27/04-11   -   Press releases

Three Motorola Mobility Foundation-Sponsored Teams Advance to 2011 FIRST® Championship Event

Motorola Mobility and Motorola Mobility Foundation demonstrate support of science and technology education

Motorola Mobility, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) and the Motorola Mobility Foundation have provided a $210,000 grant and more than 30 employee volunteers to support six regional competitions in the 20th FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition (FRC®) season. A total of seven Motorola Mobility Foundation-sponsored teams participated in this year’s regional competitions. Three of those sponsored teams made it to the FIRST Championship event to be held April 27-30 in St. Louis, Mo.

One Motorola Mobility Foundation sponsored team, the Devil Duckies, from Madison High School in San Diego is thrilled to be heading to the FIRST Championship. They have experienced success this season, winning the Chairman’s Award in the Las Vegas Regional competition. The Chairman’s Award is given for the team that best embodies the spirit of FIRST, including Gracious Professionalism™.

For this year’s competition students were asked to solve a challenge based on the FIRST logo which was created over 20 years ago by Jack Kamen, the father of Dean Kamen, FIRST founder. It involves building robots that can successfully move large shapes across a playing field.

FIRST, a nonprofit that seeks to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, hosts its annual competition to engage students K-12 from around the world in scientific thinking, designing and building robots. Impact studies show that FIRST participants are seven times more likely to study engineering during college than the U.S. average, and twice as likely to choose computer science as their major.

As part of the 2011 competition, nearly 52,000 high school students are given six weeks to create a robot that can perform competitive functions from a common kit of parts provided by FIRST. From 2,075 teams, 352 of the most innovative and successful were selected to compete in the FIRST Championship, including three Motorola Mobility Foundation-sponsored teams.

“The Motorola Mobility Foundation is continuing our long-standing legacy of support for FIRST Robotics Competition by sponsoring the six regional competitions which provide thousands of students with the opportunity to compete and showcase their hard work," said Eileen Sweeney, director of the Motorola Mobility Foundation. “We are proud to be part of this important program that motivates young people to pursue education and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math."

Motorola, Inc., which separated into two companies in January 2011, helped launch the FIRST Robotics Competition, and has been an avid supporter of the program for more than 20 years, contributing more than $14 million and countless employee volunteer hours to the program. Motorola Mobility and the Motorola Mobility Foundation are continuing this legacy of support. Several Motorola Mobility employees in the U.S. and around the globe are FIRST alumni who now serve as judges, Mentors and Coaches for competitions and teams.

About Motorola Mobility Foundation
The Motorola Mobility Foundation is the charitable and philanthropic arm of Motorola Mobility. With employees located around the globe, Motorola Mobility seeks to benefit the communities where it operates. The company achieves this by making strategic grants, forging strong community partnerships, fostering innovation and engaging stakeholders. The Motorola Mobility Foundation focuses its funding on education, community, health and wellness and disaster relief.