20,000 Cheer FIRST™ Students at the Ultimate Celebration of Science and Technology

-(BUSINESS WIRE)--Twenty-thousand spectators, students, mentors, volunteers, sponsors, and FIRST™ supporters gathered over the weekend to experience the ultimate celebration of science and technology that ignites students’ scientific savvy in three levels of Championship competitions. Teams from California, Illinois, and Michigan emerged victorious at the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Championship at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. It was the climax to months of regional competitions involving 1,680 teams from the United States and ten other nations: Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

The total FIRST Community – with over 196,000 students, 86,000 volunteers, and 3,500 sponsors this year alone – is estimated at one million strong and growing. With continued support from industry, the number of FIRST teams continues to grow despite the downturn in the global economy.

“Our mission is about more than building robots; we are working to inspire and change a culture,” said Dean Kamen, FIRST founder. “Over the past few days in Atlanta, we had the opportunity to witness this culture shift in action. We watched as the innovators of tomorrow showed us they could step up to the challenge and solve complex technological problems. And that’s good news for us, because we need more innovative thinkers to help solve a number of increasingly complex problems in the world. I am confident there is a bright future ahead – I caught a glimpse of it at the FIRST Championship.”

FIRST is a not-for-profit founded by inventor Dean Kamen to celebrate science and technology via robotics competitions worldwide. The 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization offers innovative programs that motivate young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math while building life skills. Teams earned their invitations to the Championship by excelling in their regional tournaments in competitive play, sportsmanship, and the development of partnerships among schools, businesses and communities.

FIRST ROBOTICS COMPETITION (FRC)

High-school student teams built their robots from a kit of hundreds of parts in six weeks. This year’s game, called “LUNACYTM,” tested the students’ and robots’ ability to pick up 9" game balls and score them in trailers hitched to their opponents’ robots, while contending with the laws of physics on a low-friction floor.

The Winning Alliance of the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship was: Team 67 “The HOT Team” of Huron Valley Schools from Milford, Michigan; Team 111 “WildStang” of Rolling Meadows High School and Wheeling High School from Schaumburg, Illinois; Team 971 “Spartan Robotics” of Mountain View High School in Mountain View, California.

Team 236 “Techno Ticks” of Lyme-Old Lyme High School from Old Lyme, Connecticut won the Chairman’s Award, the highest honor given at the FRC Championship that recognizes the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST.

FIRST TECH CHALLENGE (FTC)

Approximately 1,000 high-school students used a modular robotics kit to compete in the “Face Off!” challenge, mirroring many real-world challenges that robotics engineers face today, such as navigating uneven surfaces, manipulating odd-shaped objects, using sensors to determine the environment, and withstanding physical stress. The FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship Inspire Award, recognizing excellence in robot design and teamwork, went to Team 32 “Einstein’s Daughters”, an all-female team from San Diego, California.

The FIRST Tech Challenge Winning Alliance was Team 92 “Jr. Bomb Squad” from Mountain Home, Arkansas; Team 679 “RoboRaiders” from Sandy Springs, Georgia; Team 2820 “Alberta Longhorns” from Calgary, Alberta.

FIRST LEGO® LEAGUE (FLL)

Eighty four teams from 27 countries participated in the FIRST LEGO League World Festival. This year’s “Climate Connections” real-life challenge tasked students, ages 9 to 14, to design, build, and program robots and embark on an exploration of the earth’s climate.

Top honors went to Champion’s Award 1st Place winner, Team 55 “Da Peeps” from Swartz Creek, Michigan; Champion’s Award 2nd Place winner, Team 2223 “Turbulent Typhoons” from Westerville, Ohio; and Champion’s Award 3rd Place winner, Team 9201 “NXT Generation” from Nordborg, Denmark. The Champion’s Award measures how teams inspire and motivate others about the excitement and wonders of science and technology, while demonstrating gracious professionalism.

SCHOLARSHIPS

FIRST also recognized the recipients of numerous educational scholarships worth $9.8 million from the most prestigious science and engineering schools in the country, such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, Kettering University, Georgia Tech, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Carnegie Mellon University, Purdue University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Bucknell University.

