PRESS RELEASE
Contact Information: Sheryl Weinstein Public Relations
973-596-3436
MEDIA ADVISORY: NJIT Hosts Robotics Competition: 15 Newark Schools To Compete In FIRST LEGO Tournament
NEWARK, Feb 20 2004
WHAT: Some 120 students from Newark’s public schools will compete in a Mission Mars robotics contest. The sixth through eighth graders, divided into 15 teams, used Lego Mindstorm kits to design small robots. The children, mentored by NJIT students, programmed the robots to perform tasks on a mock surface of Mars. In competition, the robots must perform certain tasks: moving ramps and exiting a landing base, clearing surface dust from solar panels and connecting habitation modules. Judges will evaluate the robots’ performance and select team winners.
WHO: The 15 student teams; NJIT students who mentored the teams; NJIT staff members; Newark teachers and team coaches; NJIT Vice President Joel Bloom and NJIT President Robert Altenkirch.
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 21, from noon to 2:45 p.m.
WHERE: Fleisher Athletic Center on NJIT’s main quad
BACKGROUND: The Mission Mars contest is sponsored and funded by NJIT’s Pre-College Talent Search Program in collaboration with the Newark Public Schools Office of Teaching and Learning. FIRST LEGO is an international program designed to foster student interest in science and technology.
NJIT, New Jersey's science and technology university, enrolls more than 9,558 students pursuing bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in 120 programs. The university consists of six colleges: Newark College of Engineering, College of Architecture and Design, College of Science and Liberal Arts, School of Management, College of Computing Sciences and Albert Dorman Honors College. U.S. News & World Report's 2011 Annual Guide to America's Best Colleges ranked NJIT in the top tier of national research universities. NJIT is internationally recognized for being at the edge in knowledge in architecture, applied mathematics, wireless communications and networking, solar physics, advanced engineered particulate materials, nanotechnology, neural engineering and e-learning. Many courses and certificate programs, as well as graduate degrees, are available online through the Office of Continuing Professional Education.