Schools

Whiz Kid of The Week: Gonzalo Gallardo

Gonzalo, who is interested in physics and biology, has recently applied his knowledge of science to his school's robotics team.

Name, Age: Gonzalo Gallardo, 17.

School: Francis Parker School, senior. 

Accomplishments: Gonzalo preps for college and maintains a varied interest in the sciences while playing soccer for his school and participating in FIRST, founded by Segway inventor Dean Kamen. The program encourages young people to embrace science and technology.

Find out what's happening in Coronadowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Key to Awesomeness: Gonzalo, nicknamed Gonzo, didn't need much encouragement, but he joined his campus FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) team, which builds robots to enter in the program's competitions. Regional contests culminate in an annual national championship in St. Louis.

The Cays resident adapted to his role quickly, building the mini-bot that was part of the main robot created for the contest (team members call themselves W.A.R. Lords, or We Are Robot Lords). He has since applied his new knowledge to everyday life, using magnets to charge batteries for bicycle lights. The power source: his own pedaling.

Find out what's happening in Coronadowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He also participated in a California Academy of Sciences program in San Francisco over the summer, studying the genetic makeup of seahorses.

“Science is definitely like the easiest subject for me … I just find it the most interesting,” he said.

Gonzalo will be part of Saturday's Battle at the Border competition, an off-season event hosted by Francis Parker, said team adviser and physics instructor Ryan Griggs. 

Normally teams have six weeks to create a robot, beginning in January, and must design it to enter a game, in which the machine must achieve specific goals, with tougher tasks assigned greater point values.

FIRST encourages ages 6 and up to participate, and the complexity of the creations rises with the grade level. Even Griggs admits robot-building can “sound a little bit cheesy at first,” but the team uses computer programming skills, engineering and design to craft sophisticated entries.

“The robots being built and being put out there, they're not something put out there with Lego pieces,” he said.

Next up: Gonzalo, his teammates and entrants from High Tech High and up to 20 San Diego, North County and Southern California high schools will meet from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday to compete. Francis Parker will host the event – which includes fundraisers for the Breast Cancer Society and the San Diego Food Bank – at its Linda Vista campus. Admission is free.

 

Youngsters and teens selected as Whiz Kids receive a prize package from , including a luncheon and an afternoon at the resort. To nominate a Whiz Kid, send the student's name, age, grade and a list of accomplishments to coronado@patch.com. Only Coronado residents are eligible.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here