DATE: November 07, 2007

CONTACT: Steve Melsheimer, (864) 656-5706
ssmls@clemson.edu

WRITER: Susan Polowczuk, (864) 656-2063
spolowc@clemson.edu


High school robotics competition coming to Clemson

CLEMSON — Clemson University welcomes the fifth annual FIRST Robotics Competition Palmetto Regional March 28-29, 2008, at Littlejohn Coliseum. It is the first time Clemson hosts the event that attracts up to 1,000 local and regional high school students who vie for top honors in a highly competitive and action-packed contest that is described as a rock concert and sporting event rolled into one.

FIRST Robotics Competition Palmetto Regional comes to Clemson University March 28-29, 2008.“The College of Engineering and Science is delighted to host this event,” said engineering and science Dean Esin Gulari. “It gives a tremendous boost to the number of students who end up pursuing careers in engineering and science. Plus it is just plain fun and challenging.”

Teams receive their marching orders for the competition at a kickoff event held at the Madren Center Jan. 5, 2008. Kits are handed out with a specific assignment to build a robot no heavier than 120 pounds that can complete a task in a specified amount of time. The teams have six weeks to assemble their robots and ship them back to FIRST for the regional competition at Littlejohn Coliseum in March. Teams are judged not only on point accumulation, but also on design, team spirit, professionalism and perseverance.

More than 32,000 high school students participate on 1,300 teams in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands and England. The regional events will lead to an international competition April 17-19 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen, developer of the first portable insulin pump and the first portable kidney dialysis machine, to “create a world where science and technology are celebrated where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes.”

For more information on the competition, go to the FIRST website at: www.usfirst.org, FIRST Robotics Competition or http://www.ces.clemson.edu/main/FRC/index.html.

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