The University hosted the FIRST Robotics Com­petition Philadelphia Regional in March, in which 55 teams of high school students and engineering and technical mentors demonstrated their abilities by creating a robot to solve a specific engineering challenge.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics was founded by inventor Dean Kamen, Drexel’s 2007 Engineer of the Year and creator of the Segway Human Transporter, to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people, their schools and their communities.

This year high school students from eight states and 46 area schools were given six weeks to work with professional mentors and design a robot using a kit of parts to compete in “Lunacy,” a two minute 15-second game set on a 54x27-inch low-friction floor. With finished robots, the teams competed for points awarded by picking up nine-inch game balls with their robot and placing them in trailers hitched to their opponents’ robots.

This season, participating FIRST students are eligible to apply for over $9.5 million in scholarships from leading universities, colleges and companies. Scholarship announcements will be made at the FIRST championship in April.

“We are proud to sponsor this event and we encourage students to participate in FIRST Robotics with the anticipation they will advance in the fields of science and technology,” said Selcuk Güceri, PhD, dean of the College of Engi­neering. Other sponsors included PECO, DuPont, Rohm & Haas, Motorola and Environmental Tectonics Corp.