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DENSO Partners With Detroit Mumford High School Students

3 April 2000

DENSO Partners With Detroit Mumford High School Students To Compete in 2000 First Robotics Competition National Championship

    SOUTHFIELD, Mich., April 3 Thirty Mumford High School
students are partnering with Southfield-based DENSO International America,
Inc. (DIAM) to compete in the national championship of the 2000 FIRST Robotics
Competition, April 6-8 at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center in Orlando, Fla.
    Team Number 406 -- the M.A.D. (Mumford and DENSO) Mustangs -- will compete
with 265 teams from throughout the United States in the national engineering
competition which gives high school students a hands-on, inside look at the
engineering profession.
    DIAM President and CEO Tony Takeuchi said, "Robotics is an engineering
area of particular interest to DENSO because we design and build our own
manufacturing robots for our plants.  We're also involved at our Japan
Research Laboratories in a research project on micro-inspection robots.
That's why we're especially pleased to sponsor the FIRST Robotics
Competition."
    Mumford students worked with DENSO engineers for six weeks at DENSO's
North American headquarters in Southfield brainstorming, designing,
constructing and testing their robot prior to a regional and now a national
competition.
    Waterford, Mich. resident David West, senior electrical and software
design engineer at DENSO, says, "Our team is all very excited!  They put a lot
of time and effort into their robot, as much as our engineers did; so it's
tremendously exciting for them to see it compete on the national level."
    Detroit Mumford students participating include: Twelfth Grade:  Shakirah
El-Amin, Karica Miller, Da'Lena Gibson and Jewel Garland; Eleventh Grade:
Marciese McCaskill, LaKenya Davis, Patrice Traylor, Isa Shearer II, Jerry
Glenn, Justin Campbell, Shatonna Cribbs and Kyra Morris; Tenth Grade: Crystal
Staffney, Takia Powell, Shawn Erquhart, Takia White, Chloris Clemons, Taneya
Johnson, Saresa Smith and Jessica McLemore; Ninth Grade: Artlanda Burrell,
Tajuanda Carter, Chantel Gary, Kimletta Davis, Jimmie Jones and Brittney
Grady.
    DENSO volunteers who are supporting Mumford students are: Keng Ly and Carl
Vaughn, Farmington Hills; David West, Waterford; Christopher Arms, Northville;
Thanh Ha, Redford; David Kolton, Howell; Dennis Kurk, Warren; Alan May,
Columbus Township; Long Phan, Madison Heights, and Michael DeLong, Rochester
Hills.
    Founded in 1989 by New Hampshire entrepreneur and inventor Dean Kamen,
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a non-
profit organization that brings together an alliance of business, education
and government organizations through innovative programs to inspire today's
youth in the areas of science, engineering and technology.
    DENSO, a global supplier of advanced technology, systems and components,
employs 13,000 people in North America at 21 companies with sales of $3.6
billion.  DIAM is its North American headquarters.
    Worldwide, DENSO employs more than 72,000 in 25 countries with sales of
$14.5 billion.