Written by AMA staff (04/2007); Transcribed by JS (02/2008)
Robert “Rob” Gruber, of Atlanta, Georgia, is the recipient of a $5,600 Charles Hampson Grant scholarship. A graduate of Chamblee Charter High School, Rob had a 4.16 grade-point average (out of a possible 4.34).
He was a member of several clubs including the German club, genetics and forensics club, and the math team. He competed in the Science Olympiad, the Science Fair, and several other building events, winning a number of state and regional awards.
Rob played varsity baseball and was the starting pitcher for three years. He was also active in cross-country, the National Honor Society, was a Beta Club officer, and [in the] Science National Honor Society.
He participated in Relay for Life, an overnight relay for cancer, Special Olympics, Sheltering Arms Daycare, and the Hunger Walk. He volunteered at the American Cancer Society’s Bell South Classic in the concession stand and helped with Jerry’s Kids Shamrock Sales to raise money for muscular dystrophy.
Rob has worked the past summers as a proofreader for Gruber Court Reporting, reading depositions for typing errors, sentence structure, and punctuation. He also tutors neighborhood children in mathematics. Currently, his summer job is teaching at Emory Tennis Camp. Rob has been flying Control Line Precision Aerobatics since he was six years old and has represented the Untied States at the last three Control Line World Championships. He was the 2004 Junior World Champion in Control Line Aerobatics and placed second in 2002. “The first airplane I built was a Brodak Baby Clown,” Rob wrote. “Since then I have built and flown a Sig Twister, a Vector 40, two SV-11s, and three Dreadnoughts, along with several others. I’ve built and flown several other kinds of models recreationally, including RC electric models, gas-powered Free Flight models, and RC gliders.”
In addition to the World Championships, Rob has competed in a number of prestigious events including the King Orange International, the Carolina Classic, the Carolina Criterium, X-47 Flyers, and others in the Southeast.
He attended the Fellowship of Christian Modelers meet in Muncie, Indiana and has been at the Nats nearly every year since 1998. In national competition, Rob was the second-place Junior in 1998 and Junior National Champion in 1999, 2000, and 2001. He was the senior National Champion in 2003, 2004, and 2005.
Rob is a member of the Precision Aerobatics Model Pilots Association (PAMPA) and the Cobb County Sky Rebels. He has judged at annual Sky Rebels meets and other events including unofficial events at the Nats.
Rob began competing in the Science Olympiad Wright Stuff competition in the sixth grade. He wrote, “I have built two models for the event almost every year, including designs by Bill Gowan and Dave Ziegler, and flown in both regional and state competition.” He was the state champion in the competition in 2005.
Rob is attending Yale and majoring in English. He is a pitcher for the varsity baseball team.
July 2004: Rob Gruber (standing) and Bill Werwage, F2B World Champions (Junior and Senior), Muncie, IN
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