Project Y
FIRST Team 4153
2016-2017 Team Handbook
Mission Statement and Vision
It is our mission to create a sustainable FIRST program that incorporates the ideals of science,
engineering, mathematics, and technology (STEM) in our community and in neighboring
communities. Through the promotion of team-building, technical skills, leadership, and hard work,
we hope to develop interest and inspiration in STEM for students and mentors alike.
Team Description
FIRST Team 4153 Project Y is a FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team and a club at the Los Alamos
High School. The team focus is on doing; designing, building, and creating using a wide variety of
tools and discipline experience.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology) is an international organization
that seeks to show students of every age that science, technology, and problem-solving are not only
fun and rewarding, but are proven paths to successful careers and a bright future for us all.
(firstinspires.org)
Why are we named Project Y?
The Manhattan Project site at Los Alamos was known as Site Y, or Project Y. The Manhattan Project
was an unprecedented collaboration of scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. We named
ourselves Project Y in recognition of the history of our hometown, taking inspiration from their spirit
of innovation and cooperation. The question "why" is also an important one to ask in STEM fields,
and in FIRST, so there's a bit of a pun happening too.
History
The team was founded in 2012 by Steve and Tiffany Anton and has competed in five seasons of
FIRST FRC competitions: Rebound Rumble, Ultimate Accent, Aerial Assist, Recycle Rush, and
Stronghold.
In 2012 the team won the Rookie Inspiration Award and was the Highest-seeded Rookie Team at the
Salt Lake City Regional competition. The team has successfully competed in regional competitions in
Denver, CO, Salt Lake City, UT and Lubbock, TX. The team’s highest performance was to be a finalist
in the 2014 Lubbock Regional. In 2015 the team was awarded the Innovation in Controls Award at
the Lubbock Regional.
Project Y Team 4153
2016-2017 Team Handbook
Team Organization
The lead mentor for Team 4153 is Andrew Erickson. The faculty sponsor is Don Davis. The team is
governed by a leadership team that consists of five mentors: Steve Aumack, Andrew Erickson,
Pierre-Yves Le Bas, David Phillips, and Jim TenCate and three students. The student members of the
leadership team are elected by the students in each sub-team at the beginning of each year.
The team operates in a highly collaborative manner and key decisions are made collectively by the
team when possible. The leadership team reserves the right to make decisions that are in the best
interest of the team when necessary.
The team is organized into three student sub-teams and two support teams:





Project Management (Andy Erickson) Team Administration, procurement, training, safety
Mechanical Design and Manufacturing Team (Steve Aumack Lead)
o Drive Train – responsible to design, machine, and fabricate the robot drive train
o Manipulator – responsible to design, machine, and fabricate the robot components
necessary to play the elements of the game
o CAD – responsible to develop CAD drawings to support fabrication of the robot
components using SolidWorks
o Additive Manufacturing – 3D printing
Electronics/Programming Team (Pierre-Yves Le Bas Lead)
o Electronics responsible for the electronic components and sensors
o Programming the robot functions including autonomous operations
o Drivers station development and debugging
o Computers and network infrastructure
o Data management and archives
Drive Team/Marketing Team (Jim TenCate Lead)
o Drive Team – Kickoff, Game strategy, driver training, field elements, competition
drive team, driver station layout and control, scouting, bumpers
o Production/Marketing – facility management and logistics, recruiting, responsible
for documenting the team performance and events, graphic arts, web site,
advertising, and marketing efforts. Develops the team business plan and team
handbook.
Parent Team (Andy Erickson Lead)
o Fundraising/Sponsorship – executes the Business Plan: arranges fundraising
opportunities for the students and team and, networks with community
organizations to sustain the Team’s support.
o Travel Planning – arrange for competition travel arrangements
Students are encouraged to try different activities on each sub-team to explore their interests.
FIRST Team 4153 – Project Y
Team4153.org
Rev. 7/31/16
Project Y Team 4153
2016-2017 Team Handbook
Operating Plan
FIRST Team 4153 has a detailed business plan that outlines the team financial and business
operations. The team operates as a club organization at the Los Alamos High School. The team is
funded through sponsorships, fundraising, and student fees.
