Siemens supports FIRST award-winning competition teams

By Sophia Jin

FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology

To inspire today’s youth who are interested in STEM, it is now more crucial than ever to highlight the opportunities that allow them to pursue their passions through hands-on and meaningful ways. FIRST provides an opportunity for students to collaborate on real-world robotics projects and gain recognition for their achievements. Siemens supports many student teams who participate in this outstanding program each year, and we are pleased to share that several of them have excelled in this year’s competition season, many of whom will be at this year’s Championship.

FIRST’s Championship is a culminating, international event for the robotics competition season and an annual celebration of STEM learning. We are pleased to recognize and highlight just a few of the teams successes below. Additionally, we would like to give a shout out to all the amazing Siemens colleagues who devote their time and support to coach and mentor these incredible young students. Thank you to Ravi Gupta (mentor for Lakota Robotics), Greg Burnham (mentor for Eagle Robotics), Rich Darcy (mentor for BlueBox), and Henry Jin (mentor for TechnicBots)!

Lakota Robotics, Team 1038

Student team Lakota Robotics holds up their Impact award — Team Lakota Robotics wins FIRST‘s Impact Award

Lakota Robotics is a team representing multiple schools in the Cincinnati region that is committed to pursuing FIRST’s mission of inspiring young people to pursue STEM. This year, they participated in the Miami Regional FIRST Robotics Competition and won FIRST’s most prestigious award, the Impact Award. This award honors a single team at a regional or district competition that best captures the mission of FIRST and represents a model for other teams. Recipients of this award have demonstrated that they embody FIRST’s core values and contribute to a greater respect for science and technology, inspiring more of today’s youth to become leaders in STEM. Lakota Robotics is one of the teams who will be celebrating their achievements at this year’s FIRST Championship.

Eagle Robotics, Team 5417

Members of student team Eagle Robotics — Team Eagle Robotics wins FIRST’s Impact Award

Eagle Robotics is a student team affiliated with Allen High School in Allen, Texas. Starting out with just 15 members in 2014, this year they grew up to 52 members, of which 16 are female. In preparing for their regional FIRST Robotics Competition, students in Eagle Robotics learn the skills needed to design and build a robot along with networking and professional skills. This year, they won the FIRST Impact Award for the Dallas District, demonstrating their excellence and passion as a team in designing and building their robot.

BlueBox, Team 11780

Members of student robotics team BlueBox — Team Blue Box wins FIRST’s Inspire Award

Blue Box is a team based in Windham, New Hampshire, that consists of 11 girls from Windham HIgh School and Middle School. At this year’s New Hampshire FIRST Tech Challenge State Championship, they won FIRST’s Inspire Award. This award recognizes the team that serves as an inspiration for others, embodying gracious professionalism, enthusiasm, and knowledge both on and off the playing field. By earning the Inspire Award, Blue Box has demonstrated that they are a top contender and gracious competitor, successfully designing and building a robot as a unit. Blue Box will be representing New Hampshire at this year’s FIRST Championship.

TechnicBots, Team 8565

Members of robotics team TechnicBots holding up their Inspire award — Team TechnicBots wins FIRST’s Inspire Award

TechnicBots is a team based in Plano, Texas, that has participated in FIRST since their founding in 2009. In 2022, they were the World Champion and represented the United States at the FIRST Global Challenge in Geneva, Switzerland. At this year’s Texas State Championship and North Texas Regional Championship, they won FIRST’s Inspire Award, demonstrating their enthusiasm and excellence in robotics. They are this year’s only North Texas team to advance directly to the FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship.

Learn more about how Siemens supports FIRST

Siemens is proud to support these amazing young students in their STEM journey. Congratulations on a very successful year and best of luck to all the teams who will be competing at the FIRST World Championship in Houston later this month!

For more information about how Siemens supports FIRST, visit www.siemens.com/firstrobotics