Chief Delphi - Michigan vs New Hampshire

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Michigan vs New Hampshire

Interesting article, it talks about politics and FIRST. Also it seems like dean's homework is getting done in Michigan, as that 2,000,000 should go a long way to getting teams involved.

Quote:

Michigan hopes to usurp NH's FIRST role

By JOHN WHITSON
Union Leader Staff

First it was the first-in-the-nation Presidential primary. Now, it’s FIRST.

The robotics competition for high school students, founded by Dean Kamen in 1989, has become wildly popular nationwide. And now Michigan has taken dead aim at usurping the Granite State’s leadership role.

Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm this month included $2 million in her 2007 budget proposal for state grants to encourage schools to participate in the FIRST Robotics Competition. The ultimate goal is to get every high school in the state involved.

FIRST teams from New Hampshire get no state funding, relying instead on corporate sponsors.

“For the last few years, Michigan has been paving the way for other states to see the benefits of FIRST robotics, and this new funding and commitment from the governor helps make Michigan a beacon others can look to,” said Francois Castaing, a member of that state’s FIRST board of directors, on the michigan.gov Web site recently.

That’s a good thing.

But it comes on the heels of Michigan’s efforts to horn in on what many consider to be New Hampshire’s most sacred cow: its leadership role in picking the nation’s next President.

That sparring has been going on for at least three years on the Democratic side of the aisle. In 2003, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., threatened to move the Michigan primary to the same day as New Hampshire, but eventually backed off.

Last month, Michigan Democratic leaders made a bid to schedule a 2008 caucus between Iowa’s leadoff caucus and New Hampshire’s primary, drawing sharp criticism from New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch.

So what’s Michigan’s problem? Do its elected officials set aside time each day to figure out the next way to needle New Hampshire?

Lynch spokesman Pamela Walsh, who has weighed in on the states’ political battles, declined to enter the fray yesterday when the topic turned to FIRST.

“New Hampshire is the birthplace of FIRST and the birthplace of direct primaries,” she said. “Governor Lynch thinks it’s a wonderful program. FIRST is a wonderful way to get students interested science and technology.”

The 15th FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) national championship takes place over three days in Atlanta, starting tomorrow. Teams will be judged on their robot’s ability to fire foam balls through hoops and plow them into floor goals, and their ability to program a vision system to navigate the robot.

Along with robotics, there will be two other competitions.

A Lego league will require middle school students to design and build a robot that releases a dolphin, locates a sunken ship and prevents pollution — all on a tabletop playing field. A Vex challenge, a pilot program for high school students, offers the taste of a robotics competition using a more affordable robotics kit.

It will be the largest FIRST competition yet, with 344 teams from the United States, Canada, Brazil and Israel earning invitations largely from their performances in 33 regional events. Some slots are reserved for teams that have been on the waiting list but never qualified for the competition.

In sheer numbers, Michigan leads the way.

The Wolverine State will field 48 teams this year, more than any other state. New Hampshire is proudly sending six teams representing Amherst, Manchester, Merrimack, Milford, Nashua and Weare.

Taking the number of FIRST teams as a percentage of a state’s population shows New Hampshire and Michigan running neck and neck. Michigan’s more than 10 million residents is almost exactly eight times New Hampshire’s size — the same ratio as the states’ FIRST representation in Atlanta.

FIRST national headquarters on Bedford Street in Manchester was deserted yesterday. Nearly the entire staff of about 35 people was already in Atlanta getting set up in the Georgia Dome.

Teams check in today, so New Hampshire’s best young scientific minds are also out of state, probably doing some last-minute tinkering on their designs.

Let the (healthy) competition begin.