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Backing British innovation: Royal Academy of Engineering launches … – Elite Business Magazine

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

Shaking the hands of attendees at the launch of the Royal Academy of Engineerings Taylor Centre was Marty: a 3D-printed, wide-eyed robot with some seriously expressive eyebrows. He was designed by Robotical founder Dr Alexander Enoch to encourage kids to customise and program their own robot to do certain tasks, like kicking a ball or busting out some dance moves. And Marty the robot was just one of the innovations on display at the Academys new innovation hub, which opened its doors on Thursday.

The Taylor Centre will give entrepreneurs from across the country a place in central London where they can network, hold meetings, court investors and base themselves while in the city. Its part of the Academys Enterprise Hub initiative, which helps members develop great ideas at various stages of development and get them market-ready through one-to-one mentorships.

Also showing off their innovations last night were Dr Sam Chapman, whose business Kenoteq has engineered a brick thats made from 90% recycled material, and Michael Geissler, CEO of Mo-Sys, a company that develops advanced sensors that help make VR and AR experiences even more immersive.

Commenting on the centres opening, Professor Damien Coyle, who leads NeuroCONCISE, a spin-off that develops wearable neurotechnology, said: London is where all the investors are but rents are expensive. Being based in Northern Ireland, it's great just having a space in the capital where we can come to hold meetings and get in front of the right people.

Meanwhile, Geissle was hopeful that the centre would help boost engineering talent in the UK. In Germany we're proud of our engineering heritage but Britain seems to be more proud of its bankers than its engineers, he said in between demonstrations of his technology. Hopefully when young people see some of the amazing applications engineering can have, like VR, they'll feel more inspired.

The Enterprise Hub has already helped 61 members launch their businesses. With a new venue right smack in the centre of London, heres hoping we see plenty more.

Backing British innovation: Royal Academy of Engineering launches ... - Elite Business Magazine

Editorial: Brown puts political correctness above jobs – Daily Astorian

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

In an astoundingly ignorant and heavy-handed display of putting urban political correctness ahead of rural jobs, Gov. Kate Brown last week dictated that the citizen members of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission reverse their January decision that gave commercial fishermen a minimally fair share of the Columbia Rivers salmon allocation.

Addressing commissioners as if they are misbehaving children, Brown told Chairman Michael Finley the commission majoritys acknowledgment of reality is not acceptable and that I expect the commission to acquiesce to her interpretation of the facts by April 3.

The commission agreed at a meeting on Friday in Tigard to take up the issue in March.

Many of the most important facts are not in dispute: Former Gov. John Kitzhabers dictated abandonment of decades of carefully nuanced salmon policy has not worked. Kicking commercial fishermen off the Columbias main stem as of Dec. 31, 2016, as Kitzhabers plan called for, is manifestly unjust and will hurt the economy of Clatsop County and other fishing-dependent communities.

Fish and Wildlife Commission members are in an infinitely better position to judge the ineffectiveness of salmon policies than is the governor. They know that alternatives such as seine nets operated from boats and the shore have been a clear disappointment. Off-channel locations where nets might be deployed to catch only hatchery fish are in short supply. State legislators and agencies have failed to keep financial promises to fishing families.

The commissions former chairman was enthusiastic in applauding the January vote to back away from a rigid deadline to transition gillnets off the river. Salmon gillnets, in modern usage, are not the walls of death railed against by the governors urban friends, but are instead carefully crafted to catch a strictly limited number of hatchery salmon. Time, area and gear restrictions including live recovery boxes for any accidentally caught naturally spawning salmon limit impacts on wild fish.

In truth, the anti-gillnetting drive has never been about conservation, but about salving tender Portland sensitivities while delivering more salmon to recreational fishermen, especially those affiliated with the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, which owes its existence to fat-cat Texas oilmen.

Browns interference in this matter is a prime example of why some Democrats now struggle to connect with working people. Yes, all Oregonians want recreational fishing to prosper. But by rejecting any compromise on behalf of hardworking commercial fishermen, Brown places herself solidly against jobs for struggling rural voters. We all should remember that come Election Day.

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Editorial: Brown puts political correctness above jobs - Daily Astorian

Cockeyed squid shines light on deep sea evolution – Christian Science Monitor

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

February 13, 2017 The deep sea has its fair share of quirky creatures equipped with odd features, and the cockeyed squid, sporting two different sized eyes, likely doesn'tstand out too much among other bottom ocean dwellers.

But scientists have never before been able to pinpoint a reason for its two vastly different eyes. But now, researchers from Duke University may have finally nailed down an answer, according to a study published Monday in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.

The cockeyed squid, officially known as Histioteuthis heteropsis, has long puzzled researchers. While the species is born with eyes of the same size, its left eye grows rapidly, becoming tube-shaped and sometimes twice the size of its right eye.

"You can't look at one and not wonder what's going on with them," Duke University biologist and study co-author Kate Thomas said in a press release.

Researchers watched more than 150 videos of the squids swimming in the Monterey Submarine Canyon in Monterey Bay,Calif., which were recorded over the past three decades, observing as they swam in an unconventional upside-down position. While doing so, the squids larger, left eyes continuously looked up, while their smaller right eyes were fixed downward.

Observation and light simulations revealed that the large eye seems to search for shadows of different fish swimming overhead, while the small eye scans the ocean floor for signs of light emitted by other marine organisms.

While the left eye's field of vision picks up shadows from sun shining into the water, that's not an option for the downward-facing eye, scientists concluded. Instead, they detect bioluminescence, the kind of chemically-produced light that comes from living organisms such as fireflies or deep sea fish. That requires a different kind of eye structure than is needed for ambient light. Bigger isn't better when it comes to spotting glowing fish, the researchers found, but larger eyes are better at detecting sunlight.

So while the cockeyed squids design might look odd at first glance, it actually allows the squids to navigate their complex environment.

"The eye looking down really only can look for bioluminescence," Snke Johnsen, the study's senior author and a professor of biology at Duke University, said in a statement. "There is no way it is able to pick out shapes against the ambient light. And once it is looking for bioluminescence, it doesn't really need to be particularly big, so it can actually shrivel up a little bit over generations. But the eye looking up actually does benefit from getting a bit bigger."

Overall, squid species are faring well among their deep sea neighbors. A 2016 study revealed that squid numbers have continuously boomed for six decades, while climate change and warming waters have spelled trouble for some other species.

While that marks good news for cephalopods for now, some wonder what long-term implications for aquatic life the trend could have particularly for the creatures they eat.

"We're seeing a new world here, one we haven't seen before. Any time you push an ecosystem into a different state, there's greater uncertainty in how it will behave, and how it will respond to future changes. Frankly, I think that should make people really worried," Ben Halpern, a biology professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara's Bren School of Environmental Science and Management and the director of the school's Center for Marine Assessment and Planning, told The Christian Science Monitor last year.

