For the fifth year in a row,
Drexel University and the College of Engineering are proud to host the
FIRST Robotics Philadelphia Regional Competition on the Drexel campus.
This year’s game, "FIRST Frenzy: Raising the Bar,” will bring forty-four
teams of students from all over the country to Drexel Thursday March 25th
through Saturday, March 27th. Last year's regional competition, also held
at Drexel, attracted over 5,000 people; similar numbers are expected again
this year.
The competition will be held in the Daskalakis Athletic Center, located
at 33rd and Market Streets. The official kickoff of this year’s game will
be Friday, March 26th at 9:30 a.m., after which the College of Engineering’s
Dean Selcuk Guceri is hosting a VIP brunch in the President’s box. The
brunch will be co-chaired by President Papadakis and PECO President Denis
O’Brien. Along with Drexel University and the College of Engineering,
PECO is one of the primary sponsors for the regional Philadelphia competition.
The Franklin Institute is also hosting a team party for the students on
Thursday evening. In addition, the Philadelphia regional event will be
staffed by 125 volunteers per day, over two thirds of whom are members
of the Drexel community.
The goal of FIRST Robotics, which stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition
of Science and Technology,” is to inspire high school students to achieve
and to aspire to careers in science and technology. The program has proven
highly successful, with 300,000 high school students participating at
the national level this year. FIRST Robotics hosts regional competitions
across the U.S. leading up to the national competition, which is being
held this year at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, George on April 15-17.
For more information on FIRST Robotics, please visit www.usfirst.org.
If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Suzanne Rocheleau
at Rocheleau@drexel.edu.