For Release:          Immediate – April 5, 2018

Contact:                 Dave Dellecese, Public Affairs Specialist ­

                        (315) 792-7307 | ddellecese@sunypoly.edu

SUNY Poly’s own FRC Robotics Team Earns Another Regional Win

FRC Team 5030 part of winning alliance at Buckeye Regional in Cleveland

CLEVELAND, OH, and UTICA, NY – As they make their way closer to the international FIRST Championships in Michigan this month, a robotics team made up of local high school students and mentored by SUNY Poly students has another feather in their cap with another regional robotics competition win, this time in Cleveland, Ohio.

SUNY Poly’s own FRC Team 5030, The Second Mouse, along with FRC Team 4145, WorBots, from Columbus, OH, and FRC Team 3314, Mechanical Mustangs, of Clifton, NJ, made up the alliance of teams declared regional champions at the FIRST® Robotics Competition Buckeye Regional. These three teams competed among the 55 total teams from across the Midwest, New York, Maryland, and Canada in a series of challenges throughout March 29-31 in Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center.

FRC Team 5030, The Second Mouse, was also part of the winning alliance at the Central New York 2018 FIRST Robotics Competition, held at SUNY Poly’s Utica campus in early March. That win sends them to the international championship being held April 25-28 in Detroit, Michigan.

Over the course of six weeks, students worked with professional engineering mentors to design a robot that solves a problem using the same parts kits and a standard set of rules. Once the young inventors created their robot, teams participate in regional competitions across the globe that measure the effectiveness of each robot, the power of collaboration, and the determination of students. Each year the competition’s rules and gaming environments change, requiring students to build new robots that can accomplish particular tasks relevant to the new challenge.

The Second Mouse consists of area high school student team members mentored by SUNY Poly engineering students. The team is open to any area high school student who applies and currently has members from Utica, Whitesboro, New Hartford, and Sauquoit High Schools, as well as Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES and Manlius Pebble Hill School.

Students learning from FIRST events and programs come away with a greater appreciation of science & technology and how it can be utilized to positively impact the world around them. FIRST studies show more than 88% of those who participate are interested in doing well in school and 92% of participants are interested in attending college. Teams learn from professional engineers; master STEM skills; learn and use sophisticated software, hardware, and power tools; improve teamwork, interpersonal, and communication skills; learn the practice of gracious professionalism; and qualify for millions of dollars in college scholarships.

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About SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly)

SUNY Poly is New York’s globally recognized, high-tech educational ecosystem. SUNY Poly offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience and nanoengineering, as well as cutting-edge nanobioscience and nanoeconomics programs at its Albany campus, and undergraduate and graduate degrees in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies; professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing; and arts and sciences, including natural sciences, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences at its Utica/Rome campus; thriving athletic, recreational, and cultural programs, events, and activities complement the campus experience. As the world’s most advanced, university-driven research enterprise, SUNY Poly boasts billions of dollars in high-tech investments and hundreds of corporate partners since its inception. For information visit www.sunypoly.edu.