"More squid and octopus to eat may seem like a good thing, and in the short run maybe it is. But I'm more worried about the long run," he said.

Cockeyed squid shines light on deep sea evolution - Christian Science Monitor

How evolution alters biological invasions – Science Daily

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

Science Daily

How evolution alters biological invasions
Science Daily
Now, Rutgers University scientists have performed the first study of how evolution unfolds after invasions change native systems. The experimental invasions -- elaborate experiments designed by doctoral student Cara A. Faillace and her adviser ...

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How evolution alters biological invasions - Science Daily

How the horse can help us answer one of evolution’s biggest questions – Phys.Org

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

February 13, 2017 by Luke Dunning, The Conversation Credit: Shutterstock

For 600m years, life has been responding to our changing world. Virtually every conceivable environment in every corner of the planet has been occupied as animals and plants have diversified. Environmental shifts and mass extinctions produce new evolutionary opportunities for organisms to exploit as they compete for survival.

But how do organisms grasp these opportunities? Do they evolve new traits in response to the pressures of new environments, or are they able to move into new habitats because they have already evolved the right adaptations? Much of evolutionary study rests on the the former idea being right. Yet a new study of the development of horses is the latest in a growing body of research that suggests the answer to this chicken-egg situation may be more complicated.

The chances of an organism's survival in a new habitat are governed by the area's biological and environmental conditions and whether these are compatible with the organism's basic requirements (its ecological niche). If they are compatible, the organism may be able to persist, adapt and thrive. The more specialised an organism's ecological niche, the harder it may be to move into a new environment.

For example, the caterpillars of the monarch butterfly feed almost exclusively on milkweed. It's hard to imagine the caterpillars successfully colonising a new habitat that doesn't have this vital food source. Another point to consider is that just because an organism can survive in a new environment doesn't necessarily mean it will be able to get there. For example, it would be practically impossible for polar bears to naturally spread from the North Pole to Antarctica.

Much of our understanding of how organisms evolve new traits to occupy new environments and ecological niches comes from the study of adaptive radiations. An adaptive radiation is the evolutionary process by which organisms rapidly diverge from a common ancestor into multiple different forms. There are numerous charismatic examples documented, including: Darwin's finches on the Galapagos Islands, cichlid fish in the lakes of East Africa, and Anolis lizards on the Caribbean islands.

From this kind of research it has been shown that adaptive radiations are primarily driven by ecological opportunity, the chance for a species to thrive when its environmental circumstances change. Examples of these opportunities include filling a vacant niche after a mass extinction event when it has fewer competitors or predators, or taking advantage of a newly available resource.

As animals and plants exploit these ecological opportunities, we would expect them to go through rapid physical changes as they adapt to their new environments. The pace of change would then slow over time as the opportunities run out. This prediction has formed the basis of much of evolutionary research, although studies are beginning to question the validity of our assumptions.

Horse history

The evolution of horses is remarkably well documented in the fossil record and is a textbook example of how evolutionary success is linked to trait evolution. Over the past 50m years, horses have evolved from dog-sized forest dwellers into the modern animals we know.

Along the way they have accumulated numerous environmental advantages, such as teeth adapted for grazing and modified hooves for speed. Although there are only seven species from this adaptive radiation alive today (the horse, donkey, plains zebra, mountain zebra, Grvy's zebra, kiang, and onager), fossils of hundreds of extinct species have been unearthed.

Now a new study published in Science has looked at the last 18m years of horse evolution to ask whether the origin of new horse species was linked with rapid physical changes. As you would expect, horse evolution has seen bursts of diversification when there have been new ecological opportunities. These opportunities included increased food availability, which meant larger and more varied populations of horses could be sustained.

Another ecological opportunity horses exploited was being able to migrate from America to Siberia across the Bering land bridge. From there they were able to colonise Europe, Asia, North Africa and the Middle East.

But the fossil record shows these bursts of horse diversification didn't follow the rapid evolution of new physical traits such as body size and teeth shape. Horses didn't need to change to be able to colonise the Old World, presumably because they were already adapted to similar grassland habitats in America.

The physical features that distinguish modern horse species in different locations evolved later. They are likely to be a result of short-term responses to extreme environmental conditions and shifts in resource availability.

The results of this latest study not only increase our understanding of the evolutionary history of one of the most successful lineages of mammals on earth, but also adds to our broader knowledge of when and why organisms adapt to their environment. When it comes to evolution's "which comes first?" question, the answer is probably both.

Explore further: Climate change responsible for rapid expansion of horse species over last 20 million years

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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How the horse can help us answer one of evolution's biggest questions - Phys.Org

Why evolution may be tech billionaires’ biggest enemy – The Week Magazine

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

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In late 2016, Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan pledged to invest at least $3 billion to "cure, manage, and prevent all disease" through the creation of a Biohub, a fount of non-profit innovation that would retain the exclusive right to commercialize its inventions. Around the same time, Microsoft said it had plans to "solve" cancer by 2026 and Facebook's co-founder Sean Parker promised $250 million (through his tax-exempt non-profit organization, or 501c3) to fight cancer while retaining the right to patents. The philanthropists Eli Broad and Ted Stanley have contributed $1.4 billion in private wealth to fund the Broad Institute research center (another 501c3, involved in a high-stakes patent battle) and its associated Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, to open "schizophrenia's black box" and hack the genetics of psychiatry. Much like Andrew Carnegie and John D Rockefeller of yesteryear, who donated their wealth to build public libraries and establish foundations, today's Silicon Valley billionaires seek a legacy, this time in the realm of health and disease.

But there is a disconnect. Comparing the body to a machine, complete with bugs to be fixed by means of gene modification tools such as Crispr-Cas9, conflicts with Charles Darwin's theory of evolution: machines and computers do not evolve, but organisms do. Evolution matters here because bits of code that compromise one function often enhance a second function, or can be repurposed for a new function when the environment shifts. In evolution, everything is grasping for its purpose. Parts that break down can become the next best thing.

The element of evolutionary time can be lost on technologists who think that more data and money will end disease. For Darwin, evolution of a species depended on natural selection of the individual organism. Discovery of DNA later resulted in what became known as the "modern synthesis," establishing a unifying framework for the influence of tiny things such as genes and large things such as populations, all while preserving Darwin's key principle that selection hinged on the individual. By 1966, the evolutionary biologists Richard Lewontin and John Hubby had proposed the concept of "balancing selection," which suggests that rare versions of genes can stay in a population since they add to genetic diversity. In fact, being heterogeneous, or having a single copy of a rarer form of a gene, even one that is suboptimal or contributes to genetic risk, can often benefit an individual, thus remaining among a species in small frequencies.

