will ford first do it again

[Beth Sweet]

From what I know of Ford and GM teams, I would imagine that they would have an advantage over others. To the best of my knowledge, both have a very strong stance that their teams will have their engineers. On HOT, we had over 10 GM engineers. Obviously, having that kind of engineering knowledge contributing to a team will give them competitive advantage.

And that's why FIRST, in my mind, is so much better than other science programs. When highschoolers get a chance to work with professional engineers, who knows what could happen!?

[Swan217]

Not to nitpick (All right, ONLY to nitpick), but 217 isn't as much a "Ford FIRST" team as a collaborative team. Of the main mentors on the team, there is 1 Ford (Retired) Engineer, 1 Visteon (Retired) Engineer, 3 FANUC Robotics Engineers, 1 college student, 1 Ambulance Medic, and 3 UCS teachers. This is why the name is "Ford/FANUC/UCS The ThunderChickens"

Having said that, 60, 247 and 217 are all strong contenders this year. 1718 (Armada Acadamy) should also do very well.

[Dan 1038]

Originally Posted by Beth Sweet

From what I know of Ford and GM teams, I would imagine that they would have an advantage over others.

There are MANY companies, aside from Ford and GM, that offer great mentor support to a number of teams. Off the top of my head: P&G, Delphi, DaimlerChrysler, GE, etc... Our team has a gaggle of P&G engineers, a GE guy, a GM guy and a number of other mentors. Any team with multiple experienced mentors will have a leg up on teams without that knowledge base, the trick - in my opinion - is keeping the mentors over time to ensure continuity year to year.

[Craig Roys]

Originally Posted by Dan Swando

Not to nitpick (All right, ONLY to nitpick), but 217 isn't as much a "Ford FIRST" team as a collaborative team. Of the main mentors on the team, there is 1 Ford (Retired) Engineer, 1 Visteon (Retired) Engineer, 3 FANUC Robotics Engineers, 1 college student, 1 Ambulance Medic, and 3 UCS teachers. This is why the name is "Ford/FANUC/UCS The ThunderChickens"

Having said that, 60, 247 and 217 are all strong contenders this year. 1718 (Armada Acadamy) should also do very well.

Thanks, but unfortunately, 1718 will not be there. Hopefully next year.