FIRST® Kicks Off World’s Largest Celebration of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math for Students

Championship Presenting Sponsor Qualcomm Incorporated and Others Celebrate Young Inventors from 33 Countries at FIRST Championship in Houston

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This week, more than 15,000 students from around the world traveled to Houston, putting their innovation skills to the test at the annual FIRST Championship Presented by Qualcomm Incorporated, held at the George R. Brown Convention Center, Minute Maid Park and Discovery Green.

The four-day event, attended by nearly 30,000 people, came down to a heart-pounding conclusion Saturday night in front of thousands of cheering fans at Minute Maid Park when teams from FIRST® Robotics Competition and FIRST® Tech Challenge competed in match finals. Four teams from Atascadero, California; Tucson, Arizona; Seattle, Washington; and Berkeley, California earned the FIRST Robotics Competition Winning Alliance award for this year’s game, FIRST STEAMWORKS^SM. Teams from Sun River, Montana; San Diego, California; and Pearl, Mississippi, won the FIRST Tech Challenge VELOCITY VORTEX^SM Winning Alliance.

Over 15,000 students, ages 6-18, participated in FIRST Championship Houston.

Selected Quotes:

• FIRST Founder Dean Kamen said: This year, we added second championship event. That is because we can’t contain the energy and the excitement of FIRST Championship to one city. In a world unwinding, it’s critical to develop more kids with the toolset, the vision and the ability to work together to deal with difficult problems. At FIRST, we inspire enthusiastic young people to learn, work hard and one day – change the world.
• Erica Fessia, Director of Community Engagement for Qualcomm, said: FIRST ignites kids interest in their own potential. It is inspired, empathetic, and STEM-enabled. Qualcomm is excited to be a part of the FIRST community. Through FIRST, Qualcomm meets many great people that we can bring into our Qualcomm community.
• Esben Staerk Jørgensen, President, LEGO Education, said: Did you know that everything you have ever learned in your life builds on your experience as a child? That is why LEGO Education, the LEGO Foundation, together with FIRST and other organizations, work together so that children have a playful learning experience. Play literally helps build our brains because when children play, they learn skills for life.

Among the participants, many earned honors for design excellence, competitive play, research, business plans, website design, and teamwork. A not-for-profit organization founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) inspires young people’s interest and participation in science and technology.

In Houston, nearly 700 teams from 33 countries competed in the four FIRST programs: FIRST® LEGO® League (grades 4 to 8, ages 9 to 14 in the United States, Canada, and Mexico; ages 9 to 16 outside the United States, Canada, and Mexico); FIRST Tech Challenge (grades 7 to 12, ages 12 to 18); FIRST Robotics Competition (grades 9 to 12, ages 14 to 18). In addition to the high-energy robotics matches, 60 teams participated in the FIRST® LEGO League Jr. (grades K-4, ages 6 to 9) World Festival Expo.

FIRST Championship Houston honored significant supporters of the FIRST mission:

• Glenn Lee, Mentor, Team 359, Waialua Robotics (The Hawaiian Kids), was the recipient of the Woodie Flowers Award, founded by Dr. William P. Murphy Jr. to recognize an outstanding engineer or teacher who best demonstrates teaching excellence in science, math, and creative design.
• Jon Kamen, producer and founder of @radical.media, was the recipient of the Make it Loud Award, presented by will.i.am, given to the person who has contributed the most in increasing the awareness of FIRST to the general public.

2017 FIRST Championship Winners

The 2017 winners of the competitions are as follows:

Dean’s List Award:

From FIRST Robotics Competition:

• Xavier Balladarez, Team 5627, πrtz (Pi-rates), San Diego, Calif.
• Sreekar Mantena, Team 5511, Cortechs Robotics, Cary, N.C.
• Simran Pujji, Team 8, Paly Robotics, Palo Alto, Calif.
• Zachary Rolfness, Team 1165, Team Paradise, Cave Creek, Ariz.
• Rebekah Travis, Team 4087, Falcon Robotics, New Orleans, La.
• Madeline Smith, Team 2723, Team Rocket, Oklahoma City, Okla.

