Los Alamos High School’s Robotics Team 4153, ‘Project Y. Courtesy photo

BY EMILY XU
Senior
Los Alamos High School

Los Alamos High School’s Robotics Team 4153, “Project Y,” has been hard at work since January designing and building a custom robot to compete in FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) district events.  

The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) program provides students aged 5-18 with opportunities to involve themselves in STEM through robotics. In FIRST’s high school robotics program, FRC, the 2026 game is Rebuild, in which robots need to maneuver through field obstacles, intake and score foam balls called “fuel,” and climb a ladder structure to earn points towards victory. As for competition structure, teams are put on 3-team alliances, and will work with their teammates to earn as many points as possible, with the top 8 teams able to select their allies when it comes time for playoffs.

Led by CEO John Kang, Project Y competed twice recently in both Fort Worth and Amarillo, Texas, and earned the District Points and ranking status to advance to the FIRST in Texas District Championships. 

From March 19-21, they competed at Fort Worth, achieving second place overall after being selected by the top alliance during playoffs, earning a good amount of District Points. There, they were also awarded the “Imagery Award,” which netted them more points and recognized their cohesive and attractive branding, as shown in the robot’s display of its name, J. Robot OppenHopper, along with sponsors, LED lights, and the team’s themed merchandise.

The second competition took place this past weekend in Amarillo – the team had a strong showing and ultimately earned more than enough District Points to be invited to the District Championships in Houston from April 16-18.  For the competition, three teams on an alliance compete against each other to complete a challenge, which this year involved shooting balls into a hub and climbing up bars.

After a season of hard work, John spoke out on the team’s achievements: “As CEO, I am not the only leader on this team. I have been happy to see team members step up and tackle the challenges of this season, especially these past few weeks competing in Fort Worth and Amarillo.”

Project Y deeply thanks their sponsors for support — Dr. Krohn/Los Alamos Pediatric Clinic, Merrick, Enterprise Bank and Trust, ASME and IEEE local chapters, N3B Los Alamos, The Gene Haas Foundation, Argosy Foundation/Hack Club, ARM, NASA, Solidworks, Los Alamos Public Schools, and the Los Alamos Public School Foundation. The For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) program has elementary, mid, and high school components, promoting STEM education and teamwork throughout the nation and world. Los Alamos has active mid and high school teams and would like to start an elementary team.  For more information on Project Y, visit www.team4153.org.

Courtesy photo

Courtesy photo