Advocates High School-Level Competitive Engineering Events

THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn.--Digi-Key, the industry leader in electronic component selection, availability and delivery sponsored a regional kick-off event for high school students planning to participate in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics 2015 Global Challenge. In conjunction with a global unveiling of the contest hosted by Inventor Dean Kamen, Digi-Key invited several regional high schools to its headquarters last Saturday for a presentation by one of Digi-Keys executive vice presidents and to receive their kit for this years challenge.

With growing interest around the world in innovation and engineering, over 75,000 high school students, comprising nearly 3,000 teams, have signed up to participate in this years FIRST Robotics challenge. Participation is up nearly 40-percent over the past two years with an increase from 51,000 student competitors in 2013 to 70,000 in 2014.

"Its so exciting to see how a passion in engineering is so quickly emerging at the high school level," commented Dave Doherty, EVP of Operations for Digi-Key. "Thanks to FIRST, now students have a chance to participate in a friendly and challenging tournament, competing with their intellect and intelligence. It may not have the popularity of athletics just yet, but its headed in that direction and were proud to be a part of promoting STEM activities such as the ‘sport of robotics at the high school level."

As part of the kick-off, the teams, grades 9-12, were introduced to the 2015 robotics game field and challenge and received an exciting new Kit of Parts made up of motors, batteries, a control system, a PC, pneumatic components, and a mix of automation components - with no instructions.

The theme of the 2015 robotics competition is "RECYCLE RUSH". RECYCLE RUSH is a recycling-themed game played by two Alliances of three robots each. Robots score points by stacking totes on scoring platforms, capping those stacks with recycling containers, and properly disposing of pool noodles, representing litter. In keeping with the recycling theme of the game, all game pieces used are reusable or recyclable by teams in their home locations or by FIRST at the end of the season.

Teams will have six weeks to design, build, program and test their robot to meet this years engineering challenge. Students from the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, Turkey, U.A.E., and the U.K. will compete in 48 District Events, 5 District Championships, and 56 Regional Events in five countries - all leading up to the 2015 FIRST Championship at the Edward Jones Dome, April 22-25, in St. Louis. This season, participating FIRST Robotics Competition high school students are eligible to apply for nearly $20 million in scholarships from 170 colleges and universities.

For more information, access the webcast at http://www.comcastcorporation.com/frc2015

About FIRST

Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, NH, FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With support from over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies and more than $20 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST Robotics Competition for students in Grades 9-12; FIRST Tech Challenge for Grades 7-12; FIRST LEGO League for Grades 4-8; and Junior FIRST LEGOLeague for Grades K-3. Gracious Professionalism is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org.

About Digi-Key Corporation

Digi-Key Corporation, based in Thief River Falls, Minn., is a global, full-service provider of both prototype/design and production quantities of electronic components, offering more than four million products from over 650 quality name-brand manufacturers. With over one million products in stock and an impressive selection of online resources, Digi-Key is committed to stocking the broadest range of electronic components in the industry and providing the best service possible to its customers. Additional information and access to Digi-Keys broad product offering is available at www.digikey.com.