20
History of SVSU: 1989-2013
The Dow SRCI, perhaps unique to SVSU, has funded projects to stimulate students to greater achievement in their post-graduate careers. Professors and instructors have also encouraged students to present their work at professional conferences. As of 2011, more than 270 students had participated in regional, national and international conferences. More than half of that number presented papers at these events. At least 14 students published their work as well.37
Experiential Learning
Some of the more exciting enterprises at SVSU are those that bring recognition in national and international competitions. Consider the SVSU firefighting robot team. In 1998, SVSU hosted the national Student Robotics Automation Contest. Soon after, Russell Clark, professor of electrical & computer engineering, began advising student teams that compet-
Advised by Russell Clark, professor of electrical & computer engineering, student teams annually design an autonomous robot that navigates through a maze in order to extinguish a fire (candle). The students compete at Trinity College’s Annual Fire Fighting Robot Competition, which takes place in April at Trinity College in Connecticut. This team won the contest in 2007.