From FIRST Tech Challenge:

• Elizabeth Bray, Team 7022, Robostangs, Birmingham, Ala.
• Gokul Kolady, Team 7013, Hot Wired , Portland, Ore.
• Rhett Pimentel, Team 3188, Squiggle Splat Bang, Powell, Wyo.
• Aila Simpson, Team 3491, FIX IT, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

1. FIRST® Robotics Competition Championship – FIRST Robotics Competition combines sports excitement with the rigors of science and technology. Under strict rules, limited resources, and time limits, teams are challenged to fundraise, design a brand, exercise teamwork, and build and program robots to perform tasks against competitors.

More than 83,000 students on 3,336 teams from 25 countries competed during the 2017 season.

• Team 3132, Thunder Down Under, Sydney, Australia, won the Chairman’s Award, the highest honor given at the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship, recognizing the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST
• The Winning Alliance of the FIRST Robotics Competition was Team 973, Greybots, Atascadero, Calif.; Team 1011, CRUSH, Tucson, Ariz.; Team 2928, Viking Robotics, Seattle, Wash.; and Team 5499, Bay Orangutans, Berkeley, Calif.

Other FIRST Robotics Competition Awards included:

• Volunteer of the Year Award –
  • Tim Bennington-Davis, FIRST Technical Advisor

Championship Finalists

Newton Subdivision

• Team 118, Robonauts, League City, Texas
• Team 1678, Citrus Circuits, Davis, Calif.
• Team 4188, Columbus Space Program, Columbus, Ga.
• Team 5892, Energy HEROs, Houston, Texas

Subdivision Winners

Carver Subdivision

• Team 2122, Team Tators, Boise, Idaho
• Team 987, HIGHROLLERS, Las Vegas, Nev.
• Team 4910, East Cobb Robotics, Marietta, Ga.
• Team 6314, DM Robotics (Wolf Pack), Scottsdale, Ariz.

Galileo Subdivision

• Team 5654, Phoenix, Arad, Israel
• Team 2415, WiredCats, Atlanta, Ga.
• Team 2630, Thunderbolts, Emek hefer, Israel
• Team 4112, EagleBots, Cumming, Ga.

Hopper Subdivision

• Team 604, Quixilver, San Jose, Calif.
• Team 2848, ALL SPARKS,, Dallas, Texas
• Team 1868, Space Cookies, Mountain View, Calif.
• Team 2903, NeoBots, Arlington, Wash.

Newton Subdivision

• Team 118, Robonauts, League City, Texas
• Team 1678, Citrus Circuits, Davis, Calif.
• Team 4188, Columbus Space Program, Columbus, Ga.
• Team 5892, Energy HEROs, Houston, Texas

Roebling Subdivision

• Team 973, Greybots, Atascadero, Calif.
• Team 1011, CRUSH, Tucson, Ariz.
• Team 2928, Viking Robotics, Seattle, Wash.
• Team 5499, Bay Orangutans, Berkeley, Calif.

Turing Subdivision

• Team 1318, Issaquah Robotics Society, Issaquah, Wash.
• Team 2046, Bear Metal, Maple Valley, Wash.
• Team 1595, The Dragons, Spokane, Wash.
• Team 2907, Lion Robotics, Auburn, Wash.

Subdivision Finalists

Carver Subdivision

• Team 1690, Orbit, Binyamina, Israel
• Team 971, Spartan Robotics, Mountain View, Calif.
• Team 2992, The S.S. Prometheus, Mandeville, La.
• Team 2974, Walton Robotics, Marietta, Ga.

Galileo Subdivision

• Team 492, Titan Robotics Club, Bellevue, Wash.
• Team 1538, The Holy Cows, San Diego, Calif.
• Team 5437, Rocky Balboabots, Booneville, Ark.
• Team 2576, Chilean Heart, Santiago, Chile

Hopper Subdivision

• Team 4613, Barker Redbacks, Sydney, Australia
• Team 5458, Digital Minds, Woodland, Calif.
• Team 5429, Black Knights, Las Vegas, Nev.
• Team 2587, DiscoBots, Houston, Texas

Newton Subdivision

• Team 330, The Beach Bots, Hermosa Beach, Calif.
• Team 180, S.P.A.M., Stuart, Fla.
• Team 3735, VorTX, Spring, Texas
• Team 696, Circuit Breakers, La Crescenta, Calif.

