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March 2014

Edition Creating a cleaner, more fuel efficient tomorrow.

2014 Emerald coast Electrathon

Endeavors

By: Kimberly Hsu

The Los Altos Academy of Engineering has been hard at work in

order to prepare for the Emerald Coast Electrathon in Pensacola, Florida

on April 26. We plan to bring two electric vehicles Volt and 20-year-old

Speed Racer to the race with recent refinements.

In order to raise the necessary funds, we have reestablished our

fundraising committee consisting of juniors Michael Chang, Kenneth

Hirscht, Sabrina Delgado, and sophomore Michael Attanasio. The

fundraising committee’s primary goal is to present to local service clubs

and organizations such as KIWANIS, Lions Club, Rotary Club, and many

other organizations. Last year, the LAAE fundraising committee was able

to raise more than $10,000, with a $5,000 donation from Dickie Simmons,

representative of Don Knabe of the Los Angeles County fourth district.

This year, our goal is raise $11,000 to bring two electric vehicles and nine

students to the Emerald Coast Electrathon. “We currently have $4,001

raised but with the fast approaching deadline, it is crucial that we raise

these funds as soon as possible. The support of the community is support

future engineers,” says Michael Attanasio.

Junior Michael Chang of the LAAE fundraising committee prepares to shade in the donation

bar to $4,001.

2014 Emerald Coast

First Tech

Challenge

Electric Car Line-up

Adopt-An-Engineer

Supporters

Sponsors

Adopt-An-Engineer

Form

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Victory at First Tech

Challenge

By: Samantha Verduzco

On November 16, 2013, the Los Altos

Academy of Engineering’s Robotics team traveled

to Monrovia High School and participated in the

First Tech Challenge regional qualifier. The

Robotics Team members Marcos Avila, Michael

Attanasio, Andrew Rojas, Eric Liu, Kevin Morales,

Jerry Wang, and Dominic Gonzalez had a long day

of competing with their semi-autonomous robot.

This group of students competed in five

separate matches with a different alliance in each

match. The game was played with four teams on

the 12’ by 12’ field, with the teams competing in a

two-versus-two fashion. The students had to create

a robot that had the ability to move small blocks to

particular areas of the game board. The first half of

each round consists of an autonomous period while

the second half is remote controlled. If the robot

was able to stack blocks onto a see-saw-like mech-

anism and balance them, the team

received twenty points per block.

Individually, Team LAAE, ranked 6th out

of 22 teams, was chosen as one of the top twelve

teams in the championship rounds. With much

anticipation, they advanced to the elimination

-finals and ultimately won the final match.

The robotics team is ecstatic for their very first win at First Tech Challenge.

From left to right: Jerry Wang, Eric Liu, Marcos Avila, Michael Attanasio, Andrew Rojas, Kevin Morales, and

Dominic Gonzalez

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Team LAAE, Robogamers, and Phi Alpha

were awarded with the winning alliance which

guaranteed them a spot in the regional competition

of the First Tech Challenge. “We went into this

competition as underdogs. But in the end we came

out on top,” says Eric Liu. The regional

competition will be at Monrovia High School once

again on February 22, 2014. Congratulations to our

robotics team!

miles in an hour. Our mechanical team has been

working on a new chassis, a new axle, and fixing

the spindle on Speed Racer due to incorrect spin-

dle ratios. Each and every one of these aspects

will play a big role on maximizing the efficiency

of this veteran vehicle. On the other hand, Volt

our brand new kit car, has been making progress.

We have recently assembled the body and begun

wiring the car. This is a very important step in

the electrical process as these elements are essen-

tial for making the car come to life.

We also planned a third car Omega to be

built for next year’s race. The importance of get-

ting our kit car Volt together is critical so we

have decided to wait until next year to complete

Omega from scratch. Omega will be a great op-

portunity to teach some of the younger, more

inexperienced members exactly what goes into

making an electric vehicle. “Electrically

speaking, Volt is coming along nicely. We are

waiting on a few more electrical components and

mounts,” says electrical member Michael Valdez.

