Stockbridge robotics team receives $10K grant from Enbridge

From Left to right: Molly Nichols, Hailee Fraser-Gutting, Julia Marhofer, Hailey Howard, Kaleb Adkins, Katelyn Knieper, Chloe Miner, Kael Bunce, Sylvia Whitt, Chelsey Asquith, Baylee Heinrich, Michelle Zemke. Rusty Smith/Enbridge Laura Hansher/Enbridge Rob Kitchen/Enbridge Bob Richards Mike Moeller/Enbridge Brian Buck/Enbridge John Gauderman/Enbridge. Photo credit Amy Haggerty

Some of the equipment the InvenTeam is taking with them. Photo credit Amy Haggerty

by Amy Haggerty

The Stockbridge High School Robotics Team, better known as the Stockbridge InvenTeam, received a generous gift of $10,000 from Enbridge on Tuesday, Sept. 18. The grant, awarded before a sizable gathering at the newly renovated high school, will help fund the team’s trip to American Samoa, located in the South Pacific some 7,000 miles distant from Stockbridge.

John Gauderman, Enbridge Director of Operations for the Great Lakes Region addressed the students. “I want to encourage you to continue to study engineering and earn an engineering degree,” he said. “It’s a challenging and versatile field with a wide range of specialties that you can use in a variety of ways. I hope you’ll earn that degree and maybe one day come to work for Enbridge.”

For more than a year, the InvenTeam has been working to organize and assemble ROV kits, underwater cameras systems and drones for their trip. Sending two adults and 13 students will cost $40,000, so the gift from Enbridge moves the team a major step closer to realizing its dream. The funds will also help students build a sonar unit for their remote operated vehicle, ROV.

Also present, Enbridge Communications Strategist Ryan Duffy said, “We are very excited to be part of this project. It’s great for the community and the students.”

Since 2010, Business and Technology teacher Robert Richards has taken students to the other side of the world to explore uncharted, underworld territory using robotics technology. This program makes a positive impact on the world while putting Stockbridge Community Schools on the map. The SHS robotics program is known nationwide for its awards and outstanding accomplishments.

In a move that characterizes of the robotics program’s culture of excellence, the team intends to stretch beyond its former limits and navigate its ROV to a depth 300 feet below the ocean’s surface. “So it’ll set a new depth record for our students,” Richards said. Photo credit Amy Haggerty

Enbridge first built the Stockbridge Terminal within Stockbridge Township and Ingham County in 1999, 19 years ago. Over the past five years, it has expanded its operations and grown Stockbridge Terminal to employ 15 full time employees. Enbridge has invested more than $400,000 in community-strengthening initiatives across Michigan, and its liquids pipelines have delivered over 15 billion barrels of crude oil and other petroleum or natural gas liquids.

The 13 students, leaving Nov. 21 and returning Dec. 5, are focused on achieving four goals: First, they plan to study the fish at the bottom of the ocean. Second, they will conduct research of Palolo worms leaving their burrows for their annual spawning season. Third, they will actively connect with the students in American Samoa to share information and learn about marine technology. The Inventeam’s fourth and final goal is to search for geothermal vents under the ocean floor.

In a move that characterizes of the robotics program’s culture of excellence, the team intends to stretch beyond its former limits and navigate its ROV to a depth 300 feet below the ocean’s surface.

“So it’ll set a new depth record for our students,” Richards said.