Third Annual “Roboshock” Event Planned At Osu

Numerous teams of Oregon high school students will participate in the third annual “Roboshock” event on Saturday, May 21, at Oregon State University, in competition with robots they have built as part of a national initiative to encourage interest in science and engineering.

The event will be in Gill Coliseum on the OSU campus, beginning at 11 a.m. and concluding with an awards ceremony at 5 p.m. It is free and open to the public, and will include raffle prizes, a tour of OSU’s engineering facilities and field competitions.

The program is part of a national concept called FIRST, or For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. It includes the FIRST Robotics Competition LogoMotion and the “FIRST Tech Challenge Get Over It!” games.

“OSU is very interested in students with the skills and abilities learned through involvement in the FIRST program,” said Jonathan Hurst, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at OSU and expert in robotics.

“Classes are important, but so are hands-on experience and self-initiated, career-related activities,” he said. “FIRST students come in and know how to make things happen, without waiting for an assignment. They have leadership, fundraising, organization and business skills.”

Roboshock is organized by the OSU Robotics Club. More information is available online at http://bit.ly/cLSfz8

OSU recognizes the value of these programs, financially helps support them, and actively recruits and offers scholarships to students who have participated in them, organizers say.