The theoretical biologist Stuart Kauffman argued that rare genetic variants are the basis of innovation, and may remain in circulation, not by chance, but because they add a fitness benefit to the system of at least a small number of organisms in a population. "Evolution is not just 'chance caught on a wing.' It is not just a tinkering of the ad hoc, of bricolage, of contraption. It is emergent order honored and honed by selection," he wrote in The Origins of Order (1993).

By contrast, a modern data scientist often assumes the reductionist position: that more data and better analysis in biology will lead to problems solved. As the molecular biologist James Watson said in 1989: "We used to think that our fate was in our stars, but now we know that, in large measure, our fate is in our genes." One reason we might favor this explanation is that our brains are wired to seek answers, simple cause-effect relationships. But we have so few drugs and solutions nearly two decades after sequencing the human genome. This might have less to do with the quality of analysis and more to do with the biological principles of evolution and time. Instead of thinking of humanity as a closed system, we'd do better to look through the open lens of ecology, in which the system itself is subject to influence by input from the outside. In even a single lifetime, our bodies take on an onslaught of genetic mutations, hundreds of trillions of synaptic connections rewire our brains by the moment, and pathogens bombard us, penetrating the organs and blood-brain barrier, and creating an ever-changing microbiome that enhances or erodes health.

In evolution, nothing comes for free. Stress can both trigger creativity and compound a raft of chronic maladies. Genetic variants that cause cystic fibrosis can protect against cholera, and those that contribute to Tay-Sachs can protect against tuberculosis. A variant in the gene PCSK9 can lower your LDL cholesterol, but can increase your risk for ischemic stroke. Gene transfer can effectively treat diseases caused by a single errant gene, but risk variants that influence diseases won't go away because they often provide advantages as time goes on.

Even cancer is less a machine with cell circuits that go haywire than an evolving entity that undergoes evolution and change in real time. Shapeshifting tricks that enable a cancer to escape our treatment can be independent of changes to the permanent genetic code. One of the reasons that the immunotherapeutic approach has been so practical is that it treats cancer in terms of ecology. The cancer evolves, but the immune system, primed for that kind of fight, can sometimes keep pace.

Darwin introduced a viewpoint that was radically unsettling: We don't progress to a more perfect form, but adapt to local environments. If humans are machines, then we can simply repair the broken parts. But if there is something more fundamental to the crisis of life than mere mechanisms of biology, then risk, and an element of danger, will always be with us. I will wager something even more: Since genetic variation is the basis of innovation, and diversity, making ourselves too perfect could mean our doom.

This article was originally published by Aeon, a digital magazine for ideas and culture. Follow them on Twitter at @aeonmag.

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Why evolution may be tech billionaires' biggest enemy - The Week Magazine

Community Viewpoint: Evolution, like gravity, is much more than theory it is a fact – Kdminer

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

Jason Cassella/Kingman Resident

In Blake Boggesss opinion piece that evolution is false he made several mistakes, assumptions, and plainly misinformed the public.

He says that evolution has never been observed. This is flat out false. There have been many cases where evolution has been observed in real time, including in species such as fish, moths, and foxes, to name but a few. But the most simple example: why do you think you have to get a different flu shot every year, or that there is a threat that antibiotics might not be as effective as they once were? Its because viruses and bacteria evolve; and we observe this in real time. You are entitled to your own opinions, but not to your own facts.

As far as the claim that scientists have not found the missing link, this is misconstrued. There have been many discoveries of intermediate species of human ancestors, over 29, and more are being discovered. The logic of even finding the missing link is outdated and fallacious. When one is found, it creates two more empty spaces around it. Think about it this way. If you lined up every human ancestor back to the divergence from the other apes (yes we are an ape; Homo sapiens means wise ape), 6 to 8 million years ago, you would be hard pressed to see an overt split from one species to another; its that gradual. Finding the missing link therefore, even if we found thousands, would mean that there would be an incalculable many more empty spots. It is a project of infinite regress.

As far as the unknown. Evolution doesnt have the answer for abiogenesis, or the beginning of life. It doesnt claim to. But it has proven that all of life on this planet related. We prove this genetically, through fossils, through observation, and more. The science is settled. Evolution is as much a theory as gravity: its a fact.

The argument that evolution is wrong because God created us is following just a few branches of Christianity (and other religions), mostly prominently Protestant Evangelical Christianity. But evolution is not incompatible with religion, exemplified by the Catholic churchs acceptance of the theory of evolution by natural selection. I personally know a Methodist preacher who is also an evolutionary biologist. The argument is partisan and doesnt hold.

Think of evolution this way: for thousands of years humans have bred animals and plants into various breeds and forms. Nature works the same way through natural selection, mutation, genetic drift, gene flow, death and sexual selection. Its actually a very simple and elegant idea. Its one of the very best ideas and discoveries of our species.

Just think of the beauty of it. Mountains of evidence shows that at several points there were different hominins living on the planet at the same time. Just imagine coming across different human species, and what that must have been like. And genetically we can even see that if you go back far enough, were related even to the tree in your front yard, much less jelly fish and elephants. Its amazing really. Life is wondrous.

Evolution is the cornerstone of not just all of biology but of other scientific disciplines as well, based on change over time. The science is settled, and those rare few scientists that disagree are a certain brand of Creationists, who ironically attempt to use evolution to prove intelligent design. Those who flat out refuse evolution are of one of a few sects of religion and have none or no pertinent scientific background.

As Neil deGrasse Tyson so very well said, Science is true whether you believe it or not.

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Community Viewpoint: Evolution, like gravity, is much more than theory it is a fact - Kdminer

The Evolution of Valentine’s Day – Inside Science News Service

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

Inside Science News Service

The Evolution of Valentine's Day
Inside Science News Service
Inside Science: Can biological evolution offer any insights into a cultural phenomenon like Valentine's Day? Saad: Ultimately, the Valentine's ritual is one in which all of these Darwinian imperatives are manifesting themselves. I mean, it's a marketer ...

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The Evolution of Valentine's Day - Inside Science News Service

Numerology: Here’s What Your Name Says About You – Collective Evolution

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

We're creating a positive news network. We need your help.

You may have heard of numerology before and perhaps you didnt give it much credit or brushed it off as some new age mumbo jumbo, but what if you could test it out for yourself and see what it can actually represent? If you found it to be accurate in being able to describe details in your life would you accept that theres actually some truth to it or brush it off as mere coincidence?

Up until very recently, I hadnt given numerology much thought at all, but for the last decade or so, Ive been seeing 11:11 quite regularly. In fact, Im sure a lot of my Facebook friends get annoyed with me because I always feel the need to share 11:11! when I see this on a clock, or license plate or anywhere really.