Roebling Subdivision

• Team 115, MVRT, Cupertino, Calif.
• Team 365, Miracle Workerz, Wilmington, Del.
• Team 2468, Team Appreciate, Austin, Texas
• Team 5614, Team Sycamore, Holon, Israel

Turing Subdivision

• Team 1296, Full Metal Jackets, Rockwall, Texas
• Team 1323, MadTown Robotics, Madera, Calif.
• Team 2473, Goldstrikers, Cupertino, Calif.
• Team 6554, Phoenix Robotics, La Mirada, Calif.

Engineering Inspiration Award –

• Carver-Newton Division: Team 2096, RoboActive, Dimona, Israel
• Galileo-Roebling Division: Team 5437, Rocky Balboabots, Booneville, Ark.
• Hopper-Turing Division: Team 1540, Flaming Chickens, Portland, Ore.

Creativity Award sponsored by Xerox –

• Carver-Newton Division: Team 5842, Royal Robotics, New Port Richey, Fla.
• Galileo-Roebling Division: Team 86, Team Resistance, Jacksonville, Fla.
• Hopper-Turing Division: Team 6554, Phoenix Robotics, La Mirada, Calif.

Excellence in Engineering Award sponsored by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers –

• Carver-Newton Division: Team 2471, Team Mean Machine, Camas, Wash.
• Galileo-Roebling Division: Team 1574, MisCar, Misgav, Israel
• Hopper-Turing Division: Team 4513, Circuit Breakers, Medical Lake, Wash

Gracious Professionalism® Award sponsored by Johnson & Johnson –

• Carver-Newton Division: Team 3847, Spectrum, Houston, Texas
• Galileo-Roebling Division: Team 2485, WARLords, San Diego, Calif.
• Hopper-Turing Division: Team 3019, Firebirds, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Imagery Award in honor of Jack Kamen –

• Carver-Newton Division: Team 3339, BumbleB, Kfar Yona, Israel
• Galileo-Roebling Division: Team 3966, L&N STEMpunks, Knoxville, Tenn.
• Hopper-Turing Division: Team 6366, RAM Rodz Robotics, Simpsonville, S.C.

Industrial Design Award sponsored by General Motors –

• Carver-Newton Division: Team 1690, Orbit, Binyamina, Israel
• Galileo-Roebling Division: Team 1538, The Holy Cows , San Diego, Calif.
• Hopper-Turing Division: Team 4488, Shockwave, Hillsboro, Ore.

Industrial Safety Award sponsored by UL –

• Carver-Newton Division: Team 4063, TriKzR4Kidz, Del Rio, Texas
• Galileo-Roebling Division: Team 2642, Pitt Pirates, Winterville, N.C.
• Hopper-Turing Division: Team 1319, Flash, Mauldin, S.C.

Innovation in Control Award sponsored by Rockwell Automation –

• Carver-Newton Division: Team 2073, EagleForce, Elk Grove, Calif.
• Galileo-Roebling Division: Team 973, Greybots, Atascadero, Calif.
• Hopper-Turing Division: Team 4613, Barker Redbacks, Sydney, Australia

Quality Award sponsored by Motorola –

• Carver-Newton Division: Team 5511, Cortechs Robotics, Cary, N.C.
• Galileo-Roebling Division: Team 1339, AngelBotics, Denver, Colo.
• Hopper-Turing Division: Team 1323, MadTown Robotics, Madera, Calif.

Team Spirit Award sponsored by FCA Foundation –

• Carver-Newton Division: Team 180, S.P.A.M., Stuart, Fla.
• Galileo-Roebling Division: Team 2905, Sultans of Turkiye, Istanbul, Turkey
• Hopper-Turing Division: Team 5588, Reign Robotics, Seattle, Wash.

Highest Rookie Seed –

• Carver Subdivision: Team 6502, DARC SIDE, Durham, N.C.
• Galileo Subdivision: Team 6445, CTEC Robotics, Salem, Ore.
• Hopper Subdivision: Team 6340, Marist Screaming Eagles, Atlanta, Ga.
• Newton Subdivision: Team 6546, Naatsisʼáán Robotics, Navajo Mountain, Utah
• Roebling Subdivision: Team 6705, WildCat 5e, Atlanta, Ga.
• Turing Subdivision: Team 6554, Phoenix Robotics, La Mirada, Calif.

