HAWKS Engineering Underwater ROV team

HAWKS Engineering is a high school company located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA. Our company has been composed of all women for the past four years, our company's CEO, Vanessa Huerta, has been part of HAWKS Engineering for the past four years. She started in 2019, her roles on the team were safety manager and fluid power engineer, now her roles on the team are CEO, Pilot, Electrical, and Software Engineer. Vanessa has learned and gained many skills during her time on the team, Her goal this year is: Place first at the regional competition which includes scoring high on our 15-minute pool demonstration, engineering presentation, safety check, and marketing display. Since this will be her final year on HAWKS Engineering she wanted to end this year with a "bang", she has picked up aluminum welding to manufacture her own water-tight electronics housing, software in order to code the vehicle's software system using rs485 communication and has designed a PCB. She has used all of the skills and knowledge she has gained over the past three years to make this robot the best in our history.

HAWKS Engineering has been competing in Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Competitions for the past 8 years. MATE is a non-profit organization that inspires and challenges students to learn and apply science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to solve real-world problems while strengthening our critical thinking and innovative skills. Each year MATE highlights different global issues that impact the sea and world, This year, MATE is highlighting the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and inspiring our global community to embrace environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts to create a sustainable future on our ocean planet. Every year, we are tasked with designing and manufacturing an ROV that is equipped with the necessary sensors and tooling to support work to combat climate change, provide clean energy, feed our growing global population, monitor ocean health, and preserve our maritime history.

Within our 8 year history as a team we have attended three MATE International competitions, our company attended the 2015 MATE international competition which took place at The Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland and the National Research Council's Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering Facility in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The 2019 MATE International competition at Kingsport Aquatic Center & MeadowView Marriott in Kingsport, TN, USA. Lastly, we competed at the 2021 MATE International competition at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN, USA.

At our company's most recent international competition, we received two awards: MATE Mariner and Oceaneering HSE award. The MATE Mariner award is presented by Martin Klein, "The Father of Side-Scan Sonar", to an individual or team that shows an outstanding passion, not just for winning, but for the whole competition process. This includes a genuine interest in the mission and a penchant for a lifetime interest in this field of underwater technology. The Health, Safety and Environmental Award (HSE) was presented by James Hotard and Patrick Barrow of Oceaneering. Oceaneering International sponsored the Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) Awards recognizing teams with exemplary safety protocols and procedures.

Websites and media:

MATE ROV Competition website: MATE ROV Competition Website  

Twitter: HAWKS Engineering (@HEHSengineering) / Twitter

Website: HAWKS Engineering (electricfunland.com)

2015 Robot: https://youtu.be/RQI4IRoDh8Q