This number holds a lot of significance to me. Seeing this number has coincided perfectly with my quest for knowledge, truth, and understanding. When I saw it I felt as though it was a message from a higher source telling me that I am on the right path. A little wink from the Universe, if you will. I have had many challenges in my lifetime, and particularly when going through difficult times, I would see this number sequence as if it were a reminder that I was being supported and to keep going. To read more about the significance of 11:11, click here.

Sometimes in my life, these number sequences will change. For a brief period I was seeing 5:55 all the time. Its very interesting, because at times, I would get up, walk to the kitchen, glance at the clock on the stove and it would read 5:55, even though the clock was not set to the proper time. I would then have no recollection as to what I was doing in the kitchen in the first place. So, of course, I felt as though there was something more to this and that I couldnt brush it off as a coincidence. Upon further investigation into numerology, I concluded that I most certainly was seeing this number sequence for a reason.

The meaning of the number sequence 5:55 suggests that huge changes are unfolding in your life or are about to occur throughout various areas of your life. This is generally a sign of positive change that will bring you into greater alignment with your soul purpose with greater love, vitality, and abundance.

This couldnt have been more accurate at the time, and so I became increasingly interested in learning about numerology. You may be wondering

It is often related to occult teachings and is said to be any belief in the divine mystical relationship between a number and one or numerous events that coincide. Pythagoras, the Greek mathematician who lived from 569-470 BC is believed by many to be the originator of what we now today call numerology, although the origins of numerology predate Pythagoras.

Evidence of numerology has been found throughout the Hebrew Kabbalah as well. As the theory goes, each number has a unique vibration, which gives it certain properties. This is similar to the way crystals are believed to be used. If each number has a vibration then that means various sequences of numbers will have a specific vibration as well and will mean different things when in different combinations.

In mathematics, everything has a number. And many believe that the Universe is made of math, which makes the whole idea of numerology even more interesting. Galileo stated quite famously that our Universe is a grand book that is written in the language of mathematics. Mathematics is a lot more than just numbers, however, so well save that whole discussion for another article.

Numerology comprises eleven different numbers that can be used to create numerology charts. These numbers are 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,11 and 22. Sometimes larger numbers occur when adding various numbers together to form the values, but can be reduced by adding the digits together until the sum achieved is one of the core numbers. You can give numeral value to each letter of the alphabet by listing each letter and its corresponding number. For example:

A=1

B=2

C=3

D=4

E=5

When you reach number nine, you start back again at one.

I=9

J=1

K=2

And so on.

Similar to the way astrology can reveal information about your personality and specific traits pertaining to each individual, the process of reading the numerology of your birthdate and name can do the same thing.

By adding the numbers of your birthday together, year month and day you can determine your life path number. By adding the numbers of your given first, middle, and last name(s) you can determine the numerology of your name and your number. You can find out your number yourself using the method described here, butupon doing research for this article, I came across a website that makes this whole process easy for you and you simply type in your first, middle and last name and it will determine your life path number, and provide you with a detailed description of what this number represents. This website also provides you with a soul urge number and an inner dream number.

Once again, upon doing my own name I was quite blown away by how accurate the information that was provided was. I felt as though it described certain characteristics of my personality perfectly! Although I dont agree with it all, the bulk of it was pretty accurate, and perhaps I have embodied or will embody these traits in my lifetime.

Heres a brief summary of the information I was given:

Perhaps I should warn you that not everything that is said is positive

Whats in your name? Find out your number and what it means for free by visiting this website by Paul Sadowski. You can also get a free report based on your name and birth date here.

Much Love

Your life path number can tell you A LOT about you.

With the ancient science of Numerology you can find out accurate and revealing information just from your name and birth date.

Get your free numerology reading and learn more about how you can use numerology in your life to find out more about your path and journey. Get Your free reading.

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Numerology: Here's What Your Name Says About You - Collective Evolution

FIRST Robotics Competition – Wikipedia

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is an international high school robotics competition. Each year, teams of high school students and mentors work during a six-week period to build game-playing robots that weigh up to 120 pounds (54kg).[6] Robots complete tasks such as scoring balls into goals, flying discs into goals, inner tubes onto racks, hanging on bars, and balancing robots on balance beams. The game changes yearly, keeping the excitement fresh and giving each team a more level playing field. While teams are given a standard set of parts, they are also allowed a budget and encouraged to buy or make specialized parts. The FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is one of four robotics competition programs organized by FIRST, the other three being FIRST Lego League Jr. (Jr. FLL), FIRST Lego League (FLL), and the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC).

FRC has a unique culture, built around two values. Gracious Professionalism embraces the competition inherent in the program, but rejects trash talk and chest-thumping, instead embracing empathy and respect for other teams. Coopertition emphasizes that teams can cooperate and compete at the same time.[7] The goal of the program is to inspire students to be science and technology leaders.

In 2016, the 25th year of competition, 3128 teams with roughly 75,000 students and 19,000 mentors from 24 countries built robots. They competed in 53 Regional Competitions, 65 District Qualifying Competitions, and 8 District Championships.[3] 600 teams won slots to attend the FIRST Championship, where they competed in a tournament. In addition to on-field competition, teams and team members competed for awards recognizing entrepreneurship, creativity, engineering, industrial design, safety, controls, media, quality, and exemplifying the core values of the program.

Most teams reside in the United States, with Canada, Israel, and Mexico contributing significant numbers of teams.[3]

FIRST was founded in 1989 by inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen, with inspiration and assistance from physicist and MIT professor emeritus Woodie Flowers. Kamen was disappointed with the number of kidsparticularly women and minoritieswho considered science and technology careers, and decided to do something about it. As an inventor, he looked for activities that captured the enthusiasm of students, and decided that combining the excitement of sports competition with science and technology had potential.

Distilling what sports had done right into a recipe for engaging young people, Kamen says, turned out to be relatively straightforward. "It's after school, not in school. It's aspirational, not required," he explained to me.

"You don't get quizzes and tests, you go into competitions and get trophies and letters. You don't have teachers, you have coaches. You nurture, you don't judge. You create teamwork between all the participants. We justify sports for teamwork but why, when we do it in the classroom, do we call it cheating?"

Kamen has stated that FIRST is the invention he feels most proud of, and predicts that participants will be responsible for significant technological advances in years to come.[9] The first FRC season was in 1992 and had one event at a high school gymnasium in New Hampshire.[10] That first competition was relatively small-scale, similar in size to today's FIRST Tech Challenge and Vex Robotics Competition games. Robots relied on a wired connection to receive data from drivers; in the following year, it quickly transitioned to a wireless system.[11][12]

Countries currently represented (in decreasing order of number of teams, as of 2016)[3]

The FIRST Championship is the culmination of the FRC competition season, and occurs in late April each year. Roughly 600 teams participated in 2015. On May 5th, 2016, FIRST announced that from the 2017 season and onward, there would be two FIRST Championships. One for the Northeast taking place in St.Louis MO, and one for the Southwest taking place in Houston TX.[13]

The 2017 & 2018 Geographical Assignment Map can be seen here...[13]

From 1996 to 1998, the FIRST Championship was covered by ESPN.[14] Live coverage is currently provided by NASA TV, which can be viewed on the internet, TVRO, DirecTV, and Dish Network; the sophistication of the broadcast of each event is dependent on the organizers of that event, and range from professionally called with color commentary, such as the 2011 Michigan State Championship, to single-camera setups with no commentary other than the on-field play caller.

