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Vol. 72, Issue 12
Est. 1981
April 21 - April 28, 2026
THE PAISANO
Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio Community @ThePaisano
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Students advance in international engineering competition
Marisela Cruz/The Paisano
Freshmen semifinalists for the international Siemens Immersive Design Challenge stand with their large-scale 3D print farm management creation, Robo Rowdy.
By Amanda Fuentes
A
Assistant News Editor
group of nine UT San Antonio freshmen has advanced to the semifinals for the international Siemens Immersive Design Challenge. For this competition, the freshmen group designed a robot named “Robo Rowdy” to manage large-scale 3D print farms. Of 1,900 entries, the UT San Antonio team was one of eight American teams to have made the semifinals. Freshman engineering major Israel Elizondo explained that creating a team of freshmen would shed light on a class that is often under-represented in professional settings. “We wanted to do mainly freshmen because freshmen don’t really get the opportunities to showcase projects that they’ve done and a lot of internships,” Elizondo said. “They don’t hire freshmen. They hire juniors [and] seniors, so we just wanted to have an opportunity to take what we learned in the classroom and apply it in a real-world sense.” The competition’s objective is to craft a product or process with improved sustainability by utilizing immersive engineering. Freshman engineering major and Siemens technical intern Jacob White explained how sustainability was incorporated into the team’s work.
“Sustainability could mean a wide range of things,” White clarified. “Either reducing environmental impact, reducing material waste or, for this project specifically, some of the sustainable impacts [are] using 3D printing to make the robots, but also by making the entire process more efficient.” The team chose to focus on 3D printing farms for their robot. Elizondo detailed that this choice was because of the growing additive industry. “We had complete freedom [to pick the topic],” Elizondo said. “We wanted to target the added-manufacturing industry, which means adding material — additive manufacturing — because it’s a growing industry.” When explaining the challenging aspect of creating the robot, Elizondo reflected on adapting its virtual model into a physical model. “When we’re CADing the robot — CADing is 3D modeling it — so in the virtual space, it’s a perfect space,” Elizondo said. “Everything works perfectly how they should. However, when you translate it into the real world sense, things don’t really work out, so that was one of the biggest obstacles and setbacks.” Although the team collaborated on an engineering project, not all members are engineering majors. The team is composed
of engineering, computer science and business majors. Dyshana Torres is one of the two computer science majors of the group and incorporated artificial intelligence and application programming interphase into the robot. “For the AI, we worked with cameras, and we have two NVIDIA Jetsons,” Torres stated. “One is handling print management, so it connects externally to a cloud platform that 3D print farms usually use. We use SimplyPrint for Farm Pro, and it uses APIs to connect with the printers over the internet, and we use AI through the cameras. We use object avoidance.” Torres continued to explain that the AI software detects mistakes in the field prints. “It would use a database of what normal prints look like, and then what it shouldn’t look like. And if it detects what it shouldn’t look like, it will then create a command using that API,” Torres explained. “We have a Python script, it will send that command and then stop the printer.” Elizondo said that winning this competition could provide the team with career opportunities and produce media attention for UT San Antonio. “It would open up career opportunities, possible internships or just overall collaborations,” Elizondo considered. “Mediawise, doing something like this
could be something big, just exposure and showcase our skills.” The team will find out on April 27 whether they made it to the final round. If they win, the students will have access to Invitations to Realize LIVE 2026, Training with Siemens experts inperson or online, career development opportunities, certificates, digital badges and certification vouchers.
Marisela Cruz/The Paisano
The robot tasked to manage large-scale 3D print farms, Robo Rowdy.
Judge against Camp Mystic in injunction hearing By Hallie Lott Web Editor
Travis County Judge Maya Guerra Gamble issued a new temporary injunction against the demolition, repair and alteration of the damaged Camp Mystic Guadalupe River cabins from the July 4, 2025, flood. This recent ruling follows Camp Mystic’s appeal after a similar order was issued, barring the camp from opening its Guadalupe campsite, in March. Guerra Gamble ordered that Camp Mystic cannot alter or demolish the following cabins: Bubble Inn, Twins l and ll, Bug House, Look Inn, Hangout, Inn l and ll, Nut Hut, Chatterbox, Wiggle Inn, Giggle Box and Jumble House. The camp is also barred from making changes to the Guadalupe River campsite’s main office building, recreation hall, dining hall, commissary and other buildings.
The injunction was issued to preserve evidence and prevent further harm in the case. The hearing is part of a lawsuit filed by Will and CiCi Steward, the parents of Cile Steward, the sole camper whose body remains missing. “This finding is supported by facts tending to show that defendants owed a duty of care to Cile Steward and other minor campers, which they breached by operating Camp Mystic in a high-risk zone without adequate flood protections,” Guerra Gamble wrote in the injunction ruling. Guerra Gamble stated that the Stewards would suffer injury before their trial if the camp was to resume conducting activities at the Guadalupe campsite. “The threatened harm is imminent because plaintiffs have presented evidence that defendants are presently engaged in material alterations to the Camp Mystic site,” Guerra Gamble wrote. “The court finds this injury to be irreparable because
once this physical evidence is altered or destroyed, it cannot be recreated, and no adequate remedy exists to restore the evidence or eliminate the resulting prejudice to the plaintiffs.” The second injunction forbids the defendants from using the Guadalupe River campsite cabins and buildings for any camp operations. The new ruling followed three days of testimony from three of the camp’s directors: Edward Eastland, Britt Eastland and Mary Liz Eastland. Edward Eastland testified during the hearing that the camp did not have a written evacuation plan. The state of Texas requires a written evacuation plan. The Stewards’ attorney, Brad Beckworth, asked Edward Eastland whether he wished he had an evacuation plan. “We had that plan,” Edward Eastland stated. “We were implementing that plan.” Beckworth then asked whether Edward
Eastland wished there was a written evacuation plan that everyone had been trained on. “I wish we never had camp that summer,” Edward Eastland answered. Edward Eastland testified that he did not see flood watch social media posts by the National Weather Service and the Texas Department of Emergency Management on July 2 and 3. Edward Eastland stated that he believed the local “CodeRED” mobile phone alert system and phone weather apps that the staff had “was enough.” The flooding killed 25 campers and two counselors. Richard Eastland, the camp owner and father of Edward Eastland, was also killed in the floods. The new injunction will be in place until the Stewards’ trial on May 3, 2027, or until the court states otherwise. The camp will not reopen for campers until after the trial concludes.