Speaker

John Phipps is a senior subsea robotics tech/supervisor with Oceaneering’s Gulf of America ROV division. An avid maker, tinkering with circuits and control systems since childhood, he transitioned to STEM education when he served as the Director of Operations for The Inventor Center. Through Streamworks, John got connected with MATE and volunteered at his first regional competition in 2019. Later in 2019 at the MATE World Championship, John met up with Oceaneering and decided that an offshore career with ROV’s would be the adventure of a lifetime. In his off-time, John still volunteers his time in education and community support through The Inventor Center, Streamworks Education, and serves as the chairman of The Literacy Council of Kingsport’s strategic planning commission. He has mentored two MATE teams in Kingsport, one of which he sponsored the build of and competed at the championship twice. He also operates the CNC, Laser cutters, and 3D printers of The Inventor Center for use by any robotics team in the Tri-Cities TN area.