The PBS documentary "Gearing Up" followed four teams through the 2008 season.[15]

In the television series Dean of Invention, Dean Kamen made appeals promoting FIRST prior to commercial breaks.[16]

During the 2010 FIRST Robotics Competition season, FIRST team 3132, Thunder Down Under, was followed by a Macquarie University student film crew to document the first year of FRC in Australia. The crew produced a documentary film called I, Wombot.[17][18] The film premiered during the 2011 Dungog Film Festival.[19][20]

A book called The New Cool was written by Neal Bascomb about the story of Team 1717 from Goleta, California as they competed in the 2009 game season. A movie adaptation directed by Michael Bacall is being produced.[21]

The CNN documentary "Don't Fail Me: Education in America", which aired on 15 May 2011, followed three FRC teams during the 2011 season. The documentary profiled one student from each team, covering different geographic and socioeconomic levels: Shaan Patel from Team 1403 Cougar Robotics, Maria Castro from Team 842 Falcon Robotics, and Brian Whited from Team 3675 Eagletrons.[22]

On 14 August 2011, ABC aired a special on FIRST called "i.am FIRST: Science is Rock and Roll"[23] that featured many famous musical artists such as The Black Eyed Peas and Willow Smith. will.i.am himself was the executive producer of the special. The program placed a special focus on the FIRST Robotics competition, even though it included segments on the FIRST Tech Challenge, FIRST Lego League, and Junior FIRST Lego League.[citation needed]

The movie 'Drive Like A Girl' followed the Bronx High School of Science's all girls robot team the Fe Maidens

For the 2013 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, five FRC teams and their robots led the parade, with one robot cutting the ribbon and the others shooting confetti.[24][25]

In the 2014 movie Transformers: Age of Extinction, a FRC Robot built by Team 2468, Team Appreciate, for the 2012 Season was featured in Cade Yeager's garage shooting the foam basketball game pieces from Rebound Rumble.[26]

The 2015 Kickoff was, for the first time, broadcast by NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast, and was available via OnDemand for the month of January 2015.[27]

The fourth season of The Fosters (2013 TV series) had several episodes featuring characters competing in a regional FRC competition, most notably episode 8 "Girl Code".[28]

Older logo from website (until 2015)

Intermission during Aim High in Los Angeles, encouraging teams to socialize

The 2006 Triplets of 1114, 1503, and 1680. 1114 and 1503 won 3 regionals each, while 1680 won a silver finalist medal and was a quarterfinalist twice.

Competition at the 2008 Hawaii regionals.

"Barrage", Team 254's 2014 World Champion FRC robot

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FIRST Robotics Competition - Wikipedia

South Carroll Robotics teams compete at Maryland State Robotics Competition – Carroll County Times

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

Using controllers to command their robots, South Carroll High School's robotics teams competed against other robotics teams from around the state. Mount St. Mary's University and STEMaction Inc. hosted 48 teams who competed in the 2017 Maryland FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Tech Challenge Championship Sunday in Emmitsburg.

A total of 107 teams from Maryland and Washington, D.C., went through six qualifying tournaments to determine which would attend the Maryland Championship. The top four teams will advance to the East Super Regional in Pennsylvania in March and from there to the FIRST Championships in St. Louis in April.

South Carroll High School teacher Sean Lee mentors FIRST Robotics teams 6284 RoboCavs Black and 10001 RoboCavs Silver. He explained that the teams each compete in five matches. During the two and a half minute matches, the teams create two-robot alliances who work together to shoot small balls into goals, claim infrared beacons and raise large balls.

"You have to accumulate as many wins as you can," Lee explained. "You have to learn to cooperate with your enemies. It's all about gracious professionalism. We encourage teamwork and cooperation as much as competition. We encourage the kids to go out and do their best."

The students build and program their robots throughout the school year. They continually update and modify the robots.

"It can take weeks or months to get the robots to do what you want," Lee said. "There's plenty of learning opportunities. We don't call them mistakes."

The students compete with two controllers and each button has a specific function.

"Each function is a design challenge that the kids have to work on," Lee said. "They have to decide what they want the robot to concentrate on."

The South Carroll High program is sponsored by Bechtel, Leidos and the W.R. Grace Foundation. Students also raise additional funds for the program through fundraisers and the tuition paid to attend a robotics summer camp.

Lee said the program started five years ago and only had eight students. Now 50 students are involved in it.

"They get real engineering experience," Lee said. "We've graduated 23 kids through the program. Twenty-one are in engineering or science related fields at major universities."

Lee said when the program began, there were no female students involved. The program now has 10 females who participate, and they have formed their own team, RoboCavs Silver.

"There's a friendly rivalry between the teams," Lee said. "The girls tend to be more focused on the engineering process, allowing them to produce a more reliable robot. The boys are more about thinking outside of the box. We hope to combine the two thought processes to make a great team next year."

South Carroll High School senior Lauren Bahnsen, of Mount Airy, said she joined the program because she wants to be an engineer.

"I'm learning to appreciate the difference between the physical and theoretical world," Bahnsen said. "Earlier this season, we wanted the robot to lift the ball, but when we were designing it we realized that it would be more difficult than we expected."

Bahnsen said they ended up "scrapping the whole idea and deciding to make a complimentary robot."

"We focused on doing things that other teams wouldn't think of," Bahnsen said. "We designed it to help our ally as much as possible by delivering balls and going after beacons."

Junior Chris Scalzi, of Westminster, said he "really liked the competition this year."

"It's neat to see the other robots. You see a lot of cool ideas," Scalzi said.

Senior Michael Shockey, of Mount Airy, said he joined the program because he was "into building things. I fell in love with it."

"It's an experience you don't usually get," Shockey said. "I love the challenge."

Shockey said the team members "really work together well and everyone put forth their best effort."

