will.i.am, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan
Smith, NASA Administrator Maj. Gen. Charles Bolden, U.S. Air Force
Lt. Gen. Michelle D. Johnson, and Top Inventors Celebrate Student
Achievements in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math During
FIRST Championship in St. Louis
Championship Presenting Sponsor Qualcomm
Incorporated and Dean Kamen Cheered on Young Innovators from 42
Countries as their Robots Competed at Annual Robotics Event
This week, more than 20,000 students from around the globe
traveled to St. Louis, putting their engineering skills to the test
at the annual FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science
and Technology) Championship, held at various venues throughout the
city.
This Smart News Release features multimedia.
View the full release here:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160430005030/en/
This week, more than 20,000 students from
around the globe traveled to St. Louis, putting their engineering
skills to the test at the annual FIRST® Championship. (Photo:
Business Wire)
The four-day event came down to a heart-pounding conclusion
Saturday night in front of a roaring crowd of more than 40,000 when
four teams from Hermosa Beach, California; Tremont, Illinois;
Cleveland, Ohio; and Glen Allen, Virginia of the Carver Subdivision
won the coveted FIRST Robotics Competition Championship Winning
Alliance. In this year’s game, FIRST STRONGHOLDSM, Alliances worked
together to breach their opponents’ fortifications, weaken their
tower, and capture the opposing tower. Robots scored points by
breaching opponents’ defenses and tossing boulders through goals in
the opposing tower. During the final 20 seconds of the match,
robots were allowed to surround and scale the opposing tower to
capture it.
In all, over 20,000 students, ages 6 to 18, participated in
FIRST Championship events in St. Louis.
Selected Quotes:
- FIRST Founder Dean Kamen urged students
to use their imagination to solve some of the world’s greatest
challenges: We believe that if you can show kids that the tools of
mathematics and engineering empower them to do some really cool,
really fun things, they’ll get passionate about it.
- Colin Gillespie, President, LEGO®
Education North America, said: Research shows we’re significantly
more creative when we’re 5 years old than we are when we’re 25, but
you can keep your creativity alive with playful learning
experiences like those you get through FIRST. You’re rekindling
that awesome creativity and can see the world in ways (we) can only
hope to imagine.
- NASA Administrator Maj. Gen. Charles
Bolden said: I can’t stress how important it is to have young
people like each of you pursuing STEM. You and your Mentors have
demonstrated that it can be a lot of hard work, but also a lot of
fun. It’s important work that can make a real difference to the
world’s future.
Among the participants from around the globe, many earned honors
for design excellence, competitive play, research, business plans,
website design, teamwork, and partnerships. A not-for-profit
organization founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen, FIRST inspires
young people’s interest and participation in science and
technology.
In St. Louis, more than 900 teams from 42 countries competed in
the four FIRST programs: FIRST® LEGO®
League (grades 4 to 8, 9 to 14-year-olds in the U.S.,
Canada, and Mexico; 9 to 16-year-olds outside the U.S., Canada, and
Mexico); FIRST® Tech Challenge (grades 7 to
12, 12 to 18-year-olds); and FIRST® Robotics
Competition (grades 9 to 12, ages 14 to 18). In addition to the
high-energy robotics matches, 60 teams of 6 to 9-year-olds
participated in the FIRST® LEGO®
League Jr. (grades K-3, ages 6-9), World Festival
Expo.
The Bart Kamen Memorial FIRST Scholarships were given to:
- Ryan Bigej, FIRST Tech Challenge Team
9123, Mechanicougs, Hubbard, OR
- Jameson Kief, FIRST Robotics
Competition Team 4557, The FullMetal Falcons, Plantsville, CT
- Miranda Rector, FIRST Tech Challenge
Team 3493, Venice Technomatics, Los Angeles, CA
- Maya Varma, FIRST Tech Challenge Team
5917, Arcrobots, and FIRST Robotics Competition Team 2135,
Presentation Invasion, Cupertino, CA
The FIRST Championship honored significant supporters of the
FIRST mission:
- National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) was the recipient of the Founder’s
Award, presented each year by FIRST founder Dean Kamen to one
organization or individual for exceptional service in advancing the
ideals and mission of FIRST.
- Eric Stokely, Mentor, Team 360;
Fieldhouse Supervisor, FIRST Washington; and former FIRST Tech
Challenge Affiliate Partner; from Belfair, WA, was the recipient of
the Woodie Flowers Award, founded by Dr. William P. Murphy
Jr. to recognize an outstanding engineer or teacher who best
demonstrates teaching excellence in teaching science, math, and
creative design.
