FIRST Tech Challenge

Ingenuity and teamwork become the winning combination

By Miami University

February 1^st, 2023

FIRST Tech Challenge takes center court

Miami University welcomed nearly 300 middle and high school students to an all-day, regional FIRST Tech Challenge, Saturday, Jan. 14, at Millett Hall, 500 E. Sycamore Street.

Sponsored by the College of Engineering and Computing, the challenge featured 24 student-led teams from Southwest Ohio in a robot competition.

Robots took over center court at Millett Hall.

Beena Sukumaran, Dean of the College of Engineering and Computing, couldn't resist talking tech with students.

David Hartup of the Robotic's program in the College of Engineering and Computing was impressed by the students creativity.

Judges from the College of Engineering and Computing were part of the 60 plus volunteers for the event.

Joanna Hohn of the College's K-12 Outreach Program led the event organization team.

Students explain their reasoning behind their robot designs.

And, three, two, one, go! Robots maneuver through the competition course.

A student adjusts the inner workings of the robot.

Non-stop action

The action-packed event introduced students to engineering and computing concepts. Each team built its robot to maneuver through a course where they completed tasks to earn points. This year’s POWERPLAY competition included thrilling challenges.

"These competitions encourage students to test their technological skills in a fun and exciting environment," said Joanna Hohn, assistant director of the College of Engineering and Computing's K-12 Outreach Program. "Miami is thrilled to host this regional event showcasing the creativity and innovation of these future engineers and computer scientists."

Four teams move on to state from the regional competition. Those teams are:

Nuts and Bolts from Loveland.
The Nuts from Walnut Hills in Cincinnati.
Quantum Leap from Mason.
Juniper from Sycamore.

Founded in 1989 by inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen, the FIRST Tech competition is now a worldwide event with as many as 86,000 participants on 3,200 teams.