RESULTS

The major honors that were awarded at the FIRST Championship included:

* 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 – National Instruments
* Woodie Flowers Award, founded by Dr. William P. Murphy, Jr. and Small Parts, Inc. to recognize an outstanding engineer or teacher who best demonstrates teaching excellence in teaching science, math, and creative design – John Novack, Engineer, Baxter Healthcare, Arkansas
* Outstanding Commitment Award, celebrates one individual who has had a sustained impact on the FIRST Championship by actively supporting FIRST programs through leadership and personal commitment over an extended period – Dave Lavery, Program Executive for Solar System Exploration, NASA

FIRST Robotics Competition Championship:

* Engineering Inspiration Award – Team 341, “Miss Daisy”, Pennsylvania
* Championship Finalists – Team 68, “T3”, Michigan; Team 217 “ThunderChickens”, Michigan; Team 247, “Da Bears”, Michigan
* Division* Champions – Archimedes Division: Team 222, “Tigertrons”, Pennsylvania; Team 1218, “Vulcan Robotics”, Pennsylvania; Team 2753, “Team Overdrive”, New Jersey. Curie Division: Team 68, “T3”, Michigan; Team 217 “ThunderChickens”, Michigan; Team 247, “Da Bears”, Michigan. Galileo Division: Team 67, “The HOT Team”, Michigan; Team 111, “WildStang”, Illinois; Team 971, “Spartan Robotics”, California. Newton Division: Team 121, “Rhode Warriors”, Rhode Island; Team 177, “Bobcat Robotics”, Connecticut; Team 1507, “Warlocks”, New York.
* Division Finalists – Archimedes Division: Team 118, “Robonauts”, Texas; Team 343, “Metal-In-Motion”, South Carolina; Team 488, “Team XBot”, Washington. Curie Division: Team 188, “Blizzard”, Ontario, Canada; Team 329, “Raiders”, New York; Team 399, “Eagle Robotics”, California. Galileo Division: Team 870, “Team R.I.C.E.”, New York; Team 1717, “D’Penguineers”, California; Team 2775, “Liberty Robotics”, Tennessee. Newton Division: Team 85, “B.O.B. (Built On Brains)”, Michigan; Team 135, “Penn Robotics”, Indiana; Team 1918, “NC Gears”, Michigan.
* Autodesk Visualization Award – Team 1716, “Redbird Robotics”, Wisconsin
* Autodesk Inventor Award – Team 103, “Cybersonics”, Pennsylvania
* Chrysler Team Spirit Award – Team 1086, “Blue Cheese”, Virginia
* Delphi “Driving Tomorrow’s Technology”TM Award – Team 339, “Kilroy”, Virginia
* General Motors Industrial Design Award – Team 67, “The HOT Team”, Michigan
* Johnson & Johnson Gracious Professionalism Award – Team 118, “Robonauts”, Texas
* Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Entrepreneurship Award – Team 687, “The Nerd Herd”, California
* Motorola Quality Award – Team 1717, “D’Penguineers”, California
* Rockwell Automation Innovation in Control Award – Team 365, “Miracle Workerz”, Delaware
* Underwriters Laboratories Industrial Safety Award – Team 337, “Hard Working Hard Hats”, West Virginia
* Xerox Creativity Award – Team 263, “Sachem Aftershock”, New York
* Imagery Award, in honor of Jack Kamen – Team 33, “Killer Bees”, Michigan
* Rookie All-star Award – Team 3091, “100 Scholars”, Georgia
* Rookie Inspiration Award – Team 2741, “Method 2 Madness”, Illinois
* Website Award – Team 1114, “Simbotics”, Ontario, Canada
* Judges’ Awards – Team 359, “Hawaiian Kids”, Hawaii; Team 1511, “Rolling Thunder”, New York

FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship:

* FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship Finalists – Team 39, “Gingerbread Men”, Michigan; Team 577, “Staples Wreckers”, Connecticut; Team 2818, “G-Force”, Maryland
* PTC Design Award – Team 2842, “Burnin’ Rubber!”, Illinois
* FIRST Tech Challenge Connect Award – Team 18, “Techno Chix”, New York
* FIRST Tech Challenge Innovate Award – Team 2848, “Techno Guards”, California
* FIRST Tech Challenge Motivate Award – Team 3365, “Project Pulse”, Texas
* FIRST Tech Challenge Think Award – Team 2, “Psychotic Strawberryz”, Oregon
* Judges’ Awards – Grace Under Pressure: Team 14, “Plan B”, Virginia; Potential Unlimited: Team 1, “Team Unlimited”, Massachusetts

FIRST LEGO League World Festival:

* Robot Performance Award – Team 8004, “Emerotecos”, Brazil
* Innovative Design Award – Team 8080, “TechnoBotts3”, United Kingdom
* Quality Design Award – Team 1042, “Tech Kids”, Indiana
* Programming Award – Team 784, “The Techno Travelers”, Minnesota
* Research Quality Award – Team 9401, “Double Oh Zero”, South Africa
* Innovative Solution Award – Team 9111, “Spectrum Bots”, Chile
* Creative Presentation Award – Team 8060, “Giant Panda”, China
* Teamwork Award – Team 5, “The Olympians”, Washington
* Team Spirit Awards – Team 3790, “The Icebreakers”, New York; Team 111, “Les Electrocuteurs”, Haiti
* Against All Odds Awards – Team 422, “Wallace Bobcats”, Indiana; Team 2447, “JETS”, Texas
* Outstanding Volunteer Awards – Dave Brooks, West Virginia; Bill and Susan Duggins, Virginia; Bill McGowan, New Jersey
* Adult Coach/Mentor Awards – Helena Coetzee, South Africa; Tim Mills, Iowa
* Young Adult Mentor Awards – Dorian Shani, Israel; Ang Wen Xian, Singapore
* Judges’ Awards – Team 33, “YOROZ”, Turkey; Team 121, “FLL-ISPR”, Haiti; Team 8030, “EAGLEKNIGHTS WILLIAMS”, Mexico; Team 8000, “Triple Legend”, Egypt

