[archiver]

Posted by Aidan Browne, PhD.

Engineer on team #175, Buzz Robotics, from Enrico Fermi and Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems Intl.

Posted on 8/3/2000 10:04 PM MST


In Reply to: Is the Chairman's Award fixed? I believe so..... posted by Vinny Bushemi on 8/2/2000 2:47 PM MST:



I encourage everyone to read FIRST's statement of the purpose of the Chairman's Award. It may help to put many of your comments in perspective.

(I took this from the FIRST website, the link to the original page is included below.)

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THE CHAIRMAN’S AWARD

FIRST’s aim, in its broadest sense, is to transform the culture of the United States: to restore the sense of excitement, awe, respect and honor that was once attached to science and technology, and especially to imbue the younger generation with an appreciation of the rewards, including career opportunities, that pursuing an enriched understanding of science and technology can bring.

The Chairman’s Award was created to keep the central focus of the FIRST Competition on that ultimate goal. It remains FIRST’s most prestigious award.

The competition in the arena is intensely exciting. The competitive spirit draws the entire event together. In honoring the team that wins the contest itself, we celebrate the extraordinary drive and skill that brought that victory.The criteria for the Chairman’s Award, however, are different… precisely because the goals of FIRST go beyond scoring points.

JUDGING CRITERIA:

There is no single best way to win the Chairman’s Award. Many factors come into play. It represents the spirit of FIRST, and the hopes of FIRST. It goes to a team that in the judges’ estimation surpassingly represents a model for other teams and embodies the goals and purpose of FIRST.

The quality of your teamwork, both human and professional – of your partnership – is a key ingredient. So, too, is the intensity of the learning experience team members both give and receive. Because our target audience is unlimited – the entire school, the larger community and, through the mass media, the nation – the ways in which a team communicates its excitement and opens the eyes of others is also a major factor.

Among the things the judges will be looking for are concrete examples of the interactions between students and engineers, and of the spirit the shared experience developed; demonstrations of how you have wakened others in your school, your community or elsewhere to the thrill and the fun of engineering, and to FIRST itself as a vehicle for the cultural transformation it seeks to achieve; innovative ways you have devised to spread FIRST’s message. Use your own imagination in helping the judges understand how your team should be an example for future teams.

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