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Notre Dame Prep Killer Bees.

FIRST Robotics Teams Impress in St. Louis

Resource Type: Blog | | John Jowski
FIRST Robotics Competition FRC Ken Kutchek Notre Dame Prep Killer Bees Patti Engineering robotics industry

Patti Engineering supported six teams in 2013 FIRST Robotics Competition, one of which earned second place overall.

The annual competition brings together thousands of bright young individuals to compete in teams. Professional engineers donate their time and expertise to help teams as they are challenged to think, create and inspire as they design, build and program robots.

Patti Engineering supported six teams from Lake Orion, Oxford, Notre Dame Prep, Goodrich and Royal Oak schools. The Notre Dame Prep Killer Bees team performed extremely well and earned their way to the Einstein Championship Final Competition in St. Louis. While they did not win, they did achieve one of the best finishes in school history as a championship finalist with a record of 7-1.

The other teams also delivered impressive results in their respective divisions. The Oxford TORC team finished with a 5-3 record, ranking #29. The Goodrich More Martians record was 3-5 and they ranked #60.

“Patti Engineering is very proud of our teams this year. Our history within the robotics industry and our passion for it keeps us coming back as sponsors and volunteers to the FIRST Robotics Competition every year,” said Ken Kutchek, vice president of operations at Patti Engineering.

Founded in 1989, FIRST promotes youth interest in science and technology. Its mission is to inspire and grow younger generations into science and technology leaders through engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs to build science, engineering and technology skills.

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John Jowski's Bio

Senior Electrical Engineer

John Jowski, an integral member of the Patti Engineering team since 2010, holds an Electrical Engineering degree from Michigan Tech. With a career spanning back to 1992, John tackles complex industrial automation challenges applying his deep experience and expertise in robotics and control systems integration. John strives to stay at the forefront of technology advancements, most recently meeting the rigorous requirements for certification in Siemens SINAMICS S120 Motion Control. Mentoring the next generation of engineers, John has served as a FIRST Robotics coach for more than a decade, FIRST Robotics is a high school STEM competition where students design, build, program, and test robots.