineering @ Carnegie Mellon University. She lives with her husband and 1 year old daughter at Smith Mountain Lake.	Elise Spontarelli Elise loves vectors. She's made an entrepreneurial career rendering lines, arcs, and polygons, and since cofounding Vector Space, the addiction has only gotten worse. You'll often find Elise giving her designs life by vinyl cutting, laser engraving, and silk screening. When she's not enthralled by graphics, you'll find her in the wood shop making toys and home decor. Elise is also a strong advocate of the maker movement, and Vector Space's fearless leader.
Liberty IMPACT Club Liberty Engineering students and members of the IMPACT Club on campus will provide mentorship for the FRC team. IMPACT stands for “Inspiring Minds to Pursue Aspirations in Careers and Technology.” The club is composed of computer science, as well as computer, mechanical, and electrical engineering students. Mentors include former teammates from FRC teams 1519 and 8724 based in New Hampshire.	Nathan Wyand Nathan self describes as "a wild software entwickler building web apps in Lynchburg, Virginia." He is a member at Vector Space where he helps with networking and computer projects. Nathan works at CloudFit Software, and is passionate about smart community development and open source everything. In 2024 he completed the Lynchburg Citizens Academy, and has made more than 150 contributions on GitHub this year.
Peter Sheldon Dr. Sheldon is a professor of physics and engineering at Randolph College. His research with undergraduates is in inertial navigation and science education. Peter is the Director of the Center for Student Research, running all the undergraduate research programs at the College. He also directs the Central Virginia Science Festival (SciFest) to make science exciting and accessible to everyone. Peter also serves on the Vector Space Board of Directors.

Application

Applications for this project closed on November 3, 2024.