Boston's Largest Robotic Two Day Event Focuses on Engaging Students in Science, Technology and Engineering
In an atmosphere described as "rock concert meets the Super Bowl mixed with technology and science," the FIRST Boston Regional ( http://www.bostonfirst.org) brings together student teams from across the region and the world, who have spent six weeks designing and building robots to accomplish specific tasks outlined in this years' game, AIM HIGH. Played by two (2) three team alliances on a 54' x 26' field, each match is two minutes and ten seconds consisting of four periods in which each alliance has two corner and one center goal to throw balls into. The alliances switch off on playing defense against each other and at the end of the match, robots must race to be parked on a platform before the final bell.
Teams will compete for a variety of awards which will be presented by a panel of judges including industry leaders such as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Ethernet inventor Bob Metcalfe of Polaris Ventures, iRobot co-founder and board chairman Helen Greiner and other technology innovators and leaders from MIT and local businesses. In addition, teams will vie for the chance to represent the Boston region at the FIRST Robotics Championship in Atlanta on April 27-29, 2006. Approximately 8,500 students from 340 teams travel to Atlanta each year to compete in the Championship.
Open to the public on Friday and Saturday, March 24-25, the audience and students will also be addressed by John Abele, founder of Boston Scientific and chairman of FIRST and Al Sacco, a former Columbia Space Shuttle astronaut and professor at Northeastern University, during the competition on Saturday about the future of science and technology careers and studies.
"A number of companies and esteemed individuals have stepped up to sponsor and mentor our student teams from the FIRST kick off on January 7 until now. This support level has been phenomenal and has provided these students with insight and inspiration to continue pursuing studies in science and technology," said Marc Hodosh, chairperson of the FIRST Boston Regional Committee. "This support combined with the public's interest will make the Boston Regional a success and encourage other students to create their own teams for next year."
Students participating in FIRST are eligible to apply for over seven million dollars in scholarships from leading universities, colleges and companies. Scholarship announcements are made at the FIRST championship in Atlanta. Since its beginning, FIRST has significantly improved students attitudes towards math, science and teamwork. The student's interest in pursuing internship and employment opportunities in science and engineering has increased, especially with those companies that participate in the FIRST program.
Sponsors of the FIRST Boston Regional currently include; Gillette,
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, NH, 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 the support of many of the world's most well known companies, the non-profit organization hosts the FIRST Robotics Competition for high school students and the FIRST Lego League for children 9-14 years old. To learn more about FIRST, go to http://www.usfirst.org.
CONTACT: Larry Bouchie of KMC Partners Public Relations, +1-617-758- 4192,
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