Southwestern Indian Polytechnic wins grand prize at NASA competition
WASHINGTON – A team composed
of Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Insti-
tute (SIPI) students won the grand prize
of $5,000 and the Gold Mars Trophy
for the physical competition at the 2017
NASA Swarmathon held at the Kennedy
Space Center.
The Swarmathon is a robotics pro-
gramming challenge administered under a
cooperative agreement between the NASA
Minority University Research and Educa-
tion Program and the University of New
Mexico. More than 500 students from 40
colleges and 30 high schools participated
in the competition held in April.
“Well done to the brilliant students
at SIPI. These young people are breaking
new ground and making everyone proud,”
said Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke. “I
look forward to following their budding
careers in STEM and expect them all to
make an impact.”
This year, Swarmathon teams com-
peting in the physical competition were
tasked to develop codes for operating
systems that instruct robots to find objects
and return them to a designated place
without human assistance.
Teams created innovative algorithms
that have the potential to be further devel-
oped for such tasks as cleaning hazardous
waste as well as assisting with rescue mis-
sions during catastrophic disasters.
“Placing at the top of the 2017 NASA
Swarmathon is an outstanding achievement
for the students on the team, the SIPI fac-
ulty and students, and the Bureau of Indian
Education,” said Acting Assistant Secretary
for Indian Affairs Michael S. Black. “These
students exemplify how dedication to stud-
ies can translate into real life success.”
“The post-secondary schools under the
Bureau of Indian Education offer a great
education,” said Bureau of Indian Educa-
tion Director Tony Dearman. “We at the
BIE are enormously proud of the SIPI team
for successfully tackling these challenges
and showing the excellent education SIPI
has to offer the students of Indian Country.”
The 2017 Swarmathon SIPI team
consisted of Schulte Cooke (Navajo),
who is studying geospatial information
technology; Emery Sutherland (Navajo),
who is studying computer aided drafting
and design; Christian Martinez (Pueblo
of Laguna), who is studying network
management; Ty Shurley (Navajo), who is
studying engineering and computer aided
drafting and design; and Professor Nader
Vadiee and Dr. Jonathan West, the team’s
faculty advisors.
Vadiee is the lead faculty/coordina-
tor of the Engineering and Engineering
Technology Programs and the director of
the Intelligent Cooperative Multi-Agent
Robotic System at SIPI.
SIPI has a history of success at the
Swarmathon, placing third in last year’s
physical competition. Established in 1971,
SIPI is an accredited National Indian Com-
munity College and Land Grant institution
located in Albuquerque, N.M. It is one of
two post-secondary institutions overseen
by the Bureau of Indian Education.
Courtesy photo from NASA Kennedy Space Center
The winning team from Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute
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please visit ctsi.nsn.us.
Tribal members can enjoy free golf, discounts
Siletz Tribal members can play golf at Chinook Winds Golf Resort at no
charge. Golf cart fees are $10 per seat for 9 holes and $15 per seat for 18 holes.
Tribal members also receive a 50 percent discount on lessons from golf
pro Larry Dealy and a 20 percent discount on merchandise (certain restrictions apply).
Please call Chinook Winds Golf Resort at 541-994-8442 for tee times or to
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Tribal members can take Chinuk
Wawa at Lane Community College
The class (CW101) will take place Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4-6 p.m. in the
Longhouse at Lane Community College in Eugene, Ore., starting the last week of
September 2017.
Siletz Tribal members are entitled to take this class (the first in a year-long sequence)
as a credit class or as a continuing education class.
Continuing education students enrolled in this class will determine their own level
of engagement in terms of attendance, test taking, assignments, etc.
Tuition runs roughly $400-$505 per term for this four-credit class. Continuing
education students, however, pay only a one-time fee of about $10.
LCC students can now enroll for fall term classes online at lanecc.edu. The CRN
for CW101 is 22576.
Enrolling in the class as a University of Oregon student is easy through the dual
enrollment program. Contact your academic advisor for more information.
Enrollment as a continuing education student is possible by calling 541-463-5419
and asking for Candice Johnson. To find out more about this Chinuk Wawa program,
contact Drew Viles at vilesa@lanecc.edu or 541-463-5480.
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June 2017
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