2014 Electric Car line-up

By: Sabrina Delgado

The Los Altos Academy of Engineering

has put their foot on the pedal at full throttle. This

year, we have been working to prepare our electric

vehicles, Speed Racer and Volt for the Emerald

Coast Electrathon in Pensacola, Florida on April

26th. We have taken on the challenge of bringing

these two vehicles to the race. Our goal for this

year is to have these electric vehicles perform 30

The wires on Volt were planned out ahead of

time so that they are very organized.

We would like to thank our

advisors for participating in

the 2014 Annual Advisory

Meeting.

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A Word from our Adopt-an-Engineer Fundraiser Sponsors

Thank you to the following people for your generous

donation and words of encouragement.

David Li: “Go! Kevin! Go!”

Griselda Esquivel: “Good Luck”

Teresa Enriquez: “Best of luck to our engineers of our future.

You are already winners!”

Lien Sun: “I am so proud of you Jonathan” “I am so

proud of you Jaime.”

Sarah Saldana: “The future is waiting for! Go after it!.”

“Best of the future, building stuff!”

Llanet Robles: “I wish you the best of luck with your plans.”

“I love you, and keep up the good work.”

Patricia Estrada: “Love you, keep up the good work. Shoot for

the stars!”

Kimberly Wong: “Ken is a great person. =w =b He deserves

to be adopted.“

Carolyn Lestor: “Justin has the ability and the right attitude

to be the best engineer possible.”

Mary Ann King:

“Go forth and win!.” Patti Sako Briglio:

“The LAAE is an exceptional program led by a dedicated instructor, Mr. Ed Richter.”

Rose Yin:

“ Keep Going! Matthew.”

Stephen McGill: “Hope you reach your goal. Sounds like

fun.”

Isabel Coronado: “How Exciting! Wish you luck.”

Carmen Coronado: “Buena suerte!

Sylvia Valdez: “I hope you reach your goal!!! Good

Luck.”

Tar Hong Melamine: “Win Win Win. We are proud of you and

respect your efforts. Here is $500 funding.”

Shalom Montgomery: “Good luck with the rest of your

competitions this year! Go LAHS

engineering!”

Mrs. Mann: “Good luck!”

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Sanja Sobot: “Good luck!”

Tina Krause “Good luck!”

Ms. Myung “Jacob is a responsible and dedicated

student.”

Lee Turner: “Good Luck to everyone and I hope you

all have a good time.”

Eduardo Berrara: “Keep up the good work.”

Sam Hernandez: “Allow your mind to soar on the

ever advancing wings of engineering.”

Mihaela Mihai: “Be a good child and make your

new mother proud.”

Vivian Hayashi: “Good luck to all the future

engineers!”

Ms. Myung: “Jacob is responsible and a

dedicated student.”

Michael Kalta: “Matthew is a great person”

Kenneth H. Hirscht:

K.C. Hirscht: “Go Conquerors!”

Michael Keith: “Have fun, and learn”

Yolanda Hirscht: “good luck in the Emerald Coast

Electrathon”

Emad Kalta: “Good luck this year! We support you on

whatever you do.”

Ruth Heaton: “Good luck Los Altos Academy of

Engineering!”

Doug & Meliissa Rozsa: “The sky is the limit! Good luck LAAE!”

Victor & Carole Walsh: “Your doing great things.”

Myrna Osequera: “I am proud to sponsor Isaac Silva and put

$50 towards LAAE and support the vehicles.”

Ray Gonzales: “May the sunshine bright on your electric

vehicle.”

Fred Riecke: “ Good luck with Speed Racer, Volt, and

Omega.! Bring bac a trophy!

Gloria Moreno: “Go go racers!”

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B. Colbert: “Have fun. Best of luck.”

Adam Powele: “All the best and good luck. Go speed racer.”

Filipe Villalabos: “On behalf of my wife and I, we wish you the best of luck!”

Thomas A. Hallett: “We wish you well in your future endeavors.”

Filipe Villalabos: “On behalf of my wife and I, we wish you the best of luck!”

Tony Luong: “Good luck and drive safe, hope you’ll win in this race.”

Diane R. Menius: “Gavin, may the force be with Speed Racer, Volt, and Omega.. Love Googah.”