While neither of the teams were chosen for the finals, the RoboCavs Silver finished with 2 wins and 3 losses, and the RoboCavs Black finished with 1 win and 4 losses.

michel.elben@carrollcountytimes.com

410-857-7873

twitter.com/MichelElben

6284 RoboCavs Black

Scott Simpson, Sander Cochran, Chris Scalzi, Connor Gleason, Matt Dolecki, Alex Seidel, Jacob Sabonis, Zach Sweeney, Matt Graham, Cole Stricker, Michael Shockey, Jackson Foran, Jacob Wolff, Mat Erickson, Aidan Yeo

10001 RoboCavs Silver

Veronika Fermin, Joy Nunez, Sydney Arcuri, Lucia Hadsall, Chloe Kerwin, Lizzy Gabel, Allie King, Anna Plass, Madison Snyder, Lauren Bahnsen

Excerpt from:

South Carroll Robotics teams compete at Maryland State Robotics Competition - Carroll County Times

Cave Spring High School’s Robotics Club wins in the First Tech … – Roanoke Times

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

Cave Spring High School's Robotics Club competed against 50 teams in the First Tech Challenge Robotics Competition at Norfolk State University on February 4.

The club won the following awards:

- Second place team alliance

- 1st Place Controls Award - Goes to team with best controls design.

- 2nd place Inspire Award - Goes to team that has a top robot, engineering designs, notebook, outreach, and shows a lot of effort to help other teams in competition

- 2 team members selected to state semi-finals for Dean's list award

- Qualified for States Championship

We had an amazing weekend and even though we had a TON of issues the entire day, we always found a way to overcome the challenge at hand.

Submitted by Scott Hudson and CSHS Robotics Rampage

Cave Spring High School's Robotics Club wins in the First Tech ... - Roanoke Times

Young Alberta engineers face off in robotics showdown – CBC.ca

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

Alberta's top young engineers faced off in Edmonton this weekend with robots they designed and built themselves.

Telus World of Science hosted25 teams from middle schools and high schools across the province for the First Tech Challenge.

The students spent months working on their robots.Each teamhad two minutes in a ring on Sunday to show what it could do.

Trevor Dawyd, who attendsLillian Osborne High School in Edmonton, said there's a lot of pressure on the teams to get their robots to pick up little plastic balls and shoot them accurately into a round hoop in the short time frame.

"In two minutes, we try to get as many points as possible," he said.

His team's robot, which, like all the teams' robots, was supposed to haveboth self-operating and control-operating options, struggledin the early round with the autonomousfunction.

Dawyd said they took what they learned there to make improvements.

"We've learned troubleshooting skills and then also working with teammates to get along and overcoming obstacles,"he said.

Connor Bresee, who attends Lacombe Composite High School, said his team also had difficultywith the autonomous function.

"We just didn't turn it on because it has a chance to make the robot's driver-controlled one, which does work, not work, which was unfortunate," Bresee said.

He said the process, which has basically been one of trial and error,has taught him the value of not giving up.

"Resiliency and determination is a lot of what I learned today," Breseesaid.

"All the pieces to make it work really well are there, but they need to be refined so that they're more accurate."

Jennifer Gemmell, the program manager of Telus World of Science's science garage, said the competition gives students a taste of what engineering and robotics could be like as a career.

"There's lots of creativity. There's lots of different ways to express yourself with your robot. There's lots of different ways to complete the same challenge," Gemmel said.

"It's a really unique and exciting and modern way of kids getting to do something that will actually have an effect later on."

roberta.bell@cbc.ca

@roberta__bell

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Young Alberta engineers face off in robotics showdown - CBC.ca

Cougar robotics team advances to Super-Regionals – Times Bulletin – Times Bulletin

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

The Van Wert robotics Team won medals over the weekend at the state championship. They will now advance to the North Super-Regional competition. (Photo courtesy of Bob Spath)

The team overcame a couple losses in early rounds, persevering and eventually landing a partnership with the number two team going into the semi-finals. After sweeping the first best of three semi-finals, the team faced the top seeded team and, after losing the first match in the finals, the Van Wert High School robotics team along with the robotics team called TBD from Aurora, Ohio, took the final two matches.

Only five teams from Ohio advance to the next level; winning the state championship advances the Van Wert team to the North Super-Regional competition in Iowa at the end of March where the top teams from 11 states will compete for coveted spots in the World Championship.

Coaches Zane McElroy and Bob Spath are thrilled to have the opportunity to represent Van Wert at the Super-Regional competition.

Cougar robotics team advances to Super-Regionals - Times Bulletin - Times Bulletin

My Turn: Arts education paved the way for girls’ robotics win – AZCentral.com

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

Leah Fregulia, AZ I See It 12:04 p.m. MT Feb. 13, 2017

Many students at Arizona School for the Arts go on to study STEM-related subjects in college.(Photo: yvonnestewarthenderson, Getty Images/iStockphoto)

What does dancing in a production or playing music in front of an audience have to do with building a robot and finding ways to help solve the worlds problems?

The answer everything! They are all part of our students experience at Arizona School for the Arts, and each of these activities contributes to their success.

Located in the heart of the downtown arts community, ASA is a Phoenix public charter school that offers 5th- through 12th-grade students an education concentrated on college preparation informed by the performing arts.

Leah Fregulia(Photo: Leah Fregulia)

At ASA, our students are immersed in 2.5 hours of arts education every day in addition to rigorous academics, including areas of study and clubs focused in the STEM fields.This unique educational approach results in students who not only excel academically, but who are also enriched by the arts.

An example of this can be in found in our Robotics Club, which recently sent teams to compete in the Arizona State FIRST LEGO League Challenge, hosted by the Arizona State University Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering. The competition aims to challenge young people to think like scientists, and our students were sure up to the challenge.

Our all-girl Bee Inspired Team was one of only two teams out of the 96 competing that were selected to advance to the national competition.On April 19, our eighth-graders Amelia Luadtke, Emma Scully and Molly Moody along with sixth-graders Marissa De La Rosa and Imogen Dietz and fifth-graders MaeYa Kotter and Ava Dewallwill travel to the FIRST LEGO League World Festival in Houston to bring their robot and bee project to the national stage.

As part of their challenge, the girls developed and constructed using a laser cutter at CREATE at Arizona Science Center a special box in which bees can build hives during swarming season. The purpose of the box is to provide an attractive place for bees to live instead of forming hives in peoples homes, where they often must be exterminated.

Our team also built a robot out of Legos and programmed it to complete tasks. The judges awarded our team first place based on their innovative projects as well as their cooperation with competing teams.

Although it may come as a surprise to many that an all-girl group of arts students could achieve such success in robotics and science, for me, it comes as no surprise.

For many years, studies have shown an arts education to be a key component in contributing to a student's overall academic success. For example, students who participate in sustained arts programs for four or more years score an average of 100 points higher in math and reading on their SATs, according to one study. The arts also influence how our students approach problems with creative solutions.

Our students are not only thriving in STEM on campus, but they're choosing careers in the STEM fields, with 33 percent of our 2016 graduating class going into STEM-related areas of study in college.

