News

09/19/06

Spokesman review article

Local manufacturers in need of more educated workers say a robot competition started by the creator of the Segway scooter could jump-start student interest in science and technology.
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To boost science, schools must get ahead of the curve.

Bert Caldwell
The Spokesman-Review
September 19, 2006

Local manufacturers in need of more educated workers say a robot competition started by the creator of the Segway scooter could jump-start student interest in science and technology.

Or jump shot.

A whirring, sideways-moving, ball-throwing hustler created by 17 St. George's School students could be the prototype for similar machines they envision emerging from other area high schools. But it will take a winning combination of money, teacher time and student enthusiasm to broaden local participation in FIRST, short for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.

FIRST and its robot Olympics are another brainchild of Dean Kamen, the inventor best known for the Segway. From 28 teams in 1992, the contest has grown to more than 1,100 teams. Winners of regional competitions convene in Atlanta each May to battle through several elimination rounds to the finals.

The St. George's team made it to Atlanta in 2005, its first year, but faltered in this year's regionals. That did not dent support for the program among students.

"We want to plant as many teams as possible in Spokane," says senior Elisabeth de Leeuw, who hopes to bring her enthusiasm for science to girls in St. George's elementary grades.

De Leeuw, fellow student Sam Wagstaff and team adviser Rick DeFord explained FIRST to the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce K-12 Roundtable last week. Spokane Public Schools Superintendent Brian Benzel chairs the group.

"It was an intriguing idea," Benzel says. "A lot of it depends on the availability of people power to make it happen."

With the next round of competition scheduled to start in January, there may not be enough time to rally teachers willing to take on what can become an ambitious chore, he says. District 81 could start by combining staff and students from several schools, who can take what they learn back to their own buildings.

DeFord, who teaches physics, says he dedicates an extra 30 hours a week to FIRST from kickoff of the competition in early January to mid-February, when the finished machines must be shipped to the regionals competition site. A former farmer, DeFord says he's used to that kind of time crunch.

He and other St. George's team members are willing to counsel startup teams, says DeFord, who adds that mentoring is critical to FIRST success. St. George's has received help from HollisterStier, Itron, R.A. Pearson, as well as DeFord's brother, whose machine shop helped make the robot according to student specifications.

"A couple of machinists can do a lot," DeFord says.

That's where another Chamber group, the Manufacturers' Roundtable, can step in. Member John Crow, co-owner of Lloyd Industries Inc., figures an ideal advisory team should include a teacher, manufacturer, engineer and engineering student. The roundtable will do its part to find those people, and match student-raised funds and grants as well.

There is a $6,000 entry fee that covers the cost of software, motors and other components, but most teams offset that with a National Aeronautics and Space Administration grant for the same amount. Including travel costs, Crow estimates it takes about $20,000 to get a team all the way to finals.

"The people on the Manufacturers Roundtable think this is one of the things we should be supporting in the schools," says chamber President Rich Hadley. "We're going to be advocates for it."

With several schools competing in FIRST, Spokane would not only generate the workers existing businesses need, he says. An enhanced reputation for having a skilled work force could attract new companies.

But, Hadley cautions, there is not much the chamber and roundtable can do if students, teachers and school districts do not embrace the idea. It cannot be done from the top.

The competition is not the province of private schools like St. George's. In 2004, the FIRST winner came from a public school located in a small blue-collar town in Massachusetts. Why not Spokane?

"I'm hoping that we can convince somebody to step up and get started," DeFord says. "It's a great, great opportunity."