Rookie All-star Award –

• Carver-Newton Division: Team 6348, Horus, Colima, Mexico
• Galileo-Roebling Division: Team 6409, Odrinias, Edirne, Turkey
• Hopper-Turing Division: Team 6384, Hisar Ravens, Gokturk, Turkey

Rookie Inspiration Award sponsored by National Instruments –

• Carver-Newton Division: Team 6666, Regiobots, Guadalupe, Mexico
• Galileo-Roebling Division: Team 6357, The Spring Konstant, Dripping Springs, Texas
• Hopper-Turing Division: Team 6429, 4th Dimension, Guzelbahce, Turkey

Judges’ Awards –

• Carver-Newton Division: Team 6502, DARC SIDE, Durham, N.C.
• Galileo-Roebling Division: Team 6739, Tel Shevaa, Tel Sheva, Israel
• Hopper-Turing Division: Team 2761, IronHorse Robotics, Fresno, Calif.

2. FIRST® Tech Challenge World Championship – FIRST Tech Challenge students learn to think like engineers. Teams build robots from a reusable kit of parts, develop strategies, document their progress, and compete head to head. For this year’s game, VELOCITY VORTEX^SM Presented by Qualcomm Incorporated, teams work in an Alliance to score points against their opponents by placing balls into vortexes, including one on a rotatable stand in the center of the field. In the final 30 seconds of the match, robots can raise a large ball off the playing field and place the ball in their center vortex.

Approximately 1,500 students on 128 FIRST Tech Challenge teams competed during the 2016-2017 season. This season’s Sponsors included Official Program Sponsor, Rockwell Collins; Official IoT, CAD, and Collaboration Software Sponsor, PTC; and Season Presenting Sponsor, Qualcomm.

• The FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship Inspire Award, recognizing excellence in robot design and teamwork, went to Team 3595, FIX IT, from Victoria, Canada.
• The Winning Alliance was Team 724, RedNek Robotics Wun, Sun River, Mont.; Team 4216, Rise of Hephaestus, San Diego, Calif.; and Team 8651, Wait For It..., Pearl, Miss.

The FIRST Tech Challenge Volunteer of the Year Award winner was Robert Atkinson from Woodinville, Washington. The Compass Award for excellence in coaching/mentoring was awarded to Krishnan Duraiswami. He was nominated for this award by Team 4855, Batteries In Black, from Portland, Oregon.

Other FIRST Tech Challenge awards included:

• Division Winners – Franklin Division: Team 724, RedNek Robotics Wun, Sun River, Mont.; Team 4216, Rise of Hephaestus, San Diego, Calif.; and Team 8651, Wait For It..., Pearl, Miss. Jemison Division: Team 9915, Robo Thunder, Bellevue, Wash.; Team 4717, Mechromancers, Oviedo, Fla.; and Team 7203, KNO3, Tampa, Fla.
• Division Finalists – Franklin Division: Team 3480, FrostByte, Wasilla, Alaska; Team 7477, Super 7, Oviedo, Fla.; and Team 11168, The Quantum Mechanics, Eagle River, Alaska. Jemison Division: Team 7013, Hot Wired, Portland, Ore.; Team 8045, Gromit's Grommets, Pleasant Hill, Ore.; and Team 5220, RoboKnights 5220, Fremont, Calif.
• Rockwell Collins Innovate Award – Team 3595, Schrödinger's Hat, Fairbanks, Alaska
• PTC Design Award – Team 6299 – ViperBots QuadX, Austin, Texas
• Motivate Award – Team 3526, Marlbots, Los Angeles, Calif.
• Connect Award – Team 5714, Shambots, San Antonio, Texas
• Think Award – Team 6510 – CyberSharks, Palacios, Texas
• Control Award – Team 8045 – Gromit's Grommets, Pleasant Hill, Ore.
• Promote Award – Team 3595 – Schrödinger's Hat, Fairbanks, Alaska
• Judges’ Award – The Board of Education Award – Team 10165, Apex Predators, Huntsville, Ala.
• Judges’ Award – The Tool Box Award – Team 3188, Squiggle Splat Bang, Powell, Wyo.

3. FIRST® LEGO® League World Festival – FIRST LEGO League introduces younger students to real-world engineering challenges by conducting research projects and building LEGO-based autonomous robots to complete tasks on a thematic playing surface. FIRST LEGO League teams, guided by their imaginations, discover exciting career possibilities and learn to make positive contributions to society. This year’s challenge, ANIMAL ALLIES^SM, tasked approximately 255,000 students on 32,000 teams with improving how animals and humans learn from, interact with, and help one another.

