Robots Descend on the Thomas & Mack
With a Swarm of Battling 'Bots, UNLV Inspires High Schoolers to Explore High-Tech Careers
March madness is coming to the Thomas & Mack Center, but this kind involves robots rather than basketballs.
Robots designed and built by more than 1,000 high school students from across the nation will slip and slide around a field to rack up points and earn nationwide bragging rights during the annual competition.
To be held March 27-28, the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Las Vegas Regional combines elements of sport with science and technology in a high-energy, team-driven contest. The event is hosted by the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering.
When UNLV was awarded the FIRST regional in 2005, only three local high school teams competed. Now in its fifth year, 14 Clark County School District high schools will compete with close to 40 schools from across the nation.
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The event presents a new challenge each year, but the mission holds true: to prove to high school students that science and engineering can be as exciting as sports and entertainment and to inspire them to pursue careers in these high-need fields.
"Even in today's economy, there's a critical need to attract and educate future engineers if we're to address both the current professional shortage and the emerging job market in sustainable and renewable technologies," said Eric Sandgren, dean of the College of Engineering.
FIRST challenges students, with the help of university and engineering industry mentors, to design and build unique robots from an identical kit of parts in six weeks and without instructions. The project also engages students in computer animation, website design, and marketing and fundraising activities.
This year's theme centers on a game called "Lunacy." Two teams race three robots around a low-friction 54-foot by 27-foot field to collect "orbit balls" and place them in trailers attached to opposing teams' robots. Human players positioned around the perimeter can also score by tossing balls into robot payload trailers.
Attracting Future Engineers
Recent studies suggest that FIRST is much more than just a spirited competition — it is attracting students to engineering, and engineering students to UNLV. For example:
- At least 20 former FIRST participants are currently enrolled at UNLV
- Nearly 90 percent of FIRST alumni attend college, much higher than the 65 percent national average of high school graduates
- More than 40 percent of FIRST alumni have selected engineering as their major in college and are four times as likely as their peers to pursue a career in engineering
At UNLV, FIRST is one part of recruitment efforts that have boosted undergraduate enrollment in engineering from 1,245 students in 2004 to 1,510 students this year. Enrollment in engineering courses has risen from 3,824 to 4,513 over the same period.
Nationally, nearly 40,000 students compete in 41 regional events for a chance to go to the FIRST Championship in Atlanta. The FIRST Robotics Las Vegas Regional is free and open to the public.
Related Information
FIRST Robotics Las Vegas Regional
FIRST
College of Engineering
