Delphi Sends Six High School Robotics Teams to Finals
7 April 2000
Delphi Sends Six High School Robotics Teams to Finals
Engineers of the Future Compete for National Title at Walt Disney World
TROY, Mich., April 6 Delphi Automotive Systems
is helping more than 300 high school students learn more about science and
technology by sponsoring six teams at the national finals of this year's FIRST
(For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics
Competition, which will take place at Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center in
Orlando, Fla., April 6-8.
FIRST provides high school students from throughout North America with an
exciting, hands-on engineering challenge where they can apply their science,
math and technology skills. Teaming up with engineers from businesses and
universities, students get to brainstorm, design, construct and test their
"championship robot." With only six weeks to create their robots from a box
of pre-supplied parts, students compete in a spirited, no-holds-barred
tournament complete with referees, cheerleaders and time clocks.
The annual robotics competition, which features a new engineering
challenge each year, is designed to demonstrate to young people that science
can not only be exciting and rewarding, but is as much fun as traditional
sports. Details of the annual challenge are kept secret until being revealed
at the Competition Kickoff each year, with all teams having an equal start in
the competition.
"By helping these students apply their scholastic knowledge to real-world
technical challenges at such an early stage in their lives, we're empowering
them to reach their full potential in the future," said J.T. Battenberg III,
chairman, chief executive officer and president of Delphi Automotive Systems
and FIRST board member. "As a leader in technological advances, Delphi is
proud to be an active participant in events such as the FIRST Robotics
Competition where we can help teach students firsthand that they hold the keys
that will drive the automotive industry well into the future."
The following Delphi-sponsored teams from Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and New
York will compete against more than 260 teams and more than 15,000 students
from across North America at this year's national FIRST Competition:
* Delphi/Kokomo High School (Kokomo, Ind.)
* Delphi/Pontiac Central High School (Pontiac, Mich.)
* Delphi/Warren G. Harding High School (Warren, Ohio)
* Delphi/Buena Vista High School (Saginaw, Mich.)
* Delphi/Newfane High School (Newfane, N.Y.)
* Delphi/Flint Southwestern Academy (Flint, Mich.)
Delphi is also co-sponsoring three teams:
* General Motors Controls, Robotics and Welding and Troy (Mich.) High
School
* Rapistan Systems/X-rite and Grandville (Mich.) High School
* GM Truck Group, Flint Assembly and UAW (Flint, Mich.) Local 598 and
Carman-Ainsworth High School
Founded in 1989 by New Hampshire entrepreneur and inventor Dean Kamen,
FIRST 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.
FIRST is developing multiple programs to inspire youth of all ages. For more
information, visit the FIRST Web site at http://www.usfirst.org .
Delphi Automotive Systems, headquartered in Troy, Mich., USA, is a multi-
national leader in transportation and mobile electronics components and
systems technology. Delphi's three business sectors -- Dynamics & Propulsion;
Safety, Thermal & Electrical Architecture; and Electronics & Mobile
Communication -- provide comprehensive product solutions to complex customer
needs. Delphi has approximately 214,200 employees, and operates 178 wholly
owned manufacturing sites, 41 joint ventures, 53 customer centers and sales
offices and 27 technical centers in 39 countries. Regional headquarters are
located in Paris, Tokyo and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Delphi can be found on the
Internet at http://www.delphiauto.com .