Robotics Team Wins Award
Reprinted from The Post and Courier
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
View the winning
animation at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Htncx-7f46Y
The Burning Magnetos, a robotics team composed of Lowcountry
area high school students, got off to a great start to the 2009 FIRST
Robotics competition when they found out on Jan. 3 that they were the
winners of the safety animation
challenge.
Teams from across the
globe waited for the Jan. 3 announcement of the 2009 playing rules for
the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)
competition. The Magnetos, however, were waiting with a little more
excitement as they already knew they were one of six finalists for the
animation contest.
Under the supervision of Elizabeth
Barndolllar and Larry Zimmerman, animation professionals working for
local defense contractor BAE Systems Inc. and Kim Boyce, the Burning
Magnetos' animation sub-team successfully completed the challenge of
developing and submitting an innovative 30-second animated safety video.
It is the third time that the team has won the safety animation competition,
in addition to several other awards in its nine seasons of competition.
The team, coordinated by Janice
Jolly of Dorchester 2 Schools and sponsored by several local businesses,
is composed of five sub teams; mechanical engineering, electrical engineering,
communications, inventor and animation. The team is mentored by technical
and business professionals and volunteers from Bosch, BAE Systems and
SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic.
"The award for safety animation
is just the start of hopefully another successful FIRST Robotics season
for Team 342, The Burning Magnetos," said Hank Bennett of Robert Bosch.
"This year's entire team, with the addition of BAE Systems, should be
a great one. It is rewarding and exciting to see these young students,
our future, learning together and working as hard as they have already
and will be over the next few months to make this year's project a success."
Kris Busch, vice president for
BAE Systems also commented on the upcoming season.
"I am excited about our partnership
with Bosch, the school districts and other local businesses involved
in the development of our next generation engineers and business leaders,"
he said. "FIRST offers an opportunity for every young student to realize
the challenges and existential pleasures of engineering and team work
and gives them an avenue to work with professionals in the field. This
is just as much fun for us as it is for the kids".
The announcement officially kicked
off the season with a demonstration of this year's game, Lunacy. The
game will be played on a low-friction playing field designed to simulate
the gravity of the moon.
More Team 342 In the News:
Building
Engineering Skills