- Walt Disney Imagineering was the
recipient of the Make It Loud Award, presented by will.i.am,
given to the person who has contributed the most in increasing the
awareness of FIRST to the general public.
- Maya Varma of FIRST Tech Challenge Team
5917, Acrobats, and FIRST Robotics Competition Team 2135,
Presentation Innovation, from Cupertino, CA, received the FIRST
Future Innovator Award sponsored by the Abbott Fund for her
Smartphone-Based System for Diagnosis and Management of Pulmonary
Illnesses.
2016 FIRST Championship Winners
The 2016 winners of the competitions are as follows:
Winners of the Dean’s List Award included:
From FIRST Robotics Competition:
- Brenden Barbour, Team 3284, Camdenton
4-H LASER, Camdenton, MO;
- Zarya DeSouza, Team 3494, Quadrangles,
Bloomington, IN;
- Chenelle Foster, Team 5830, The
Irrational Engineers, Lanham, MD;
- Mitchel Huang, Team 503, Frog Force,
Novi, MI;
- Shikhar Jagadeesh, Team 846, The Funky
Monkeys, San Jose, CA;
- Shanatanu Jakhete, Team 180, S.P.A.M.,
Stuart, FL;
- Brandon John, Team 3061, Huskie
Robotics, Naperville, IL;
- Autumn Luna, Team 3250, Kennedy
Robotics, Sacramento, CA;
- Shaqeeb Momen, Team 1241, THEORY6,
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada;
- Jessa Westheimer, Team 118, Robonauts,
League City, TX
From FIRST Tech Challenge:
- Andrew Dornbier, Team 7220, The Block
Heads, Garner, IA;
- Colleen Johnson, Team 3595,
Schr�dinger’s Hat, Fairbanks, AK;
- Luz Moreno, Team 9547, Panthers, San
Antonio, TX;
- Juwon Packer, Team 4886, RoboJunkies,
Midland, TX;
- Knut Peterson, Team 7129, Robo
Raiders,Troy, IL;
- Anshuman Radhakrishnan, Team 4855,
Batteries in Black, Portland, OR;
- Sanjna Ravichandar, Team 6037,
W.A.G.S., Princeton Junction, NJ;
- David Sargent, Team 5395, Team Clutch,
Mustang, OK;
- Phoebe Spear, Team 6081, i2robotics,
Westport, CT;
- Anika Yardi, Team 8121, RMageddon,
Rockville, MD
1. FIRST® Robotics Competition Championship
– FIRST Robotics Competition combines sports excitement with the
rigors of science and technology. Under strict rules, limited
resources, and time limits, teams are challenged to fundraise,
design a brand, exercise teamwork, and build and program robots to
perform tasks against competitors.
Approximately 78,500 students on 3,140 teams from 24 countries
competed during the 2016 season.
- The Winning Alliance of the
FIRST Robotics Competition Championship was Team 330, The Beach
Bots, Hermosa Beach, CA; Team 2481, Roboteers, Tremont, IL; Team
120, Cleveland's Team, Cleveland, OH; and Team 1086, Blue Cheese,
Glen Allen, VA of the Carver Subdivision.
- Team 987 HIGHROLLERS, Las Vegas, NV,
won the Chairman’s Award, the highest honor given at the
FIRST Robotics Competition Championship, recognizing the team that
best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best
embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST.
Other FIRST Robotics Competition Awards included:
- Engineering Inspiration Award –
- Archimedes-Tesla Division: Team 3211
The Y Team, Yeruham D, Israel
- Curie-Carver Division: Team 3990 Tech
for Kids, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Galileo-Carson Division: Team 2468 Team
Appreciate, Austin TX
- Newton-Hopper Division: Team 1676 The
Pascack PI-oneers, Montvale, NJ
- Outstanding Volunteer of the Year
Award –
- Jessica Boucher, FIRST Robotics
Competition Chief Volunteer Coordinator
Championship Finalists
Tesla Subdivision
- Team 2056, OP Robotics, Stoney Creek,
Ontario, Canada
- Team 1690, Orbit, Binyamina, HaZafon,
Israel
- Team 3015, Ranger Robotics,
Spencerport, NY
- Team 1405, Finney Falcons, Penfield,
NY
2. FIRST® Tech Challenge World Championship
– FIRST Tech Challenge students learn to think like engineers.
Teams build robots from a reusable kit of parts, develop
strategies, document their progress, and compete head to head. This
year’s game, FIRST® RES-QSM, is modeled after rescue situations
faced by mountain explorers. Two Alliances with two robots each
score by “resetting” rescue beacons, delivering rescue climbers to
a shelter, parking on the mountain, and parking in the rescue
beacon repair zone or floor goal.
