Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Tech Citizenship

FIRST taps high-flying sponsors for 2011 championship

FIRST taps high-flying sponsors for 2011 championship
On the heels of the Boston Regional FIRST Robotics Competition, the Manchester, N.H.-based nonprofit FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) named AT&T, Siemens and the U.S. Air Force as the official sponsors of the 2011 Championship in St. Louis.

In addition to AT&T, Siemens and the U.S. Air Force, championship sponsors include Abbott, Autodesk, BAE Systems, SAIC and United Technologies. Other FIRST Sponsors this year are: The Boeing Co., Coca-Cola, glacéau vitaminwater, the National Defense Education Program, FedEx Corp., NASA, UL, Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening, Google Inc., Maryville University, Missouri University of Science and Technology, University of Missouri, Central Intelligence Agency, Honda, and Rolls Royce.

Representing the Northeast this year will be a three-team alliance of Bridgewater Raynham Regional High School, the Aquidneck Island Robotics 4-H Club and Brookfield High School. Their alliance won the two-day regional competition earlier this month. All told, more than 1,000 high school students participated in the Boston regional competition, and New England teams came from as far away as Oakland, Maine, and St. Johnsbury, Vt.

At the 2011 Championship in St. Louis, nearly 11,000 students will participate in the FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge, both for high-school-age students; FIRST LEGO League for elementary and middle-school students; and Junior FIRST LEGO League for 6 to 9-year-olds.

In the regional competition held at Boston University’s Agannis Arena, the matches consisted of three parts - first the robot had to place a yellow innertube on a peg on the end wall of the competition rink completely autonomously using just sensors and programming. Then the “battle bot” portion of the match took place in which the robots, now under student control, were raced the length of the rink to pick up colored innertubes of different shapes that were placed on pegs back on their own side to form the FIRST logo of a red triangle, white circle and blue square. Finally each robot had to deploy a mini-robot that raced up a pole to trigger a light at the top.

Woodie Flowers, professor emeritus at MIT and one of the founders of the FIRST Robotics competition, said at the Boston event: “It’s really fun to see a tight match followed by four mini-bots racing to the top of the pole and we have seen that a couple of times. That’s really a preview of what’s going to happen in St. Louis.”
 

SmartBear Software’s McLeod honored for Jimmy Fund Walk fundraising
Beverly-based SmartBear Software Inc.’s executive vice president of products Ian McLeod, Jr., was recently honored as a Pacesetter of the 2010 Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk presented by Hyundai, by raising a minimum of $1,000. McLeod raised $1,455 of the more than $6.5 million raised in total for last September’s walk. Funds from the walk benefit adult and pediatric cancer care and research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. 2010 Pacesetters, top team captains, sponsors and Walk Heroes were recognized at the Walk’s Extra Mile Brunch at the Boston Marriott Copley Place last month.

Pacesetters are dedicated walkers who show their commitment to conquering cancer through their fundraising efforts. In 2011 Pacesetters will be asked to raise at least $1,250 to become a Star Pacesetter, $2,500 for the Two Star level, $5,000 for the Three Star, and $10,000 to become a Four Star Pacesetter.

More than 8,500 people walk up to 26.2 miles in the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk. It is the only event other than the Boston Marathon itself that is sanctioned by the Boston Athletic Association to use the official historic marathon route from Hopkinton to Boston. The Walk is an annual event that has raised $73 million since 1989.

 The 23rd annual Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk will take place on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011, and aims to raise $7.5 million.
 

Analog Devices sponsors science fair at middle school
Analog Devices Inc., a maker of high-performance semiconductors for signal-processing applications and a long-time supporter of the Wilmington Public Schools, hosted the Wilmington Middle School Science and Technology Fair for 300 students in grade 7 earlier this month. 

Engineers from Analog Devices brought science and technology to life by partnering with students to conduct hands-on experiments. Activities involved shortwave radios, soldering practice, magnets, a Geiger counter demonstration and a Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner. As part of the fair, students participated in a fact-finding competition, with prizes awarded to the winners. Analog Devices has hosted the Wilmington Science and Technology Fair for nearly 10 years, and has supported local students through the Wilmington School Business Partnership program for over 20 years.