Young Engineers Association (YEA!)
|
The Young Engineers Association (YEA) is a volunteer-run, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization created to support middle and high school students who display an interest in science and engineering. Our goal is to further student interest in STEM fields by providing an exciting, hands-on engineering experience that cannot be taught in a classroom. Students compete in a national robotics competition and participate in classes and other programs taught by mentors from the workforce. Through these programs, students work together as a team to design, build and code robots to perform specific tasks. In addition to being exposed to and learning technical skills that will provide them a foundation for advanced STEM based training, these programs teach students how to work as a cohesive team, and impart to them the values and ethics required to successfully develop and deploy complex technology based solutions.
If you would like a copy of any legal document from the team, contact ryan@youngengineers.us and we will try to provide it to you within legal or privacy boundaries. |
History
In 2018, Team Komodo won the Colorado Regional Competition and advanced to the world championship in Houston, Texas where we competed alongside 400 teams from all over the world. The team was honored to win the inaugural Energy Day Scrimmage in Denver in September 2018.
In 2019, the team continued our success by competing in both the Oklahoma and Colorado regionals, where we won a technical award at both events. In Oklahoma, the team was awarded the Industrial Design Award sponsored by General Motors and in Colorado, we won the Autonomous Award sponsored by Ford. We made it to the finals of the Salt Lake City Regional competition just before the country shut down in 2020 due to the pandemic.
During COVID 19, the team operated remotely, conducting meetings online. Through quarantine the team continued to meet, work on projects, thinking of innovative and creative solutions to a variety of engineering problems. Throughout 2021 we continued with online meetings and conducted a few in person.
For the 2022 season, the severity of covid had died down which allowed for more frequent in-person meetings. This allowed us to put much more time into the robot and we were able to construct a unique climbing system that won the Creativity award at the 2022 Colorado regional.
Most recently, in 2023, we were a finalist at the Colorado Regional, and earned the wildcard to go to the World Championships coming up in April.
In 2019, the team continued our success by competing in both the Oklahoma and Colorado regionals, where we won a technical award at both events. In Oklahoma, the team was awarded the Industrial Design Award sponsored by General Motors and in Colorado, we won the Autonomous Award sponsored by Ford. We made it to the finals of the Salt Lake City Regional competition just before the country shut down in 2020 due to the pandemic.
During COVID 19, the team operated remotely, conducting meetings online. Through quarantine the team continued to meet, work on projects, thinking of innovative and creative solutions to a variety of engineering problems. Throughout 2021 we continued with online meetings and conducted a few in person.
For the 2022 season, the severity of covid had died down which allowed for more frequent in-person meetings. This allowed us to put much more time into the robot and we were able to construct a unique climbing system that won the Creativity award at the 2022 Colorado regional.
Most recently, in 2023, we were a finalist at the Colorado Regional, and earned the wildcard to go to the World Championships coming up in April.
Team Structure
DesignDesign team comes up with the new designs of the mechanisms for the robot each year, by sketching geometry and designing parts using Solidworks, a Computer Aided Design (CAD) software.
|
FabricationOn Fabrication, team members are trained on CNC mills, lathes, 3D Printers, and more at our in-house machine shop to manufacture parts for the robot, courtesy of Superior Metal Products.
|
ProgrammingOur Programming team develops code and vision systems for the robot every year, as well as our scouting app and software to make scouting and drive teams' job simple and efficient.
|
AssemblyThe Assembly team focuses on prototyping and assembly of mechanisms, chassis, electronics and/or pneumatics. Assembly team also keeps track of the status of robot components.
|
Scouting and StrategyScouts on the team analyze other teams' performance and scoring at competitions, using scouting software and matchups to determine strategy for matches and alliance selection.
|
Fundraising And OutreachAll team members participate in Fundraising and Outreach, whether it is participating in robot demos, volunteering, applying for grants, seeking out sponsorship, and presenting to judges.
|
Our Location
We meet at Superior Metal Products, at 8230 N Cora St, Louviers, CO 80131. The owner of Superior, Mike Pollmiller, has been extremely kind in letting us use some space in one of his buildings.
The mailing address for the Young Engineers Association is 9927 Spring Hill Ln, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129-3833.
The mailing address for the Young Engineers Association is 9927 Spring Hill Ln, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129-3833.
Our Non-Discrimination Policy
The Young Engineers Association is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming learning environment for all students, mentors and volunteers who participate in our organization. Consistent with this principle, it is therefore the Young Engineers Association's policy not to discriminate in offering access to its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, school affiliation, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
Youth Protection Policy
As of May 1st, 2014, FIRST Robotics has implemented a Youth Protection Policy. Since this date, YEA and Team Komodo have adopted and are currently in compliance with this policy. The FIRST YPP program guide can be found at:
http://www.usfirst.org/sites/default/files/uploadedFiles/About_Us/FIRST-YPP-ProgramGuide.pdf
More information on the program can be found here:
http://www.usfirst.org/aboutus/youth-protection-program
At Team Komodo we strive to maintain an optimal and safe work environment for both students and mentors, and we believe this policy will only add to our ability to maintain this environment. If you have any questions regarding the YPP or our team's commitment to it, please contact us using the "Contact Us" page.
http://www.usfirst.org/sites/default/files/uploadedFiles/About_Us/FIRST-YPP-ProgramGuide.pdf
More information on the program can be found here:
http://www.usfirst.org/aboutus/youth-protection-program
At Team Komodo we strive to maintain an optimal and safe work environment for both students and mentors, and we believe this policy will only add to our ability to maintain this environment. If you have any questions regarding the YPP or our team's commitment to it, please contact us using the "Contact Us" page.
