Science and Robot Competitions

I've written about getting involved in science and robot competitions for years. I've received may responses and had a few new volunteers join us at the annualMercer Science and Engineering Fair held at Rider University in March. Our grand prize winner is sent to the annual Intel International Science and Engineering Fair This will be our 58th year but one thing we are always short of are judges.

I am always amazed at those who comment positively about these events but cannot take the time to help out. It only takes half a day to do most of these events. Yes, there is a lot more that is involved in setup, management and fund raising but judging typically takes only a few hours.

I recently was a judge at a local FIRST robotics competition. There were a few judges like myself that had done this before and worked in the industry. The rest were newbees that did not have a clue about what they were getting into. They had as much fun as the kids and did a great job judging the competition. It took only a morning as well.

If you are in my neighboarhood then there are a couple of other events you might be interested in. I'll be speaking at this year's Firefighting Robot Competition held at Trinity College. My daughter spoke there almost a decade ago when she was in high school. She is now a mechanical engineer designing robotic arms for Qinetiq. She also competed in the Mercer fair.

Finally there is the Trenton Computer Festival. This annual event is the oldest computer festival that is held at The College of New Jersey. The keynote speaker last year was Richard Stallman. Notable keynote speakers in the past include oddballs like Bill Gates, Gary Kildall, Bjarne Stroustrup, and Brian Kernighan.

So what are your plans for this spring?

• Firefighting Robot Competition
• FIRST
• Mercer Science and Engineering Fair
• Intel International Science and Engineering Fair
• Rider University
• The College of New Jersey
• Trenton Computer Festival
• Trinity College