I'm really loving all the responses that there have been to this thread...good to see everyone coming out of the woodwork
I was putzing around today in the rulebook section of the FIRST site, doing some research for a possible post in a Chairmans Award thread, and I came across this...
The FIRST mission is to change the way America’s young people regard science and technology and to inspire an appreciation for the real-life rewards and career opportunities in these fields.
and
The Chairman’s Award was created to keep the central focus of the FIRST Robotics Competition as our ultimate goal for transforming the culture in ways that will inspire greater levels of respect and honor for science and technology, as well as encourage more of today’s youth to become scientists, engineers, and technologists.
Which makes me want to pose the question to the teams who are doing their Chairmans Award now...how many students that you know are planning on going into engineering are the ones actually compiling the Chairmans Award? It would make sense that they wouldn't be focusing their energies here at this point in time.
YET ANOTHER good idea for a study would be the breakdown of the functions of students on teams throughout the year.