Steven Evans, P.E.
PACCAR
Steven Evans, P. E., PACCAR, has been selected as the recipient of the 2022 Kenneth W. Porter Award in recognition of his many contributions to the education of K-12 students by showing them the exciting opportunities available in engineering. He has been mentoring Eastlake High School students in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition for the past twenty years. During this period, he has mentored over 475 high school students. In addition, for the past 18 years, he has been President of the Eastlake Robotics Boosters that raises funding to support the robotics teams.
He enjoys working with the students and believes that there is no substitute for hands-on experience. He conducts training sessions in the fall to ensure all the students know how to use all the tools and machines in the shop safely. This sometimes includes introducing students to tools that are new to them. During the build season, beginning in January, the teams have six weeks in which to develop a concept, design, debug, and have a robot ready for competition. During this time, the teams are divided into groups. Each group is led by a student who has been with the team for one or more years. This provides the veterans an opportunity to lead a small team. His approach is not about the robot. It is about inspiring high school students to become science and technology leaders and innovators. The students are engaged in an exciting mentor-based program that builds science, engineering, technology, and teamwork skills as well as self-confidence, communication, and leadership skills. To publicize the work of his students, he brings his robotics teams to the annual Puget Sound Engineering Council Engineering Fair to display their robots and discuss their experiences with Fair visitors.