McCandless Teen and 'Girl of Steel' Wins Honor at Robotics Championship

A McCandless teen was recently honored at a national robotics competition championship.

Naoka Gunawardena was one 10 winners to receive Dean’s List honors at the FIRST--For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology--Robotics Competition Championship on April 27 in St. Louis.

Gunawardena is a junior at the Ellis School, an independent school for girls in Pittsburgh, and a member of the Girls of Steel, a robotics team sponsored by Carnegie Mellon University’s Field Robotics Center.

George Kantor, a systems scientist in the Robotics Institute and adviser to the Girls of Steel, said Naoka Gunawardena, a junior, has been a leader since the team’s inception in 2010.

“Her contributions both as an engineer and as a business person have been central to the team's success,” he said in a news release. She also led several educational outreach efforts, including mentoring a FIRST LEGO League robotics team at The Ellis School.                 

“Naoka’s Dean's List award is the first time a Girls of Steel team member has been recognized at the international level, which is a milestone in which the entire team takes pride,” Kantor added.

Naoka is the daughter of Ananda Gunawardena, associate teaching professor in the Computer Science Department.

More than 10,000 students on 2,546 teams from 17 nations gathered for the robotics competition in St. Louis’ Edward Jones Dome, where the teams used robots designed to throw Frisbee-like discs to score points.

Criteria for selection of the FIRST Dean's List includes demonstrated leadership and commitment to the ideals of FIRST, technical expertise and passion, and the ability to motivate and lead fellow team members.

In March, Gunawardena received one of two Dean’s List Finalist Awards at the Pittsburgh Regional FIRST Robotics Competition, which qualified her to compete for the honor at the St. Louis event.

In addition to a personal trophy and a plaque for The Ellis School, she will receive an expenses-paid trip to the FIRST Dean’s List Award Summit in Manchester, N.H.

The Girls of Steel team includes 43 girls from 20 area schools and is supported by the Robotics Institute’s Field Robotics Center and a number of business and foundation sponsors. The Ellis School has more girls on the Girls of Steel team than any other school in the region, according to school officials.

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