PRESS RELEASE 94-07

Immediate 
Mary Ann Peto
(Bus: 216/433-2902)

<h3>NASA Lewis Research Center Sponsors Students in U.S. First 
Competition in New Hampshire</h3> Cleveland, OH -- Lewis employees 
have been working with 31 students from various Cleveland area high 
schools preparing for the highly competitive U.S. FIRST (For 
Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) contest to be 
held February 24-26, 1994, in Nashua, New Hampshire. This is the 
first time Lewis has sponsored a team to attend this competition.

U.S. FIRST is a nonprofit alliance of business, government and 
education dedicated to increasing the level of student interest in 
math and science. 

"The fun and excitement began at Lewis several weeks ago when students 
and engineers met to design and build a radio-controlled 
robo-athlete," said James Eaton, Lewis' competition coordinator. The 
students have been at Lewis every Tuesday and Thursday after school 
and on Sunday afternoons preparing for the main event in New 
Hampshire. "Knowing that you are competing against several teams from 
around the country adds another dimension to the competition and 
gives the students even more to strive for," he said. 

In the competition, remote-controlled robo-athletes are built from a 
standard kit of parts. During the three-day contest, these mechanical 
gladiators fight to collect as many of their soccer balls as possible 
and score points by placing them in a goal area. At the same time, 
they try to fend off the opposing teams' robo-athletes which are bent 
on collecting more balls -- or stealing them. The competition can 
become fierce as the teams rely on strength, strategy and speed to 
outmaneuver and outfight their opponents.

Twenty-five teams participated in the 1993 competition and included 
teams sponsored by AT&T Bell Laboratories, Boeing, Eastman Kodak and 
many others. Approxi-mately 40 teams are expected to participate in 
the 1994 competition.

Participating High Schools:

<table> 
EAST TECHNICAL   NORTH OLMSTED   
HOLY NAME   NORTH ROYALTON   
LAKEWOOD   PARMA   
MAGNIFICAT   STRONGSVILLE    

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