At ASA, we are so proud of our Bee Inspired Team and the buzz they are generating about the potential for young people, particularly young women, to succeed in STEM areas. From their innovative ideas to their tenacity in bringing their project to fruition and their inclusiveness with one another and competitor teams, our Bee Inspired Team has inspired all of us!

Leah Fregulia is head of school/CEO for the Arizona School for the Arts.

Read or Share this story: http://azc.cc/2kDwAXN

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My Turn: Arts education paved the way for girls' robotics win - AZCentral.com

Hundreds piled into a Fort Mill gym. They cheered. They competed. They drove robots. – The Herald

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

The Herald

Hundreds piled into a Fort Mill gym. They cheered. They competed. They drove robots.
The Herald
Teams, often multiple from each, came from six Fort Mill schools. They came from Charleston, Spartanburg and Cabarrus County, N.C. The robotics event was open to elementary and middle schools. It's part of a robotics season involving qualifiers and ...

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Hundreds piled into a Fort Mill gym. They cheered. They competed. They drove robots. - The Herald

Center Grove robotics team headed to state competition – Daily Journal

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

The challenge handed to them months ago was to make a robot that would earn points by shooting balls into two corners of a field and into a middle vestibule.

And now, the robots they have spent nearly six months building will compete at a statewide competition.

Center Groves FIRST Tech Challenge teams Panic in the Build Room 8149 and Cyber Storm 6190 will compete at a state competition later this month.

Fourteen-year-old Kris Huff and mentor Dave Stevenson work to finish up the installation of a new motor on Tuesday, February 7, 2017. The Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 will compete in a state competition later this month. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

Thirteen-year-old Jacob Tallman programs a change in the movements of his team's robot on Tuesday, February 7, 2017. The Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 will compete in a state competition later this month. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

Members of the Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 watch as their robot shoots a ball toward a target on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at Center Grove High School. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

Members of the Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 work to replace a faulty motor on their robot Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at Center Grove High School. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

L-R Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 members 15-year-olds Ethan Matei and Josh Stevenson work together to replace a faulty motor on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at Center Grove High School. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 member 15-year-old Ethan Matei attaches a plug to the end of a motor on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at Center Grove High School. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

A cellphone is used to control the robot of Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at Center Grove High School. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

Members of the Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 practice using their robot on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at Center Grove High School. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

A cellphone and video game controllers are used to control the robot of Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at Center Grove High School. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

Center Grove FIRST Tech Challenge team Panic in the Build Room 8149 members work together to replace a faulty motor on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at Center Grove High School. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal

The junior varsity teams are made up of mostly eighth and ninth grade students who can later join the FIRST Red Alert team at Center Grove High School that is mostly sophomore and upper class students. The junior varsity teams earned a berth to state by placing among the top three or four teams at qualifying events across the state, mentor Mark Horne said.

In September, the 28 students, split between the two teams, got their task at the same time as other teams across the world. No blueprints on what the robot should look like or how to build it were shared.

Students had to come up with every aspect of their robot themselves, said Imogen Horne, a freshmen and team captain for Panic in the Build Room.

We figured out what parts of the game we wanted to do, she said.

Then, they got to work.

Students split up into groups and each group came up with a few ideas for one part of the robot. Then, the team came together and decided which ideas were the best and used those as the blueprint of their robot.

We picked the best ideas to build the prototype, she said.

The robots have one cellphone strapped to the top and a second cellphone with a controller allows the students to control their robot.

Now that the state competition is a few weeks away, students may make improvements to their prototype, versus building another robot from scratch, Horne said.

In the past few months, students had to run their robot and decide what worked and what ideas they could come up with to improve their creation, said Annalise Tugan, an eighth-grader at Center Grove Middle School North.

It was a lot of trial and error to put it together and make right, she said.

Their Cyberstorm robot cost $15 to make, with most of the parts coming from recycled parts from past years, said Walker Grove, an eighth-grade student at Center Grove Middle School Central.

Students must make the decisions on how to build their robots to do what they want them to do. Any parts they cant salvage from past projects can be ordered at specialty robotic part websites, students said.

And students must stick to the budget. Each team gets around $5,000 for their season, with money coming from sponsorships and student fundraising. Most of the budget is used up with registration fees for competition, with some competitions costing a few thousand dollars for students to participate in, Horne said.

About 162 students participate in the robotics program district-wide and even students who dont find themselves drawn to engineering or actually building the robot can find a purpose on the robotics team doing other jobs, such as marketing and fundraising, Horne said. The teams work out of the school districts new innovation center, with their own separate area.

There are a lot of different aspects to it, he said.

Excerpt from:

Center Grove robotics team headed to state competition - Daily Journal

Cornerstone Prep robotics team brings home trophy in first year – MDJOnline.com

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

ACWORTH Ten Cornerstone Preparatory Academy students worked like a well-oiled machine last semester by building a robot that took home the first trophy for the schools robotics team at a regional competition.

The fifth- and sixth-grade students from the private kindergarten to 12th grade school in Acworth joined forces to become Stormbots Cornerstones first Lego Robotics team this school year.

The team took home its first trophy, celebrating the teams good sportsmanship, at a Georgia Institute of Technology-sponsored competition in December in Roswell, the first the team had participated in.

Students programmed a robot no bigger than a shoe box to perform tasks such as pushing, pulling and grabbing small objects, said team member David Baines, an 11-year-old fifth-grader from Kennesaw.

In addition to programming the robot before the competition, the students created a five-minute skit to perform for the competitions judges.

Theres a lot more to (robotics) said fifth-grader Isaac Sanchez, 10, of Acworth.

Teams had to present a problem and solution for an environmental issue that affects both animals and humans to satisfy the competitions Animal Allies theme.

The Cornerstone teams skit addressed the possible extinction of honey bees, which is predicted to severely impact humans, said David.

After (honey bees are) extinct, (mankind) will have less than four years of life left, he said.

The skit featured fifth-graders Madelyn Beatty and Sarah Sanabia dressed as bees while fifth-grader Keaton McCollum performed in a head-to-toe yellow outfit as pollen. Patrick Garner, an 11-year-old sixth-grader, performed in a beekeeper outfit provided by Kennesaws Hometown Honey.

Cornerstone won the core values award for their teamwork, and their robots performance landed the team a ticket to a super regionals competition.

The team finished its season after competing in the super regionals on Jan. 14.

With the season over, the fifth-graders are buzzing to continue building the team next year and bring home more trophies.

Cornerstone Prep has an enrollment of 480 students and was founded in 2004.

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Cornerstone Prep robotics team brings home trophy in first year - MDJOnline.com

Robotics Competition slated for Monday – San Angelo Standard Times

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

Jerry Lackey, Special to the Standard-Times Published 2:20 p.m. CT Feb. 12, 2017 | Updated 2:25 p.m. CT Feb. 12, 2017

The Robotics Competition at the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo.(Photo: contributed)

For the second year, Robotics Competition takes the spotlight Monday at the 85th San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo in the Auto Wrangler Livestock Pavilion.