Top honors went to Champion’s Award 1st Place winner, Team 30362, Robo Stars, Amman, Jordan; Champion’s Award Finalist, Team 30350, SESI THUNDERBÓTICOS, Rio Claro, Brazil; and Champion’s Award Finalist, Team 20687, High Voltage Couch Bananas Eagle, Idaho.

Other FIRST^® LEGO^® League awards included:

• Robot Performance Award – Team 3132, Jefferson Middle School Master Builders, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
• Strategy & Innovation Award – Team 30339, Robo COE, Aracaju, Brazil
• Programming Award – Team 30349, Fire Foxes, Herzliya, Israel
• Mechanical Design Award – Team 30366, SMART ROBOTICS, Doha, Qatar
• Research Award – Team 20295, Immortals, Austin, Texas
• Presentation Award – Team 30340, SESI Big Bang, Birigui, Brazil
• Innovative Solution Award – Team 1833, The G.E.A.R.S. (Girls Engineering and Robotics Superstars), West Linn, Ore.
• Teamwork Award – Team 16664, Technical Trojans Black, Jacksonville, Fla.
• Inspiration Award – Team 30341, SESI MEGA SNAKES, Boituva, Brazil
• Gracious Professionalism^® Award – Team 207, BrickMasters, Anchorage, Alaska
• Solid as a Rock Volunteer Award – Rich Berglund of Tampa, Fla.
• Coach/Mentor Awards – Diago Montano Martinez, Mexico; Karen Rollo, Auckland, New Zealand; Elaine Todd, Anchorage, Alaska; and Sae’d Al-Titi, Amman, Jordan

Judges’ Awards

• Team 30338, LEGOBOT, La Paz, Bolivia
• Team 25050, Uffy Society, Sammamish, Wash.
• Team 30370, Wepala’s Team X, Trinidad & Tobago
• Team 30373, P.R.T. (Pet Rescue Tala), Tala, Uruguay
• Team 6615, Pup Patrol, Brandon, Miss.
• Team 3732, Team Phoenix, Lafayette, La.

4. FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. World Festival Expo – FIRST LEGO League Jr. introduces children ages 6 to 9 to the exciting world of science and technology. Teams of up to six children and two adult Coaches take on a real-world Challenge, to be explored through research, critical thinking, and imagination. In this year’s Challenge, CREATURE CRAZE^SM, students learned about animals and explored their habitats.

FIRST^® LEGO^® League Jr. awards went to:

Research and Show Me Poster Awards

• Explosive Ideas Award –
  • Team 6007, Blessing Beasts, Tampa, Fla.
  • Team 10739, Los Leones de LEGO, San Jose, Costa Rica
• Picasso Award –
  • Team 10743, Nature Lovers, of Mont Lebanon, Lebanon
  • Team 10745, The ANT AGENTS, Jiangxi, Nanchang, China
  • Team 10771, The Pollinator Girls, Sugar Land, Texas

Spirit and Fun Awards

• Team Spirit Award –
  • Team 8428, Bling Bots, Houston, Texas
  • Team 8506, Girls of Steel, Laredo, Texas
  • Team 7648, ROFL9000, Sugar Land, Texas
• Rising Stars Award –
  • Team 5031, DAV Bees, Houston, Texas
  • Team 521, Master Builders, Jacksonville, Fla.
  • Team 4327, The Wolf Girls, Missouri City, Texas

Science Knowledge and Learning Awards

• Lil’ Einstein Award –
  • Team 10747, Bumble Rumbles, Shanghai, China
  • Team 9514, Humming Bees, Redmond, Wash.
  • Team 970, Robo Wildcats Team 1, Los Angeles, Calif.
• Effort and Learning Award –
  • Team 8286, Bumblebees, Beaverton, Ore.
  • Team 9980, ERUPTING SMARTNESS, Parker, Colo.
  • Team 2285, Robo Wildcats Team 4, Los Angeles, Calif.
• Inquiring Minds Award –
  • Team 7803, Angelbots Confetti, El Paso, Texas
  • Team 6124, MINI-ENS, Albuquerque, N.M.
  • Team 4720, PHI Nominals, Lancaster, Calif.
• Terrific Thinkers Award –
  • Team 6041, 007 Skyrockets, Athens, Ala.
  • Team 8898, Gemini Jetstars – Stinger Swords, Melbourne Beach, Fla.
  • Team 8402, The Legendary Kings, Sugar Land, Texas
• Redefining Learning Award –
  • Team 5263, Ochoa STEMnventors, Grand Prairie, Texas
  • Team 8313, THE LEGO BEES, Phoenix, Ariz.

