Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based Wildstang won the Championship; Patchogue, N.Y.-based Raiders and Atlanta-based Team Genius recognized for community support
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. – May 5, 2011 – The Motorola Solutions Foundation, the charitable arm of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI), congratulates three of its sponsored FIRST teams for their outstanding performance at the 2011 National Championship in St. Louis. FIRST, which stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,” engages students in hands-on science and leadership activities through student-built robotic competitions. Motorola Solutions has been an avid supporter of FIRST for 20 years.
“A study by Brandeis University reinforces why it is so important to support competitions like FIRST by highlighting that students who compete with FIRST are more than twice as likely to pursue a career in science and technology, and more than four times as likely to pursue engineering specifically,” said Karen Tandy, senior vice president of public affairs at Motorola Solutions. “These students inspire us all with their creativity and imagination, and Motorola Solutions is proud to work with FIRST to help students realize their passion for discovery and innovation and to help cultivate and nurture a deep interest in science and technology.”
KEY FACTS
After three rigorous days of competition among 352 teams, Motorola Solutions-sponsored Wildstang (Rolling Meadows, Ill.) won the overall FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC®), one program in the FIRST Championship. Wildstang is the largest FRC team in the United States and is mentored by several Motorola Solutions employee volunteers.
The Motorola Solutions-sponsored FRC team Raiders (Patchogue, N.Y.) won the Spirit Award for its community service in Haiti. Using the engineering skills learned in FIRST, the team developed five water filtration systems that delivered a total of 40,000 liters of safe water to the people of Haiti.
Motorola Solutions and the Motorola Solutions Foundation have supported FIRST for 20 years. This past year, the Motorola Solutions Foundation provided $820,000 in grants to support 323 FIRST teams. In addition, 40 Motorola Solutions employees volunteered as mentors to FIRST teams.
Many Motorola Solutions employees have volunteered with FIRST for more than 10 years. Some employees, such as Celestino Alem from the Raiders team, were previous FIRST participants themselves. Alem was a member of the Raiders in high school and returned to volunteer as a mentor while he finished college. Using the skills he learned from FIRST, Alem starts his career as an engineer at Motorola Solutions this summer.
FIRST engages students in hands-on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) through mentor-led teams. Each FRC team has six weeks to design and build a robot that can perform competitive functions. This year, the FRC robots used mechanical arms to place inflatable tubes on metal pegs to form the FIRST logo. From more than 2,000 teams around the globe, 590 teams were selected to compete at the national competition in St. Louis. Nine of those teams were sponsored by Motorola Solutions.
FIRST was founded in 1989 to inspire students to be STEM leaders. Through four programming levels, including Junior FIRST LEGO League (JFLL®), FIRST LEGO League (FLL), FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) and FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC®), the organization engages 6- to 18-year-olds in mentor-based programs that build STEM skills, while fostering life skills such as self-confidence, communication and leadership. Today, more than 250,000 students worldwide benefit from FIRST programs every year.
SUPPORTING QUOTES Matt Blakely, director, Motorola Solutions Foundation “We salute all of our FIRST teams around the world for their creativity and commitment to solving difficult challenges with dependable solutions. Through FIRST, science and engineering come alive. We are thrilled to see many of our teams recognized on the national level for their commitment to engineering principles and community service.”
About Motorola Solutions Foundation The Motorola Solutions Foundation is the charitable and philanthropic arm of Motorola Solutions. With employees located around the globe, Motorola Solutions seeks to benefit the communities where it operates. The company achieves this by making strategic grants, forging strong community partnerships and fostering innovation. The Motorola Solutions Foundation focuses its funding on public safety, disaster relief, employee programs and education, especially science, technology, engineering and math programming. For more information on Motorola Solutions Corporate and Foundation giving, visit www.motorolasolutions.com/giving.
About Motorola Solutions Motorola Solutions is a leading provider of mission-critical communication products and services for enterprise and government customers. Through leading-edge innovation and communications technology, it is a global leader that enables its customers to be their best in the moments that matter. Motorola Solutions trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “MSI.” To learn more, visit www.motorolasolutions.com. For ongoing news, please visit our media center or subscribe to our news feed.