The popular sport is open for 4-H and FFA teams, plus public, private and home-school teams.

Registration is from 8:30 to 10 a.m., and the first round starts at 10:10 for juniors in grades 3-5. Intermediates and seniors will follow. Each division will have two rotations.

Monday at the San Angelo Fairgrounds is perhaps at a slower pace, as barns are cleaned and prepared for the next wave of livestock. The Wells Fargo Pavilion Commercial Exhibits, Creative Arts Building and midway food vendors open at 10 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m. The Alon Carnival will be open from 5-11 p.m.

Tuesday is move-in day for Junior Market Barrow in the swine section of the Auto Wrangler Livestock Pavilion. Across midway at the 1st Community Credit Union Spur Arena, Ag Mechanics Show entries will be setting up starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday. Judges will spend Wednesday evaluating and placing an expected number of entries of more than 600.

Theres much more stock show and four more rodeo performances in this final week. The stock show will culminate with the Junior Premium Sale at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and the rodeos last performance will also be Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with the $100,000 Chute-Out.

Meanwhile, during a lull in competition while new entries arrive, this would be a good time to highlight the Ambassador program which plays a very important part in the SASSRA program, not only during rodeo time but year around.

Some of us remember when the primary function of the Ambassadors was to set pivots for the grand entry and post colors for the National Anthem. Since that time the program has grown to 12 members on the drill team.

These days, the ambassadors perform fast-paced drills during rodeo performances in San Angelo, and around the Lone Star State. The group is required to attend numerous, extensive practices year round to ensure the drills go off without a hitch.

Drill team members must be excellent riders and horsewomen. Page Allison, a junior at Wall High School, is captain. Lauren Feller, who attends Irion County High School in Mertzon, is co-captain.

Other ambassadors include: Shayleigh Albert, Miles Junior High; Mikaela Avila, Wall student; Jordayn Berryhill, Bronte High School; Caylee Hardin, Christoval High School; Susannah Mann, Christoval 8th grader; Lana Mitchell, Christoval senior; Logan Price, Lake View High School sophomore; Maricela Rojas, Christoval senior; Daisy Shivers, Grape Creek High School; Abby Walker, Christoval 8th grader; and Hanna Weatherly, Bronte High School senior.

Jerry Lackey(Photo: Standard-Times file photo)

Jerry Lackey is agriculture editor emeritus. Contact him at jlackey@wcc.net .

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Robotics Competition slated for Monday - San Angelo Standard Times

Lawmakers propose cutting state food benefit program – New Mexico Political Report

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Danzig

16 hours ago 2017 Legislative Session By Justin Horwath | The New Mexican | 16 hours ago

Clyde Mueller//The New Mexican

Debbie Pace, 59, sits on the front steps of her Albuquerque home last week. Pace is on a fixed income and receives $33 per month in food assistance.

Debbie Pace says she cries when she goes to the Smiths grocery store because she cant afford anything.

Pace, 59, of Albuquerque, says she receives just over $730 a month in Supplemental Security Income from the federal program for the disabled and others with little income. She also receives $33 in monthly food stamps.

The $33 in food stamps goes quick, she says. So, she goes to a local church for free food.

Now, Pace, like thousands of other New Mexicans who live on fixed incomes, is faced with having her food stamp benefits cut.

Thats because of the state budget crunch and a proposal to kill a $1.2 million annual state program that supplements federally funded food stamp benefits.

Pace is among some 12,800 New Mexico residents who receive what is known as minimum assistance under the food stamp program, known officially as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Unlike other individuals and families living in poverty, who can receive anywhere from a few hundred dollars to more than $1,100 each month in food stamps, Pace and others on fixed incomes who are disabled or who are 60 or older qualify for the minimum of $16 per month in federally funded food assistance.

Nearly a decade ago, the state began supplementing that assistance, bringing the minimum benefits to between $25 and $30 a month. But with the state grappling with a budget crisis, the Legislative Finance Committee, made up of Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate, has recommended doing away with the state supplement.

While the cut may not seem like much, to people living on slim margins, every dollar counts.

Pace says its appalling that some state officials would even think of cutting the food stamp program for those who cannot work because of disabilities.

She says the state told her she qualifies for only $25 per month in benefits but continues to pay her $33 per month.

The proposal to slash the state supplement to federal food stamp benefits underscores the difficult choices lawmakers face trying to find solutions for the states fiscal crisis, which has been exacerbated in recent years by declining oil and gas revenues.

Over the past decade, New Mexico has been dipping into its general fund to increase the minimum food stamp benefit for residents on fixed incomes, said Ruth Hoffman, director of Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-New Mexico, who helped state officials develop the program in 2007.

Gov. Susana Martinez opposes the LFC proposal. A competing budget proposal by the governor would keep the funding in place.

She championed it, Hoffman said of the governors advocacy for the program since she took office in 2011.

Kyler Nerison, a spokesman for the state Human Services Department, said the program provides important benefits and that the governors budget proposal calls for state government to live within its means not force the most vulnerable New Mexicans to tighten their belts.

Hoffman said many seniors receiving monthly Social Security benefits didnt believe applying for food assistance was worth the trouble if they would receive only $16 per month. But applications for food assistance by those on fixed incomes increased after the state hiked the minimum benefit to $25 per month, according to Hoffman, who said the extra money may not seem like much but can buy eggs, meat and other items.

Sovereign Hager, staff attorney with the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, said the proposal to cut the program is a direct result of the state not raising adequate revenue to fund government while giving tax breaks to corporations.

Food insecurity among New Mexicos elderly, which is among the worst in the nation, has decreased in the past decade with the states funding of the program, she said.

We do not want this to backslide, Hager said.

Christine Boerner, senior fiscal analyst at the Legislative Finance Committee, said the state was able to use federal stimulus money to launch the program in 2008 during the recession.

Boerner told the Senate Finance Committee this month that the Legislative Finance Committee recommended cutting the program because the state budget crisis makes it difficult for us to supplement that for the general fund when its a federal program, and the federal government has decided what the minimum SNAP benefit would be for these folks who have relatively higher incomes.

Sen. Nancy Rodriguez, D-Santa Fe, said the $1.2 million the state pays for the program is really not a large amount considering the number of seniors it serves across the state.

You know, with $25 a month, I think we could do better, Rodriguez said. Cutting them with that respect doesnt seem like the right thing to do. There are priorities here.

Contact Justin Horwath at 505-986-3017 or jhorwath@sfnewmexican.com.

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Lawmakers propose cutting state food benefit program - New Mexico Political Report

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