Core Values Awards

• Gracious Professionalism^® Award –
  • Team 8200, Junior Eagles, Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.
  • Team 7844, Robo Girls, Houston, Texas
  • Team 8971, Wildcat Whizzes, Atlanta, Ga.
• Outstanding Teamwork Award –
  • Team 6564, Colorado Wolf Pack, Castle Rock, Colo.
  • Team 4856, Ninja Warriors, Houston, Texas
  • Team 5740, Rubicon Red – Awesome Scientific LEGO Bears, Spring, Texas
• Coopertition Award –
  • Team 10742, Avengers Bulls, Monterrey, Mexico
  • Team 8779, Mayo Blue, Tulsa, Okla.
  • Team 8408, The Smarties, Sugar Land, Texas

LEGO^® Models, Machines and Programming Awards

• Solid as a Rock Award –
  • Team 4855, Chasing Cheetahs, Houston, Texas
  • Team 10735, Magic Bees, Alexadria, Egypt
  • Team 8075, The HiveBots, Missouri City, Texas
• Construction Innovation Award –
  • Team 7819, LEGO ALL STARS, Sugar Land, Texas
  • Team 4389, Super LEGOtastics, Jackson, Ga.
  • Team 8409, The Razor Eagles, Sugar Land, Texas
• Master Programmer Award –
  • Team 10741, BeeBats, Panama
  • Team 10744, LeXT team, Beijing, China
  • Team 8312, The Plasmites, Mesa, Ariz.
• Simply Awesome Machine Award –
  • Team 4336, Awesome LEGO Bots, Valrico, Fla.
  • Team 4323, B.E.E.s, Titusville, Fla.
  • Team 8080, The MinionBots, Missouri City, Texas
• Amazing Movement Award –
  • Team 9072, BollesBots, Jacksonville, Fla.
  • Team 6161, Holy Family Bears 4, Port Allen, La.
  • Team 10736, Junior Robid, of Mexico City, Mexico
• Complexity and Decoration Award –
  • Team 8987, Curious Kids, Keller, Texas
  • Team 9379, LEGO Quakes, Phoenix, Ariz.
• Robust Design Award –
  • Team 10740, HexaBee, of Hong Kong
  • Team 5699, Holy Family Bears #1, Port Allen, La.
  • Team 5743, Rubicon Blue – The Butterflies, Spring, Texas

The 2017 FIRST Championship will continue next week in St. Louis, Missouri, happening from April 26 to 30 at various venues throughout the city. Visit firstchampionship.org to learn more.

For select photos from FIRST Championship Houston, visit https://cone.sharefile.com/d-se90b45b51c441838.

2017 FIRST Championship Sponsors

Qualcomm is the 2017 FIRST Championship Presenting Sponsor.

2017 FIRST Championship Program Sponsors include: The Abbott Fund; Bechtel Corporation; Belden, Inc.; FedEx Corporation; Google; Monsanto; Nokia Bell Labs; NRG Energy; NVIDIA Corporation; Twitch; U.S. Air Force.

Other 2017 FIRST Championship Sponsors include: BAE Systems; The Boeing Company; Booz Allen Hamilton; Bosch; The Coca-Cola Company; The Dow Chemical Company; Edward Jones; Hilton; Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark; IBM Corporation; Mouser Electronics; Nidec Motor Corporation; Phillips 66; Picatinny STEM; PwC US; Southwest Airlines; St. Louis Regional Chamber; St. Louis Union Station Hotel; TE Connectivity; Texas Instruments; Uber; ViaSat; Vulcan Spring & Mfg. Co.; Walt Disney Imagineering.

Save the date! The 2018 FIRST Championship will be held in:

Houston April 18-21, 2018, and Detroit April 25-28, 2018

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 support from over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies and more than $50 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST^® Robotics Competition for students in Grades 9-12; FIRST^® Tech Challenge for Grades 7-12; FIRST^® LEGO^® League for Grades 4-8; and FIRST^® LEGO^® League Jr. for Grades K-4. Gracious Professionalism^® is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.firstinspires.org