Gail Drake left a profitable information technology career to teach her field to students at Battlefield High School in fast-growing western Prince William County. Teaming with fellow teacher Michael Piccione, she spearheaded the county’s recent dive into underwater robotics, in which students won a national competition in 2006. The program is now spreading to nine county high schools.
What is underwater robotics?
Starting with standard robots, you take the whole thing and you’re moving it underwater. You’re looking at elements of electrical engineering, waterproofing and buoyancy.
What do the students have to consider when building robots?
You’re even expanding it beyond “how do my motors work?” and “What is my design going to need? How do I make it float? How do I actually get it to move in the water?”
What lessons are you trying to teach students?
It breaks down into: I do have to pay attention in math class. I have to pay attention to physics and chemistry and engineering.
Where do you teach the students?
We’re buying above-ground pools for every school, and they test their robots right outside.
Do the students buy into it?
It is a challenge enough that once they step into it, they won’t let go. When you get students enveloped like that, you just get the cycle going.
How did you get involved in teaching?
I left [the IT] industry after 21 years to encourage students to do the difficult, to go into fields that are difficult. We just don’t have enough of them in the world, and it’s an issue ofnational urgency. The country needs it, so I left to try to encourage students to do those things.
I imagine there was a pay cut involved.
I am making 30 percent of what I made before. It was very difficult, but we’ve adjusted well.