Approximately 51,500 students on 5,158 FIRST Tech Challenge
teams competed during the 2015/2016 season. The 2015/2016 FIRST
Tech Challenge Sponsors include Official Program Sponsor, Rockwell
Collins; Official IoT, CAD & Collaboration Software Sponsor,
PTC; and Official Control System Sponsor, Qualcomm.
The FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship Inspire
Award, recognizing excellence in robot design and teamwork,
went to Team 7013 Hot Wired from Portland Oregon. The Winning
Alliance was Team 5916, BoBots, Earleville, MD; Team 8221,
CUBIX^3, Hampstead, MD; Team 6022, TBD-To Be Determined, Aurora,
Ohio.
The FIRST Tech Challenge Volunteer of the Year
Award winner was Mannie Lowe of Mississippi. The Compass
Award for excellence in coaching/mentoring was awarded to David
Patterson. He was nominated for this award by Team 3595,
Schr�dinger’s Hat, of Fairbanks, Alaska.
3. FIRST® LEGO® League World Festival –
FIRST LEGO League introduces younger students to real-world
engineering challenges by conducting research projects and building
LEGO-based autonomous robots to complete tasks on a thematic
playing surface. FIRST LEGO League teams, guided by their
imaginations, discover exciting career possibilities and learn to
make positive contributions to society. This year’s challenge,
TRASH TREKSM engaged 233,000+ kids on approximately 29,000 teams to
explore the hidden world of trash, from collecting to sorting to
smart production and reuse.
Top honors went to Champion’s Award 1st Place winner,
Team 23, The Incredibots, Columbus, Ohio; Champion’s Award
Finalist, Team 22993, Mechatronic Ants, Pamplona, Spain; and
Champion’s Award Finalist, Team 23005, Tic Tac Toe, Beirut,
Lebanon
4. FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. World Festival
Expo – FIRST LEGO League Jr. introduces children ages 6 to 9
to the exciting worlds of science and technology. Teams of up to
six children and two adult Coaches take on a real-world Challenge,
to be explored through research, critical thinking, and
imagination.
In this year’s FIRST LEGO League Jr. Challenge, WASTE WISESM,
students learned that throwing something in the trash is only the
beginning. From reducing, to reusing, to recycling, and beyond,
teams found out what making trash really means.
For a full list of FIRST Championship winners and awards, visit
www.firstinspires.org.
2016 FIRST Championship Sponsors
Qualcomm is the 2016 FIRST Championship Presenting
Sponsor.
2016 FIRST Champion Program Sponsors include: The Boeing
Company; BOSCH; Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD);
FedEx Corporation; Google; IBM; Monsanto; NRG Energy; U.S. Air
Force; United Technologies Corporation (UTC).
Other 2016 FIRST Championship Sponsors include: Abbott
Fund; BAE Systems; Bechtel Corporation; Booz Allen Hamilton; The
Coca-Cola Company; Comcast NBCUniversal; CSC Charitable Foundation;
DaDaLeLe; Dr. William H. Danforth; Dice; The Dow Chemical Company;
Edward Jones; General Electric Company; Hilton St. Louis at the
Ballpark; Microsoft Corporation; Mouser Electronics; Nidec Motor
Corporation; NVIDIA Corporation; Southwest Airlines; SpaceX; St.
Louis Regional Chamber; St. Louis Union Station Hotel; UL; Vulcan
Spring & Mfg. Co.
Save the date! The FIRST Championship will be held
in:Houston April 19-22, 2017 and St. Louis April 26-29, 2017 |
Houston April 18-21, 2018 and Detroit April 25-28, 2018
About FIRST®
Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST® (For Inspiration
and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an
appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in
Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to
build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating
young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and
engineering. With support from over 200 of the Fortune 500
companies and more than $25 million in college scholarships, the
not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST® Robotics Competition
for students in Grades 9-12; FIRST® Tech Challenge for Grades 7-12;
FIRST® LEGO® League for Grades 4-8; and FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. for
Grades K-3. Gracious Professionalism® is a way of doing things that
encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and
respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST,
go to www.firstinspires.org.
FIRST and the FIRST logo are registered trademarks of the United
States Foundation For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and
Technology (FIRST). LEGO® is a registered trademark of The LEGO
Group.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160430005030/en/
FIRST®Brooke Blew, 603-206-2048bblew@firstinspires.orgorHaley
Dunn, 603-206-2494hdunn@firstinspires.org