Matt gardner
Competition Technical Manager
MATE Monterey Bay Regional ROV Competition Coordinator
Academic Background:
- B.S. Biology, University of Puget Sound
Current Position: As the MATE ROV competition’s technical manager, Matt’s role is to help to create the underwater missions that the ROVs, and the teams that created them, must undertake. Working with other MATE Center staff, industry professionals, and scientists, Matt helps to take real-world ROV tasks and develop them into a variety of scenarios that teams of all levels can compete at. Matt also serves as an instructor for MATE workshops. Matt helps to create many of the MATE workshop presentations and he writes the building instructions and lesson presentations for the MATE ROV kits. For the 2017 ROV season, Matt took over as the regional coordinator for the Monterey Bay – Northern California MATE regional ROV contest.
Related Experience: Matt’s ROV career actually got started as a participant in the MATE ROV competition. He built his first underwater robot in 2001, as part of the Introduction to Submersibles class at Monterey Peninsula College. In 2003 and 2004, he was captain of his college’s teams that participated in the MATE international ROV contest, winning the Sharkpedo award for design innovation both years. After two fun and successful years as team captain, Matt asked if he could help the MATE Center to run and organize the competition. That inquiry led to his current position.
Personal Interests: Outside of the MATE Center, Matt is an avid kayaker. Matt still maintains a very part time job as a kayak instructor and guide with Kayak Connection on the Elkhorn Slough. There he gets to explore the coastline of Monterey Bay and beyond, watch sea otters eat, and relax in nature. Matt also enjoys snorkeling, both in the cold waters of the Monterey Bay and beyond. If there is clear water, chances are Matt is looking down through it to see what lies beneath, whether it is from a kayak, with a mask and snorkel, or with a camera on an ROV.
