Young Robotics Engineers Win Accolades
at Underwater ROV Competition
While many students were splashing in
the ocean during spring break, five students
from South Fayette Middle and High
Schools were showcasing the underwater
capabilities of their remotely operated
vehicle. Young engineers Pat Gannon (10th
grade), Jay Abraham (9th grade), Praman
Rai (7th grade), Vinay Sriharish (7th grade)
and Nathan Sgro (6th grade) competed
against ten other teams in the entry-level
division on Saturday, April 14, at Villanova
University. The first time competitors from
South Fayette won first place for their
Technical Documentation and third place in
the Product Presentation category.
“I am extremely proud of the team,” said
Gannon, who functioned as the team’s
CEO. “As a first year group many of us were
introduced to new concepts and ideas
revolving around marine technology. We
absorbed as much as we possibly could
and produced a great ROV and will most
56 South Fayette
definitely be back next year smarter and
stronger than ever.”
This international competition was
sponsored by the Marine Advanced
Technology Education (MATE) Center and
was the culmination of many months of
after school and weekend work by the
South Fayette students. The theme of
the competition was centered around
the growing needs of large port cities. In
particular, the students had to address
the commerce, entertainment, health and
safety needs that a future port will require.
A Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued by
the Long Beach Port Authority that defined
the competition parameters for each team
to meet. In order to respond to this RFP, the
South Fayette team organized themselves
as a company called LionFish Underwater
Solutions.
When LionFish Underwater Solutions
took on the challenge for this competition,
they knew they had their work cut out for
them. Jay Abraham, the team’s CFO, noted,
“Besides demonstrating the capabilities of
our underwater remotely operated vehicle
(UROV) in the pool, we were required to
develop the technical documentation
for our engineering design and process,
produce a marketing display, and present