World-Class Museum Opens in Cartersville

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Tellus: Northwest Georgia Science Museum opened its doors to the public Monday, Jan. 12, 2009. The 120,000 square foot museum features four incredible galleries that include gems, dinosaurs, space capsules, minerals and a special kid's interactive area.

"After working on this project for so many years, it is exciting having a museum full of people enjoying the exhibits," said Tellus Executive Director Jose Santamaria.

Tellus' four galleries - Weinman Mineral Gallery, Fossil Gallery, Science in Motion and Collins Family My Big Backyard - feature exhibits and activities that cannot be found under one roof anywhere else in the country.

An 82-foot-long Apatosaurus looms over visitors in the Great Hall. The replica Wright Brothers' Flyer dominates the Science in Motion Gallery. A giant tree reaches to the ceiling in Collins Family My Big Backyard, inviting children of all ages inside to learn about weather.

Tellus is an expansion of the Weinman Mineral Museum, which received hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over Georgia in its 24 years of existence. School children on field trips made up a significant portion of the visitation and Tellus will continue that tradition. More than 15,000 students are already signed up to visit the museum on field trips during the first four months Tellus is open.

"Research has shown having students do experiential, hands-on activities helps to broaden their experience base. A visit to Tellus and participation in one of our programs helps them associate all of the science vocabulary and concepts they are learning," Tellus Director of Education Cantey Smith said.

The buzz about Tellus has grown from a whisper to a roar over the last few months. The museum's E-newsletter membership has increased an average of 300 people a month for the last six months to more than 4,000 people. The grand opening gala, held on Jan. 10, sold out within three weeks of tickets going on sale. Tellus expects to draw more than 150,000 visitors in its first year of operation.

"The public's outpouring of support has been phenomenal," said Joe Schulman, director of marketing at Tellus. "As excited as we are to open, it's obvious the public couldn't wait either."

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UGA Opens Office to Support Science, Math and Engineering Education in Georgia

Experts have for some years worried that a national shortage of scientists, mathematicians and engineers has jeopardized the competitive edge the United States must have in an increasingly technological world. To address this need, the University System of Georgia Board of Regents launched an initiative called Math + Science = Success.

The new program aims to increase the number of students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and the number of teachers prepared to teach these subjects in grades K-12.

Now, as part of this initiative, the University of Georgia has opened a new “one-stop” source of information for higher education faculty, teachers and students interested in making Georgia stronger in science, math and engineering.

Called the Office of STEM Education (for “science, technology, engineering and mathematics”), the facility will promote a broad range of activities to strengthen teaching and learning in these subjects, according to the director of the office, Charles Kutal, associate dean of UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

Co-directors are Thomas Koballa, a professor in the College of Education, and Dava Coleman, a high school chemistry teacher in Jackson County. Program coordinator for the office is Nancy Vandergrift.

“The new office is a clearinghouse for anyone interested in STEM education on this campus,” Kutal said. “We can provide assistance to anyone seeking a collaborator within UGA, another University System institution or in a local K-12 school. Our Web site will provide information about ongoing projects and potential funding sources. Our goal is to assist people who have an interest but don’t know where to start.”

The UGA Office of STEM Education, which is located in Aderhold Hall on the UGA campus, is administratively under the Office of the Vice President for Instruction.

“This office aligns with our mission, as the flagship university, to meet the state’s responsibility for nurturing research and economic development through the preparation of more teachers in areas of critical need,” said Jere Morehead, vice president for instruction and Meigs Professor of Legal Studies.

The new STEM office builds upon the successes of the PRISM (Partnership for Reform in Science and Mathematics) project, a USG initiative designed to increase science and mathematics achievement for all K-12 students in order to improve their readiness for post-secondary education and careers by enhancing teacher quality, raising expectations for all stakeholders and closing student achievement gaps.

Awarded to the University System of Georgia in 2003, the initiative was funded by a five-year, $34.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and was funded through the school year of 2008. The NSF recently funded Phase II of PRISM with a new three-year grant of just over $2 million.

