DATE: March 24, 2008

CONTACT: Steve Melsheimer, (864) 656-4440
ssmls@clemson.edu

WRITER: Susan Polowczuk, (864) 656-2063
spolowc@clemson.edu

Robots to go wild this weekend at Clemson University

CLEMSON — Clemson University hosts the fifth annual FIRST Robotics Competition Palmetto Regional Friday and Saturday, March 28-29, at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Competitor celebrate at a past event.
One thousand high school students will vie for top honors in a highly competitive contest described as a rock concert and sporting event for the mind rolled into one. Thirty-six teams representing eight states (South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Georgia, Indiana, Tennessee and West Virginia) are slated to participate.

The games are free and open to the public from 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Streaming video of the competition can be viewed at http://www.ces.clemson.edu/main/FRC.

Teams received their marching orders for the competition at a kickoff event at Clemson's Madren Center in January. The teams had six weeks to assemble their robots for the regional competition.

In this year's game, student's robots are designed to race around a track, knocking down 40-inch inflated trackballs, moving them around the track and passing them either over or under a six-foot six-inch overpass. Each match will last two minutes and 15 seconds. Teams are judged not only on point accumulation, but also on design, team spirit, professionalism and perseverance.

The regional events will lead to an international championship competition April 17-19 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. More than 32,000 high school students participate on 1,500 teams in compeitions in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands and England.

Clemson is a nationally recognized research university where approximately 5,500 students are enrolled in engineering and science undergraduate and graduate courses. There are 350 faculty members in the College of Engineering and Science. Connect to http://www.ces.clemson.edu/ for more information.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen, developer of the first portable insulin pump and the first portable kidney dialysis machine, to "create a world where science and technology are celebrated… where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes."

Editors: Click here for an online media kit with more information about the competition.