Members of Team 1816 were proud to take part in the “2008 Engineering Minnesota’s Future” conference held January 17th at Schulze Hall on the University of St. Thomas School of Engineering’s Minneapolis campus. Captain David C., and team members Sophie, Hannah, and Josh demonstrated the lift capabilities of the 2007 competition rampbot (known as Zarthan), and set-up a display to help promote the FIRST Robotics program, as well as The Green Machine itself, to visiting engineers from across the state. The team’s 2007 Chairman’s Award portfolio was open for inspection, and a lot of information about FIRST was handed out to conference attendees. Team members were also invited to sit on stage around the podium during the conference keynote address, given by Betty Shanahan, Executive Director and CEO of the Society of Women Engineers. Ms. Shanahan spoke of the urgent need to “broaden the appeal of engineering,” and pointed to Team 1816 as an example of how to reach students and help them become interested in studying engineering. All in all, it was a great opportunity to spread the message of FIRST and demonstrate what the coming generation will have to offer.
