Dwayne Brown/Ann Marie Trotta
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726/1601
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov / ann.marie.trotta@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 12-004
NASA HELPS KICK OFF 2012 FIRST ROBOTICS COMPETITION
WASHINGTON -- An international robotics competition aimed at
developing a new generation of technology leaders kicks off at 10:30
a.m. EST Saturday, Jan. 7. NASA, the largest sponsor of the FIRST
Robotics Competition, and its centers across the nation will join
local technology firms to launch the event. The main competition
kickoff will take place at Southern New Hampshire University in
Manchester and will air live on NASA Television.
FIRST -- or For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology
-- is a long-standing challenge to inspire curiosity and create
interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)
among high school students. Encouraging students to pursue STEM
studies and careers is the focus of NASA's education programs.
"NASA's Science Mission Directorate is proud to have sponsored this
technology revolution for the past 19 years," said John Grunsfeld,
NASA's associate administrator for the agency's Science Mission
Directorate in Washington. "This program has given tens of thousands
of students a crucial mentoring experience if they choose to be a
part of future exploration endeavors in space. FIRST Robotics is fun
and exciting and will sustain an unprecedented positive educational
impact on our nation's youth."
The FIRST Robotics Competition gives students the opportunity to
design, build and test a robot that can perform specific functions.
The competition also gives students the opportunity to be mentored by
NASA professionals, who help them to explore potential solutions to
robotics problems and understand the real-world challenges faced by
engineers and researchers.
"FIRST Robotics has had a tremendous impact on students' interest in
robotics and invention since its inception," said Leland Melvin,
NASA's associate administrator for Education. "In fact, it was a
mutual interest in FIRST Robotics that led the agency to a recently
announced collaboration with entertainer will.i.am. We are excited to
work together to help inspire the next generation to pursue STEM and
robotics studies."
During the live broadcast of this year's competition kickoff, inventor
and FIRST founder Dean Kamen and designers of the annual challenge
will reveal this year's competition scenario. This kicks off a
six-week design and building frenzy for students and their
engineering mentors.
Each year, participating FIRST teams are presented with a new robotics
competition scenario with twists and nuances to challenge both rookie
and veteran teams. Each team receives a kit of parts and has six
weeks to design and build a robot based on the team's interpretation
of the game scenario. Other than dimension and weight restrictions,
the look and function of the robots is up to each team.
NASA plays a significant role by providing public access to robotics
programs to encourage young people to investigate careers in the
sciences and engineering. Through the NASA Robotics Alliance Project,
the agency provides grants to teams and sponsors four regional
student competitions. NASA engineers and scientists participate with
many of these teams as technical participants and mentors to the
students. Through these mentoring activities, NASA engineers are able
to directly share their expertise and experiences with the nation's
next generation of technical leaders.
This year, there will be regional competitions across the country, as
well as four additional international competitions in March and
April. The FIRST Championship competition will be held April 25-28 in
St. Louis.
The program was founded in 1989 by Kamen to inspire an appreciation of
science and technology in young people, their schools and
communities. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST is a non-profit
organization that designs accessible, innovative programs to build
self-confidence, knowledge and life skills while motivating young
people to pursue academic opportunities.
For more information about NASA's Robotics Alliance Project, visit:
For more information about the FIRST Robotics Competition and a
listing of competing teams, visit:
For NASA TV streaming video and downlink information, visit:
For additional information about NASA's education programs, visit:
-end-
To subscribe to the list, send a message to:
hqnews-subscribe@mediaservices.nasa.gov
To remove your address from the list, send a message to:
hqnews-unsubscribe@mediaservices.nasa.gov
No comments:
Post a Comment