On December 13, the WHS Robotics Club went on a field trip to Delta Electronics’ Fremont location, the headquarters for its operations in America. The WHS Robotics Club engages students in innovation through Hackathons, Maker Faire projects, and field trips to tech companies like Delta Electronics. Delta Electronics is a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer focused on providing energy efficient, sustainable products and services. According to Roma Bhatia, President of the WHS Robotics Club, the purpose of the field trip was “to have students learn that there are careers outside of software and mechanical engineering but are still in the STEM field” as well as “to gain exposure to Fremont’s Innovation District in Warm Springs with the purpose of showing students that there are local companies who are looking for local talent as well.”
At Delta Electronics, the WHS Robotics Club surveyed the company’s product line, allowing members to gain insight into Delta Electronics’ engineering process for developing new products. WHS Robotics Club member sophomore Olga Vysotsky stated that the exhibit showcased “what they [Delta Electronics] created historically, what they are working on now, and what they plan to innovate in the future.” She added that a tour guide “explained the various projects Delta has worked on, like 4k laser projectors and super fast car chargers.” According to Bhatia, the club members essentially learned “how engineers think of ways to make daily life more efficient and products consume less energy.”
In addition, club members also had the opportunity to listen to a panel of Delta Electronics employees from a variety of fields like law, PR, engineering, and management. Vysotsky said that the panel “talked about their education, how they came to work at Delta, and what they do at the company now.” From the panel, Vysotsky gleaned that “experience in the field and the ‘real world’ is more important than what college you went to.” Overall, the interview provided an overview of the various responsibilities involved in running a tech company and expanded club members’ perspectives of possible career options.
Bhatia mentioned that Delta Electronics is involved in a wide variety of industries including “the EV industry, industrial automation, IoT (Internet of Things), renewable & green energy (mainly solar power solutions), mobile devices, industrial size fans, and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems.” However, although Delta Electronics works on so many different projects, much of their research and development is focused on working towards an overarching goal—tackling the pressing issue of global warming. Unfortunately, global warming is simply one of many contemporary issues in need of solutions. This is why centers like Fremont’s Innovation District in the Warm Springs/South Fremont area are essential to ongoing innovation and industrial production to help find solutions and better the future of humanity.
Fremont is a hub for innovative thinking and that includes WHS. There are many students at WHS who are actively developing innovation skills, whether in the Robotics Club, other STEM clubs, or elsewhere. As stated by Bhatia, the WHS Robotics Club “strives to create a failure positive environment for students so they can pursue any and all ideas they have, develop critical thinking skills (among other soft skills that they will use often), and become innovators.” All of these students will undoubtedly go on to make a difference using the skills they’re developing, in the STEM field or elsewhere.
This reporter graduated in 2020.
Abigail Law is a senior at Washington High. She was born in Hayward but spent most of her life in Fremont. As a first-year reporter for The Hatchet, she tends to address serious topics in her articles, but she'll write about anything and everything. She enjoys swing dancing and everything high/dark fantasy. In the future, she hopes to study geriatric psychiatry and neurocognitive disorders.