FIRST in learning

Dean Kamen is convinced the continuing decline of American students in engineering programs over the past few years isn't an education problem.

In his estimation, the fact that students in the U.S. rank 19th in math and science aptitude among industrialized nations constitutes a national crisis - one that could have long-term socio-economic and national security ramifications.

Photo by Jill Kleppe Wojciechowski,
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Putting young people ‘FIRST’ — Inventor Dean Kamen (left) presented Rockwell Collins Chairman, President and CEO Clay Jones with a book about FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) following the K-12 Partnership Kickoff Breakfast in Cedar Rapids in August 2007. Kamen is the founder of FIRST and president of DEKA Research & Development Corp., in Manchester, N.H.

"Everybody thinks this is an education problem, but it isn't," said Kamen, president of DEKA Research & Development Corporation in Manchester, N.H. "This is a supply and demand issue - we don't have enough kids going into U.S. engineering programs in colleges and universities to meet the growing and future demand."

Also the founder of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) - a nonprofit organization created to inspire young people's interest and participation in science and technology - Kamen believes there are simply too many distractions for students these days.

"Every role model for minorities and women is in entertainment and sports," he said. "That puts their passion toward bouncing a ball five hours a day rather than thinking about a career in math and science. It's up to us to take a page from the book of sports and channel that passion in another direction - making things fun and competitive."

It's with this mission in mind - to make learning about science and math fun and interactive so students want to keep learning and eventually pursue engineering careers - that Kamen started FIRST in 1989.

With a major focus toward reaching children during their early math and science development years, FIRST LEGO League was created in 1998 and involves children between ages 9-14. In 2007, this program touched the lives of more than 100,000 children in 38 countries.

In order to reach even younger kids, FIRST started the Junior FIRST LEGO League for 6- to 9-year-olds. FIRST Tech Challenge offers high school students the traditional challenge of the FIRST Robotics Competition, but with a more accessible and affordable robotics kit.

Its flagship program, the FIRST Robotics Competition, is expected to reach more than 37,000 high school students on over 1,500 teams in 41 regional competitions in 2008. The key remains giving them real-life practical applications where they can use what they are learning in the classroom.

"We want kids to look back on what they've accomplished knowing they can do anything," said Scott Evans, a FIRST LEGO League engineer based at the FIRST headquarters in Manchester. "After 10 years of running these programs, we're seeing our 'old' graduates in engineering colleges, including kids who said they never even wanted to go to college at all, much less to study engineering.

"The formula is working," continued Evans. "We had about 900 teams in 1999, and now we have more than 10,000."

Photo by Jill Kleppe Wojciechowski, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Attentive audience — FIRST Founder Dean Kamen (left) and Ken Lough watch closely during a student demonstration following the K-12 Partnership Kickoff Breakfast in Cedar Rapids in August 2007. Lough is the Robotics program advisor at Linn-Mar High School in Marion, Iowa.

At Rockwell Collins, our formal relationship with FIRST began last fall after Chairman, President and CEO Clay Jones asked members of our Community Relations and Government Relations teams to research opportunities for our company to work with non-profit organizations focused on increasing kids' interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

The idea was to enhance our K-12 Partnership Program - Engineering Experiences - and become more involved in inspiring the next generation of engineering talent. Rockwell Collins had supported teams in FIRST Robotics Competition as far back as the late 1990s, and our company also had sponsored several FIRST LEGO League Tournaments in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Technology Corridor. But as our company continues to grow, the need to heighten that relationship was becoming more evident.

"We considered several different possibilities and, after thorough research, we knew a relationship with FIRST was what we were looking for," said Jenny Becker, senior community relations specialist. "Our goals and FIRST's goals were in sync. They have an international reach and approach, just as we do, and our employees throughout the country have opportunities to be engaged and fired up about helping young people learn."

Last August, Rockwell Collins pledged $1.3 million over the first two years to launch the FIRST initiative, eventually building the ongoing commitment to FIRST to $1 million annually. Our company's initial investment will create 100 FIRST LEGO League teams in Iowa and 60 teams near Rockwell Collins locations throughout the country. Our investment also will expand FIRST Tech Challenge throughout Iowa schools by 2010.

According to Nancy Paul, partner services manager with FIRST LEGO League, Rockwell Collins has always used a comprehensive approach when providing support to FIRST .

"From the start, Rockwell Collins worked with local schools to support their STEM efforts with sponsorship and guidance," said Paul. "But to us, the critical need that Rockwell Collins understood early on was the need for FIRST teams to have skilled mentors.

"Rockwell Collins provides that critical mentorship to the FIRST teams it supports, both with current employees and retired engineers," continued Paul. "In this way, they give the kids and coaches involved the kind of expert resource and guidance that is most important to success."

As someone whose teenage sons participated in the FIRST Robotics Competition for their high school in Tualatin, Ore., Gary Albert believes the relationship between Rockwell Collins and FIRST is already making tremendous progress toward creating America's next generation of engineers.

"The excitement level of the kids involved in the competition has to be seen to be believed," said Albert, who volunteered this year as a mentor for the FIRST Robotics Competition in Portland. "You would think this was some kind of basketball tournament or something. The teams really get into it.

"The whole FIRST organization fosters this atmosphere," continued Albert. "Even in the design and build stage before the competition, there is a high level of excitement."