What to Expect:
i) Student Fee: $100 per year. Fees are due at the end of the first week of Build Season. The
student fee covers part of the general team expenses necessary to design, fabricate,
assemble, and promote the team.
ii) Travel expenses: The team will travel together and stay together at competitions. Students
will responsible for expenses related to their hotel and food expenses at competition.
iii) Students are expected to participate in fundraising activities. These activities benefit the
team and provide students opportunities to cover part of their travel expenses.
iv) Students are expected to participate in outreach events (e.g. parades, robot
demonstrations) and encouraged to mentor other robotics teams and STEM activities in
town.
What is Expected for Students:
i) Students work and collaborate as a team
ii) Students are gracious professionals
iii) School work is important and we encourage students to put their school grades as a high
priority and maintain those grades throughout build season
iv) During build season a student are expected to attend and participate in three meetings per
week and overall participate in at least 48 hours of activities during build season in order to
travel with the team to competition
v) Horseplay, poor sportsmanship, and offensive language and behavior will not be tolerated
especially as we share our space with many younger students
What is Expected for Parents
i) Parents pick-up students on time
ii) Support team fundraising and corporate sponsorship
iii) Support team activities and dinners
Safety Expectations
We strive to create an environment in which team members can grow, learn, and have fun with
minimal risk of injury. Students are responsible for their own safety. A general safety briefing will be
provided to students each year prior to using shop equipment.
Students cannot operate tools (e.g. the lathe, mill, grinder, band saw, drill press, chop saw or any
hand power tools) if you have not been completely trained in their safe use. The tools can be
dangerous if used improperly. Safety sheets specific to machine shop practice and individual
FIRST Team 4153 – Project Y
Team4153.org
Rev. 7/31/16
Project Y Team 4153
2016-2017 Team Handbook
machinery including a test to demonstrate understanding will be furnished on an individual basis if
such work is to be undertaken.
Student interested in welding are required to take the welding course at UNM-LA before welding for
the team.
Hours
The team meets weekly from the beginning of the school year until the end of the school year from
5:00 pm to 7:00 pm on Wednesdays.
Build season begins at 08:30 am on the first Saturday in January (1/7/2017) until Tuesday after
President’s day weekend (2/16/2016) at 12:00 midnight.
During Build season the team will meet on Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 5:00 pm till 8:00 pm,
and Saturday from 1:00 to 5 pm.
During Build season the team may work later in the night on the weekends than 6 pm. On the final
weekend it is not uncommon for team members to work until midnight each night.
Facilities
The team meets at the Project Y STEM Center (aka Bot Shop) in the Pueblo School complex. The
team also uses the machine shop facilities at UNM-LA. A mentor must be present if students are at
the Bot Shop or UNM-LA.
Competition
The team goal for competitions is to attend at least one FIRST regional competitions following Build
Season. The team will strive to attend two competitions each year to improve our performance and
allow students the opportunity to network and engage with the wider FIRST community depending
on fundraising success. In the past the team has participated in regional competitions in Lubbock,
TX, Denver, CO, and Salt Lake City, UT depending on competition dates and availabilities.
During competition the students represent Project Y, our team, our sponsors, and our community
and are expected to demonstrate the decorum and behave in an exemplary and sportsmanlike
manner.
Volunteering and Mentoring
The team is always looking for parents and skilled professionals to volunteer to help the team and to
mentor the students.
LANL employees that volunteer or mentor are encouraged to enter their hours in the Volunteer
Match program. The team received approximately $1000 from the LANL Volunteer Match Program
in 2016.
FIRST Team 4153 – Project Y
Team4153.org
Rev. 7/31/16
Project Y Team 4153
2016-2017 Team Handbook
Outreach
Team 4153 participates in many outreach activities that help the team expand the understanding of
FIRST in the community and raise awareness for the importance of STEM education. A mentor will
attend each outreach event. Planned outreach events that a student may participate in:






Los Alamos STEM Festival
Bradbury Robot Night
Christmas Lighted Parade
Host FLL Qualifying Tournament in Los Alamos
Robot Demonstrations at RoboRave and other events
Mentoring FTC and FLL teams
FIRST Team 4153 – Project Y
Team4153.org
Rev. 7/31/16