GHS Robotics Team World Champions

Inventor Dean Kamen recognizes best of young robotics competitors at annual FIRST Championship

April 19, 2008
Lion Ledger

ATLANTA - April 19, 2008 - A team from Greenville High School emerged victorious this weekend at the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Championship at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.  It was the climax to weeks of competition involving more than 1,500 teams from the United States and seven other nations.  The team, nicknamed Robowranglers, was part of a three-team winning alliance that included teams from Sterling Heights, Michigan and St. Catharines, Ontario.

With no instructions, students had only six weeks to build robots from a kit of hundreds of parts.  This year's game, called "FIRST Overdrive," tested the students' and robots' ability to race around a track knocking down 40" inflated Trackballs and moving them around the track, passing them either over or under a 6'6" overpass.

"FIRST is inspiring the next generation of innovators and engineers," said Kamen.  "Years from now, some of these students will be inventing solutions to society's most challenging problems."

FIRST also announced the recipients of numerous educational scholarships worth approximately $10 million from the most prestigious science and engineering schools.

A total of 37,500 high school students from the United States, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom participated in 41 regional competitions during March and April.  Teams earned their invitations to the Championship by excelling in competitive play, sportsmanship and the development of partnerships among schools, businesses and communities.

For a complete listing of awards, match results and scholarship winners, please visit FIRST online at www.usfirst.org.

SPONSORS
Autodesk, Inc. is the Official Championship Sponsor of the 2008 FIRST Championship.  Other FIRST Championship sponsors this year are:  Abbott Laboratories; BAE Systems; The Coca-Cola Company; FedEx Corporation - FIRST Shipping Sponsor; NASA - Machine Shop and Satellite Broadcast Sponsor; Underwriters Laboratories - FIRST Safety Partner; Delphi Corporation - FIRST Hall of Fame Sponsor; Dassault Falcon Jet Corporation - FIRST Hospitality Center Sponsor; Association for Laboratory Autmoation - FIRST Judges Room & Dinner Sponsor; Lockheed Martin Corporation - FIRST Event Sponsor; Georgia Institute of Technology - FIRST Scholarship Row Sponsor; Central Intelligence Agency and Rolls-Royce - FIRST Robotics Conference Sponsors.

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 the support of many of the world's most well-known companies, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge for high-school students, the FIRST Lego League for children 9-14 years old, and the Junior FIRST LEGO League for 6 to 9 year-olds.  To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org.

Team148.org  |  Robowranglers.com