Kickoff 2011

[rsisk]

Just thought I would be a thread started for Saturday's event.

Here is the line up of speakers from:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/hom...es-FIRST®-Kick

	  	
FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) will be joined by public figures to launch the 20th season of the FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC®) with a worldwide Kickoff event originating from Manchester, N.H.
-- The 2011 season will include an estimated 2,200 teams (over 45,000 high-school students) participating in 57 Regional and District events. All teams will be shown the 2011 robotics game field and challenge for the first time and will receive an exciting, new Kit of Parts made up of motors, batteries, a control system, and a mix of automation components – but no instructions. Teams will have six weeks to design and build robots to meet this year’s engineering challenge.
 
Dignitaries and public figures from across the nation will deliver remarks, including:
-- Hon. John Lynch, Governor of New Hampshire;
-- Walt P. Havenstein, Chairman, FIRST Board of Directors & CEO of SAIC;
-- Neal Bascomb, Author, “The New Cool;”
-- Amir Abo-Shaeer, Teacher and MacArthur Foundation Fellow (and subject of book on FIRST);
-- Robin Saitz, Senior Vice President Solutions Marketing and Communications, PTC;
-- Dr. Woodie Flowers, Chairman, FIRST Executive Advisory Board & Pappalardo Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering, MIT;
-- Bill Miller, Director, FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC);
-- Dave Lavery, Program Executive, NASA;
-- Jon Dudas, FIRST President;
-- Dean Kamen, President, DEKA Research and Development Corp., and Founder, FIRST; and
-- Special Guests