RANGER Class Winners Demonstrate ROV at White House Science Fair

The MATE ROV team AMNO & CO of Seattle, USA, was one of about 40 student groups invited to participate in the annual White House Science Fair, which was held on 13 April 2016 and attended by President Obama. During the fair, the White House became a hands-on showcase of student innovation featuring robots, prototypes and inventions that were researched, built and designed by the next generation of America's scientists and engineers. These included AMNO & CO team members Alex Miller, Nicholas Orndorff and Clara Orndorff, who set up an ROV demonstration exhibit on the White House lawn.

The sixth and final White House Science Fair of President Obama’s administration celebrated the accomplishments of more than 100 top science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) students from across the country – the winners of a broad range of STEM competitions held across the United States. Science Fair organisers invited MATE to submit several team success stories for consideration, and they selected AMNO & CO for winning first place in the RANGER class of the 2015 International Student ROV Competition.

Demonstration for Scientists and Guests

It’s not every day that you see a group of students rolling a 400-gallon livestock watering tank across the White House lawn, but that’s exactly what AMNO & CO did. They demonstrated their ROV for a variety of distinguished scientists and guests, including Bill Nye the Science Guy, NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, and NASA engineer and Internet meme Bobak Ferdowsi (aka the NASA Mohawk Guy). They also showed off their vehicle for many national news media, including NBC, CNN, ABC, and CBS.

When President Obama arrived, he posed with students for a group photo and took the time to shake everyone’s hand. Afterwards, he visited some of the exhibits and made a brief speech that recognised the students for their accomplishments and encouraged them to continue learning.

Live Video Stream

Student chaperones, including the team members’ parents, MATE associate director and competition coordinator Jill Zande and AMNO & CO team mentor (and mom to Nicholas and Clara) Mary Chang, watched a live video stream of the event from the Eisenhower Office Building, next door to the White House. They also attended a panel discussion that included former Science Fair participants and senior presidential advisor Valerie Jarrett. After President Obama’s remarks, they were escorted to the White House where they were reunited with team AMNO & CO and had the opportunity to walk through the exhibits. 

Clara is a freshman at the University of Washington; her brother Nicholas and their friend Alex are juniors at Seattle’s Ingraham High School and Garfield High School, respectively.

Newsclip on the Science Fair from CNN including the ROV demonstration: