500 middle-school students gear up to help solve the world’s energy problems in 9th Annual Connecticut FIRST™ LEGO® League Robotic Competition hosted by CCSU, December 9, 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.; public invited

NEW BRITAIN -- December 7, 2007 -- Central Connecticut State University’s School of Engineering and Technology will host the Ninth Connecticut FIRST™ LEGO® League Robotics Competition on Sunday, December 9 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Kaiser Gymnasium.  The event is open to the public at no charge and free parking is available in campus parking lots.

 Some 500 middle school students will participate in this year’s competition and will respond to the challenge “Alternative Energy Resources - Meeting the Global Demand.”

“As part of the university’s outreach program, we want to stimulate young minds to think about such global issues as responsible use of various energy sources, as well as to attract more students to STEM (Sciences, Technology Engineering and Math) disciplines,” said Dr. Z.B. Kremens, dean of CCSU’s School of Engineering and Technology.

According to Dr. Patrick N. Foster, CCSU associate professor of technology and engineering education and coordinator of the annual event:  “Even at the middle school level, students need to begin thinking about how personal energy choices -- from heating homes, fuelling cars, charging cell phones, powering computers, or even downloading music to iPODS -- impact the environment, economy, and life around the globe.

“They will be challenged to consider which resources should be used and why.  They will explore how energy creation and consumption choices affect the planet and our quality of life today, tomorrow, and for generations to come,” Foster said. “So the big question is:  Can FIRST LEGO League teams find the ultimate solution to this global Power Puzzle?

“This year’s Challenge calls for teams of middle-school students, ages 9 to 14, to use robotics to understand and create solutions for one of today’s most critical environmental issues: energy management and conservation.  Students will look into such subjects as placing solar panels on houses, use of hydro-dams, wind turbines and planting trees,” he said.  “Teams will have to program their robots to find sustainable options to meet our planet’s growing energy needs in environmentally sound ways.”

The event is coordinated by a team comprised of Foster, State Consultant for Technology Education Gregory C. Kane, and Michael Gentry and Matthew D. Starkey from Northeast Utilities.

FIRST™ (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a non-profit organization, founded in 1989 to inspire interest in science and engineering among today’s youth.  Its mission is to create an interest and demand among children for mathematics, sciences, engineering, and technology.  FIRST™ LEGO® League is a partnership between the LEGO® Company and FIRST™, which actively engages the imaginations of young students, as they explore the world using a hands-on approach with science and technology as their guides.  Teams are encouraged to design, build, program and test autonomous robots that meet requirements of the challenge utilizing the LEGO MIND STORMS® Robotics Invention System.

Sponsored by CCSU's School of Engineering and Technology and the State Department of Education’s Technology Education Office, the event is the result of a partnership aimed at using the many resources of our community to promote science, engineering, and technology.  The competition is a part of an international program, established and promoted by FIRST™ and LEGO®.

Further details, as well as specific rules, are posted at www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=70 and Connecticut tournament information is available at: www.teched.ccsu.edu/fll/index.htm.

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