DC BEST Robotics

The University of North Texas College of Engineering and the Department of Mechanical Engineering is hosting the Denton County Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology (DC BEST) Robotics.

DC BEST Robotics logo

The DC BEST Robotics Hub is a member of the BEST Robotics Inc. organization ( https://www.bestrobotics.org ) and it is currently operating under the umbrella of the UNT College of Engineering and the UNT Department of Mechanical Engineering. DC BEST Robotics aims to provide a six-week extracurricular robotics competition among the local high schools in Fall 2021.

DC BEST Robotics aims to promote all the goals established by the BEST Robotics Inc. organization which are listed in the BEST Robotics Inc website https://www.bestrobotics.org.

BEST Robotics Inc. Organizational Goals

  • Promote the growth of hubs (local competition sites) across the U.S., thus maximizing the “pipeline” of future engineers, scientists, and technical professionals.
  • Increase hub growth among two-year technical colleges and four-year colleges and universities.
  • Promote the involvement of rural and inner-city schools which often have limited access to programs of this nature.
  • Increase participation of women and minority students.
  • Develop new and foster existing alliances with national organizations that are stakeholders in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education.
  • Develop educational partnerships with organizations, foundations, and corporations that are engaged in K-12 workforce development.

DC BEST Robotics Goals

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The primary goal of DC BEST Robotics is to motivate young middle/high school students from the city of Denton and the surrounding areas to pursue careers in STEM fields through fun, challenging, and educational robotics competitions. The secondary goal of DC BEST Robotics is to develop the leadership, communication, and community service skills in UNT student volunteers by having the student volunteers serve in key positions throughout the robotic competition.  Thus, DC BEST Robotics aims to provide an educational experience for the city of Denton and surrounding areas middle/high school students and for the UNT college students who participate as volunteers and who serve as role models to the younger students.

History of DC BEST Robotics

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DC BEST Robotics was formerly known as Denton County Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology (DC BEST).  DC BEST operated in the local region for about 15 years with BOEING being the main sponsor during that time frame. Then from 2004 to 2013, DC BEST operated under the umbrella of the UNT College of Engineering and the UNT Department of Mechanical Engineering. It stopped operating in 2013 because of lack of industry sponsors and an unhealthy local economy. Now faculty members, from the UNT Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dr. Leticia Anaya and Dr. Huseyin Bostanci and other UNT and local community members have been working to re-start it for the benefit of the local middle/high school students.  Dr. Anaya is a principal lecturer who is serving as the DC BEST Robotics Director and Dr. Bostanci is an associate professor who is serving as the DC BEST Robotics Assistant Director.

The UNT Department of Mechanical Engineering seeks to establish DC BEST Robotics as a permanent annual event for the benefit of the local schools.   DC BEST Robotics is expected to serve annually about 350 to 450 schools or an average of about 20 schools.  DC BEST Robotics is especially interested in recruiting schools from rural areas and economically disadvantaged schools.

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DC BEST Robotics provides the six week extracurricular competition free to the local middle and high schools. DC BEST Robotics also accepts home schools provided that they are state sanctioned and meet the rules of the BEST Inc. organization.  DC BEST Robotics provides every for free to the schools such as the supplies, the game field, the facilities, the insurance, etc. DC BEST Robotics relies on industry support and volunteer support to provide competition that is free to the participating schools. DC BEST Robotics is still actively seeking sponsorship and volunteers. With additional funding, DC BEST Robotics can potentially serve more schools. DC BEST Robotics is especially interested in recruiting schools from rural areas and economically disadvantaged schools.

Fall 2021 Schedule of Events

DC BEST eventsKickoff Event

Saturday, September 25, 2021, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. through a Zoom meeting

Practice Day / Critical Design Review Judging

November 13, 2021, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. through a Zoom meeting

Engineering Notebook Judging

November 17, 2021, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. through a Zoom meeting

Game Day

Marketing presentations, Friday, November 19, 2021, from 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. through a Zoom meeting

Game Day, Saturday, November 20, 2021, from 8:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.


Volunteers (UNT faculty, staff, students, and community folks are encouraged to participate in these events.). To do so, email Dr. Leticia Anaya, DC BEST Director at lanaya@unt.edu.  

Game Day activities are free and open to the public! 

 

           

Sponsor Information

UNT College of Engineering

UNT Mechanical Engineering Department

Nuclear Power Institute-TAMU

North Texas Chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA)

 

Critical Issue with DC BEST Robotics

DC BEST Robotics is in critical need of funds right now to make sure that we have all the supplies bought and the game field constructed before the summer is over. DC BEST Robotics has always relied on industry support to make this competition possible to the schools free of charge. DC BEST Robotics relies completely on volunteers to make this possible and even the director position is a volunteer position. Again, our goal is to motivate students to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and/or Mathematics (STEM) careers and we feel that an engaging robotics competition among the local schools is one of the best ways to do so. We recognize that our country needs more students to pursue STEM careers and we, as higher education educators, are trying to help the local schools prepare these students for the future. To become a sponsor, please contact:

Dr. Leticia Anaya, DC BEST Robotics Hub Director
Principal Lecturer, Mechanical Engineering Department
UNT College of Engineering
3940 N. Elm, #F115U
Denton, TX  76207
(940) 565-2022 or Lanaya@unt.edu

Thank you for your support!

DC BEST Robotics!