Diane R. Menius: “Matthew, when you get to the race track don't forget to say, “Gentlemen start your engines.” Love Googah.”

Ray Gonzales: “May the sun shine bright on your electric vehicle.”

Myrna Oseguera: “I am proud to sponsor Isaac Silva and put $50 towards LAAE and support the vehicles.”.

Victor and Carole Walch: “You’re doing great things!”

Doug and Melissa Rozsa: “The sky’s the limit! Good luck LAAE!”

Ruth Heaton: “Good luck Los Altos Academy of Engineering.”

Bob Burningham: “Best of wishes for this project. It has my full support.”

Hector Olivar: “Keep up the great work!”

Ana Olivar: “So proud!”

Delia Ramirez: “Good job Gracie Guerrero.”

Alanna Ho: “I love engineering!”

Winnie Gilbert: “Good luck in Florida. Love, Mom.”

“Good luck in Florida!”

Sandy Kim: “Hello! :)”

Janice Kim: “Good luck!”

Sandy Eng: “Set your goals and achieve them.”

Robin Polito-Shuffer: “Go forth, Gavin, and change the world!”

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Lee and Carol Oldham: “We are happy to support the academic and creative young people in this program.”

Rick Menius: “Keep up the good work. Maintain your grades. Also, help our mother. Love Poppa.”

Donald Torres: “We’re proud of you son! Your dedication will bring you a successful future. Love you, Dad.”

George and Renee Barron: “Jacob you make us proud! Innovators out to change the world. A world changing generation.”

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A Word from our Adopt-an-Engineer Fundraiser Sponsors

Thank you to the following people for your generous donation and words of encouragement.

Industry Hills Rotary

Lions Club

KIWANIS

Sherfab

Tar-Hong Melamine USA, Inc.

Laurie Marshall

Patricia McIntosh

Alex Wang

Debbie Yeh

Grace Tolmachoff

Stephanie Paz

Rodflo Perez

Stanley Escobar

Yuan Wang

Owen Wang

Maria Paz

Vian Ning Li

Riva Pao

Hope Lambert

Rosa Serpas

Ivan Zelada

Alex Ho

David & Sarah Samarin

Joel & Elizabeth Kasparian

Jaclyn Ho

Mr. Gibson

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THANK YOU SPONSORS

Brimar Products Banning Bikes

Tar-Hong Melamine USA, Inc.

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Los Altos Academy of Engineering 2013-2014

Staff Writers:

Kimberly Hsu

Samantha Verduzco

Sabrina Delgado

Editors:

Bill Rockwood

Dear community supporters,

Thank you for your

continuous support in the

Los Altos Academy of

Engineering. We deeply

appreciate your

participation in helping

LAAE build a cleaner, more

fuel efficient tomorrow.

LAAE

CONTACT INFO

Phone: (626)-330-1096

Fax: (626)-855-3145 Email: pr@lasv.org

Website: www.lasv.org

Facebook:

Los Altos Academy of Engineering

15325 E. Los Robles Avenue,

Hacienda Heights 91745, CA

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LOS ALTOS ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING

ADOPT-AN-ENGINEER PROGRAM pr@lasv.org

*15325 E. Los Robles Ave. Hacienda Heights, CA 91745( (626) 330-1096

This year, the Los Altos Academy of Engineering has decided to once again participate in the

Emerald Coast Electrathon. We intend to race Speed Racer as well as two new electric vehicles

Volt and Omega. Since the competition will be in Florida, we will need funds of roughly

$11,000 to cover the expenses. Starting at $10, you can support us by “adopting” a Los Altos

High School engineer. As an “Adopt-An-Engineer” sponsor, we will include your personal

message of fifteen words or less in the upcoming newsletter. Our newsletters will inform you of

our recent activities as well as add your own personal touch. As a result of your generosity, we

will be able to fund this year’s project and travel expenses.

Name of Engineer Being Adopted: Date:

_________________________________ ______________________________

Name of Adopter: Date:

_________________________________ ______________________________

Email:

_____________________________________________________________________________

Message (15 words or less, please):

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

Please make checks payable to Los Altos Academy of Engineering Booster Club.

Tax ID: 27-0111547

Address: