NEWS

On Saturday, January 6, 2024, Louisiana Tech University hosted teams of high school students from all across the state for the kickoff of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition Launch. The event was held from 8-12 at the Integrated Engineering and Science Building on Louisiana Tech’s campus.

“This annual event was a powerful opportunity for CEHS (College of Education and Human Sciences) and COES (College of Engineering and Science) to partner and welcome high schools from around the region to Louisiana Tech’s campus. Providing our University students and faculty opportunities to engage with, mentor, and recruit the best and brightest talent in our region through co-hosting this event is a win, win, win for all involved,” said Dr. Lindsey Keith-Vincent, associate dean of CEHS.

FIRST is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the young leaders of tomorrow in science and engineering. The organization has helped students from across the world develop better science, engineering, and logical thinking skills in the hope that with these skills, they will be better equipped to deal with the modern, complex problems of tomorrow.

There was no better place to showcase how far student members have come than this year’s annual kickoff event. Teams of students were challenged to raise funds, design a team ‘brand,’ hone teamwork skills, and build and program industrial-size robots to play a difficult field game against like-minded competitors. Teams of students waited months to discover what it was since it was kept secret from them until the day of the event. With supervision by experienced engineers, these students went head-to-head to see who the top robotics competitor was.

It will be an exciting competition season this year, and Louisiana Tech, CEHS, and COES were honored to host its amazing start. “It helps us connect with high schools and helps high school students feel connected to Tech. Events like this help us showcase our programs and recruit high-quality students who then make an impact on the University as student leaders,” said Dr. Heath Tims, associate dean of undergraduate studies at the COES.

To volunteer as a mentor for local teams, email Arthurs at carthurs@firstinspires.org. To learn more about STEM outreach and education partnership opportunities at Louisiana Tech, email coesugs@latech.edu and scitec@latech.edu.