June 1, 2010
ORLANDO (UCFAthletics.com) - We have all seen the "high flying" aerial skills that the UCF cheerleaders execute at football games and in competition. Evidently the folks at NASA think they are "out of this world" as well.
Eight members of the UCF cheerleading team were invited to act as "Celebrity Judges" for NASA's Lunabotics Mining Competition on May 27. More than 20 colleges and universities including engineering teams from USF, FSU, Alabama and Virginia Tech participated in the two day event which was held at the Kennedy Space Center.
"We were excited that the UCF cheerleaders agreed to participate in our event and we truly enjoyed and appreciated their energy and their professionalism," said Christopher Blair, NASA education specialist.
The challenge was for engineering students to design and build a remote controlled autonomous Lunabot with the ability to collect and deposit a minimum of 10kg of cargo in 15 minutes or less. UCF's cheerleaders were brought in for the final day of the team competition to observe the team interaction and presentations and score them in the area of teamwork, attitude, creativity, originality and their ability to engage the crowd in their presentation.
UCF cheerleader and sophomore mechanical engineering major Jacob Serre found the event of particular interest. "It was very insightful for me to have the opportunity to observe these teams and see how they worked together to create and demonstrate their Lunabot (robot). Most of these students that participated were sophomores and juniors and I know that I will face similar projects within my major in the next two years."
According to head coach Linda Gooch the team did such a great job that the education department at NASA has invited the entire cheerleading team to return for a complementary "VIP" tour of the Kennedy Space Center.
"We are always looking for unique educational experiences for our team members outside of their duties as cheerleaders," said Gooch. "With the retirement of the space shuttle program, NASA is offering us a once in a lifetime opportunity by extending the offer of this tour."