Summer Robotics
The last thing on the minds of most students is going back to school, but that is exactly what Texas Torque will do on Tuesday, June 4, from 3 to Continue Reading →
Torque Mentors
One of the fundamental principles of FIRST Robotics is that the students benefit from their interaction with mentors from their industries. Texas Torque is fortunate to have mentors willing to give so much of their valuable time and expertise to support the team. They help guide the students through an educational journey and are critical to the team’s success. The members of Texas Torque greatly thank our mentors and appreciate all they have done for the team. Listed below are brief bios for all of the mentors who have helped to support Texas Torque throughout the years.
Mr. Rip is the lead mentor of Team 1477 and has mentored Texas Torque since 2008. He spent over 30 years in the classroom teaching physics and robotics to high school students. After his retirement, Mr. Rip was awarded the position of District Robotics Coach by our school district, and now fully commits his time cultivating the growth of robotics in our area. During his time on Texas Torque, he has molded the team into the powerhouse of engineering and learning that it is today. He also personally impacts every student he encounters. Because of his character and dedication, Mr. Rip challenges students to develop themselves as mature individuals and the leaders of tomorrow.
Ms. Bauer is a mentor for Texas Torque and helps students on the team with all levels of mathematics. Outside of the team, she is a Geometry and Dual-Credit PreCalculus teacher for the Academy of Science and Technology at College Park High School.
Mr. Dunbar is one of our essential parent mentors who has helped a lot of our students in the mechanical sub-team. With his knowledge of several machines and power tools used in the lab, he provides lots of tips and information to help members reach their highest potential. Mr. Dunbar joined this team in 2019.
Trey Wolf
Mr. Wolf is a CISD mentor for Texas Torque and helps the students with coding. Outside the team, he is a Computer Science teacher for the Academy of Science of Technology at College Park High School.
Jim Rapacki
Mr. Rapacki is a mentor
Darpan Musale
Ms. Musale is the Business mentor for Texas Torque since joining in the 2023-2024 season. In her experience with graphic design & marketing, she has helped students create a variety of digital content for Texas Torque.
Gabe Belforti
Mr. Belforti is a mentor
Summer Robotics
The last thing on the minds of most students is going back to school, but that is exactly what Texas Torque will do on Tuesday, June 4, from 3 to 6 pm. Summer is a great time to join the team. We are competing in the Texas Robotics Invitational June 28 – 29 and will spend the time between now and then getting our Johnson Division winning robot Takeoff ready. Not only will new members start learning how to design and build robots over the summer, but we are hosting a summer robotics camp for younger kids and can always use more help.
For more information about joining the team, go to our website and click on the Join Us. Not everything has been updated from this past season but there is a link that will let you register with the team and get on our mailing list. Also on the website is a link to our team calendar so you can see when we are meeting. We usually meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the summer. Just drop in and we can get you started with the team.
Johnson Division Winners at FIRST 2024 Worlds
Excited after their win at the San Antonio district competition, FRC 1477 Texas Torque was beyond eager to compete at the World Championship. Torque blew expectations out of the water when it came to our performance at Worlds this year. There, the team cleared the competition and won the Johnson division out of 74 teams and advanced to Einstein’s. The last time they cleared their division and advanced at the FRC Championship was during the 2014 season.
Texas Torque has certainly made a comeback this year and we are very excited to see what they’re going to do next season. Now to prepare for the REMIX!
Wild Ride at FiT San Antonio District Event
Hopes were high going into this past weekend but reality easily exceeded expectations. FRC 1477 Texas Torque went undefeated over the two days of competition, finishing with a record of 17 wins and 0 losses. The last time they went undefeated was at the 2013 Arkansas Regional where they had 18 wins.
They finished as the number one seed at the end of the qualifying rounds after a hard fought match against Team 624 CRyptonite who they chose as the first pick during alliance selection. With the last pick, they invited Team 5103 The Jaegernauts from New Braunfels. The other alliances played hard fought matches against Alliance 1. In the finals, Alliance 1 played a best of three against Alliance 5 consisting of Team 2881 The Lady Cans, Team 5427 Steel Talons, and Team 7616 Cerberus. Both matches went to Alliance 1 after they edged out their opponents in the highest scoring matches of the event. Texas Torque also won the Innovation in Control Award.
1477 has earned enough District Points to advance to the FIRST in Texas District Championship at the George R Brown Convention Center on April 3 through 6. The event is open to the public.
Texas Torque to Receive $2500 from the Gene Haas Foundation
For the second time in as many years, Texas Torque has received a $2500 grant from the Gene Haas Foundation. The Gene Haas Foundation donates millions of dollars every year to manufacturing education and the community.
The Gene Haas Foundation was established in 1999, by Gene Haas, founder and owner of Haas Automation, Inc., to support the needs of the local community, through grants to such local charities as the Boys and Girls Clubs, Food Share, Rescue Mission, and others.
Seeing a growing need for skilled manufacturing employees industry wide, the Foundation expanded its mission to include support for manufacturing training programs throughout North America and beyond. By providing scholarship grants, sponsoring individual and team CNC competitions, and partnering with the very best CNC training programs in the world, the Foundation helps expand the availability of high-quality manufacturing technology training worldwide.