** FIRST Robotics Team 995 would like to sincerely thank our 2012 sponsors Google, Raytheon, and JCPenny for making this season possible! **
What is FIRST, and what is Robotics Team 995? Robotics. F.I.R.S.T. stands for: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. As its name implies, FIRST is all about empowering and building youth interest in pursuing higher education in advanced
fields such as science and engineering. The first Saturday of every year is when US FIRST unveils a brand new challenge - and when participating teams from around the world will each respond with their own unique answer in the form of a robot. These robots are budgeted/designed/built/fine-tuned within 6 weeks through a partnership between students, volunteering mentors, and corporations. Corporations provide (not limited to) funding through grants and donations while mentors, generally with backgrounds in the engineering, science, mathematics, and business fields, guide students through this tremendous task. During the six-week 'build season,' the team literally transforms itself into a functioning company racing against the clock to produce a robot. Students are, many for the first time, pitted against real-life constraints and problems such as human resources, budget, experience/knowledge, and most importantly, TIME. Through the process, stress levels will surely spike, emotions are put in the back burner, attitudes will change, and visions broadened as students learn to cooperate with team members and competitors alike to accomplish a common goal. Over 4000 teams worldwide will meet, demo, and pit their robots at regional competitions. Winners there will advance to an international championship. The program itself does not simply award the team that built the 'best' or winning robot but rather its most prestigious award, "The Chairman's Award," goes to the team that has the most impact in their community when trying to improve education and exemplifying the visions of FIRST. Our team's rookie year is in 2001 and we have been in operations since. Through the years we've been fortunate to be supported by major organizations such as JPL, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, NASA, Los Angeles County R.O.P, Raytheon, Google, JCPenny, and Beckman Coulter Inc. There are also many local small businesses and families that has donated valuable time and resources to our team. We are forever grateful to these partners for without their support we would not be able to continue functioning today. For further information on how to make a contribution, volunteer, or make an inquiry on further details please contact:
Chris Nguyen
Team Founder and Engineering Mentor
Beckman Coulter Corporation [email protected]
