BW Promotes STEM Education as a Top-Tier Supplier for FIRST Robotics Competition
Commitment of Funds, Products and Support for Thirteen Consecutive Years Provides Life-Changing Opportunities and Technical Experience to Students.
Pittsburg, Calif. – March 4, 2020 – Bishop-Wisecarver (BW), a trusted industrial automation company offering proven linear and rotary motion solutions that are expertly designed and delivered to perform, is promoting the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education as a Crown Supplier at the national level for the 2020 FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC®). Now in its thirteenth year of sponsoring the FRC, Bishop-Wisecarver (BW) has helped thousands of students learn vital STEM-based skills and gain real-world job skills and experience such as problem-solving, cooperation, leadership and time management.
“Sponsoring the FIRST program is an opportunity for us to not only encourage STEM education, but to also promote the critical thinking and real-world skills needed for students to succeed in their future careers,” said Pamela Kan, President of Bishop-Wisecarver. “It is inspiring to watch these students work hard and think outside the box in the design phase and then effectively communicate with each other to solve any challenges that arise during the competitions. We are proud to be in our thirteenth year of sponsoring the FIRST program and knowing the positive impact it is having in our community and throughout the world.”
FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people and now includes several different competitions for various age groups and interests. The 2020 FRC program will include more than 4,000 teams with 100,000 youth team members from around the globe.
As a select Crown Supplier, BW has donated more than $250,000 of MadeWell® radial wheels and DualVee® wheels and tracks for the 2020 FRC competition that allow students to use vee groove wheel bearings on 90-degree vee tracks to create high load capacity linear guides. These products are offered to all teams who then have a limited time to design, build and program their robots for this season’s INFINITE RECHARGE challenge and competitions.
In addition to being a Crown Supplier, the highest level for the program, BW is sponsoring four California-based FIRST teams to help fund their projects and travel to regional competitions in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Fresno and Davis, California, as well as Arizona:
FRC Team 253 - Boba Bots 253 - Mills High School, Millbrae, CA
FRC Team 5430 - Pirate Robolution Crew - Pittsburg High School, Pittsburg, CA
FRC Team 6619 - GravitechX- Livermore High School, Livermore, CA
FRC Team 7137 - Project 212- Ygnacio Valley High School, Concord, CA
“Being on an FRC team has helped me grow immensely over the past few years,” said Roxanne Liang, Technical Captain, Boba Bots 253 of Mills High School. “Not only have I gained many technical skills, including the ability to use power tools and CAD software, but I have also learned invaluable public speaking and leadership skills. Prior to joining the team, I was the shy girl who would hide behind the project during class presentations. Now, I am leading a team of more than 60 members, coordinating with mentors, administration, and sponsors and presenting to people of all ages and interests about our team.”
About FIRST
FIRST® is a robotics community that prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 (PreK-12) that can be facilitated in school or in structured afterschool programs. An international not-for-profit organization founded by accomplished inventor Dean Kamen in 1989, FIRST has a proven impact on STEM learning, interest, and skill-building well beyond high school. Boosted by a global support system of mentors, coaches, volunteers, alumni, and sponsors that include over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies, teams operate under a signature set of FIRST Core Values to conduct research, fundraise, design, and build robots, then compete and celebrate at local, regional, and international events. High school students are eligible for more than $80 million in college scholarships. Learn more at firstinspires.org.
About Bishop-Wisecarver
Bishop-Wisecarver’s proven linear and rotary motion solutions are expertly designed and delivered to perform, enabling customers to solve their toughest industrial automation challenges. Leveraging nearly 70 years of experience, from custom machine building to industrial automation solutions, BW has earned the reputation of providing unmatched quality, reliability, service and engineering support for every stage of a customer’s design and production cycle. Combining long-lasting performance with ease of installation, Bishop-Wisecarver’s linear and rotary motion solutions, custom complex assemblies, and technical engineering design and support offer the lowest cost of ownership for a wide variety of applications ranging from Aerospace to Medical to X-Y-Z systems and more. No matter the application or extreme environmental conditions, Bishop-Wisecarver designs innovative solutions from concept to completion, from prototype to production, on time and on budget. To learn more, please visit www.bwc.com.
Media Contacts:
Erika Powelson
Powelson Communications for Bishop-Wisecarver
408-781-4981
erika@powelsoninc.com
