Brain drain in robotics

The New Ulm robotics team, otherwise known as The Alluminators, are working throughout the week to build and program their robot (shown above). However, the team has been suffering from a significant brain drain due to the former head of the robotics program Mr. Erickson is no longer with the school leaving the remaining coaches with big shoes to fill. “Hopefully Mr. Johnson and I can fill those shoes and keep the team cheerful, productive, and with a winning mindset,” said Dawson Yost, one of two mentors for the New Ulm robotics team. In addition, the difficulties of covid-19 have left the usual cycle of knowledge from experienced team members to new ones strained as the difficulties around covid limited peer-to-peer learning. However, the current team, while small, is strong, and while they continue to look for new members they are ready to persevere and get the work done.