PRISM is working actively in four regions of the state, metropolitan Atlanta, northeast Georgia, east central Georgia and southeast Georgia, with partners at the university and public school level in each region.

Kutal said that one of the reasons the PRISM program has been successful is that it “addresses a whole spectrum of issues in K-16 STEM education.” With reports that the United States is falling behind Asian and European countries in these areas of education, he said the stakes are high.

“It’s crucial to the future of the country that all U.S. students are well prepared in STEM,” he said. “That’s why it’s important to continue the efforts that are already beginning to show gains in student interest and performance in these subjects.”

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Public Symposium set for Emory University Oct. 23-24 Explores How Science Changes Life

"Evolution Revolution: Science Changing Life," a public symposium at Emory University Oct. 23-24, will explore the future of evolution as a theory and a process and the potential of recent research to transform our lives. The program features some of the world's leading scientists, from Emory and beyond, who will discuss how technology and growing knowledge of our origins may affect our future.

"Evolution Revolution" anticipates the 200th anniversary in 2009 of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of "On the Origin of Species." The two-day event begins Thursday, Oct. 23 with free talks by biologist E. O. Wilson, known as "the father of biodiversity." Wilson will speak informally on the topic of creativity at 3 p.m. in the Jones Room at Woodruff Library, then deliver the keynote address, "Darwin and the Future of Biology," at 7 p.m. in Glenn Memorial Auditorium.

New York Times columnist Olivia Judson, one of the preeminent science writers of our time, kicks off the events of Friday, Oct. 24, with a 9 a.m. talk at the Emory Conference Center. Panels of Emory and Georgia Tech faculty will then discuss how their research is helping to explain where we came from and where we may be going — including the potential for everything from renewable bio-energy sources to bioengineering advances that could transform health care.

Conference Includes Workshop for High School Teachers

The strong educational component of the conference will include a workshop for high school teachers from throughout metro Atlanta, to discuss the difficulties and best practices for teaching evolution. Registration is required for the Conference Center events.

"Darwin's theory of evolution has been called the greatest intellectual revolution," says David Lynn, chair of chemistry and co-leader of Emory's strategic initiative for Computational and Life Sciences, the main sponsor for the event. "We want to celebrate Darwin by looking forward, at how the theory of biological evolution continues to change our world view and the understanding of what the future may bring."



Symposium Aims to Share Research With Community

The conference, which bridges the humanities, medicine, public health and the natural and social sciences, aims to communicate the potential of recent research, particularly at Emory — to improve our society.



"We may be reaching the threshold of a new era in the life sciences," says Tom Jenkins, director of the Office of Academic and Strategic Partnerships, which is assisting with the event. From the search for the pre-biotic origins of life, through anthropology and non-human primate research, and the journey into bioengineering, Emory faculty are making major contributions, he says. 



"Emory recognizes that it has a responsibility not just to conduct pioneering research, but to share that research with the community," Jenkins says. "This is a public discussion of cutting edge science that may be transforming our lives."



"Technology is moving extremely fast," Lynn adds. "We're at a critical time now. Evolution is a complex, interwoven network. From renewable energy to health care, we need to put our heads together and think about how we're going to evolve to meet the challenges and pressures we're going to face."



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Community Support Key for New Science Museum

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The future looks bright at Tellus: Northwest Georgia Science Museum, thanks to the support of local individuals, businesses and foundations who joined the Tellus Founder's Circle.

Tellus is a world-class museum that will excite visitors with amazing exhibits that will open minds and ignite a passion for science. Tellus, opening in January 2009, will feature four main galleries: The Weinman Mineral Gallery, The Fossil Gallery, Science in Motion and The Collins Family My Big Backyard. A planetarium and an observatory are also located at Tellus. The 120,000 square foot museum is located in Cartersville, GA just off I-75.

The Founder's Circle is the lynchpin of the museum's $6 million capital campaign. The Founder's Circle is made up of everyone from local residents to international businesses. Opportunities for individuals begin at $250 and $5,000 for corporations.

"The education statistics in Georgia and nationwide reflect the need for a more intensive approach to science, math and technology teaching in our schools," said Tellus Director of Development Adam Wade. "This is a critical time as we begin to realize the full potential of this exciting project. We've been able to raise more than $3.2 million thanks to the support of our community."

Individuals, families and corporations are all invited to join the Founder's Circle. Contributors will receive quarterly updates via the museum's magazine, a permanent listing on a wall in the Tellus lobby, a hard hat tour during construction and a tour of the museum prior to opening.
"Tellus will help fulfill the demand for high-quality earth and planetary science education in the fast-growing communities of northwest Georgia and including metropolitan Atlanta," Wade said. "All donations received for the Founder's Circle will be used to support exhibition fabrication, acquisition of equipment and technology for the new facility."

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