The San Francisco FIRST Robotics Competition Regional, held at St. Ignatius High School, was a fantastic event! The venue buzzed with excitement and welcomed VIPs including Patti and Eric Poppe from PG&E/DreamMaker Foundation, Matt Hayes, VP of Safety at PG&E, and Senator Scott Weiner. Their presence underscored the importance of community and corporate support in nurturing the next generation of engineers and scientists.
PG&E was very involved in the event with a screening of their “Unlock the Future” social impact film about FIRST Team Project 212, providing safety glasses and discussing internship opportunities at their booth.
At the mentor luncheon, Eric Schoenman of PG&E shared mentorship insights and at the Women in STEM event, Norma Grubb, PG&E Director of Data Science, provided a dynamic forum for encouraging young women to pursue careers in STEM fields.
We’d like to extend an immense THANK YOU to all the sponsors, mentors and volunteers who contributed to this very successful Regional.
AWARDS
FIRST Impact Award
The FIRST Impact Award is the most prestigious award at FIRST, it honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST.
The FIRST Impact Award is presented to the team judged to have the most significant measurable impact of its partnerships among its participants and community over a sustained period, not just a single build season. The winner is able to demonstrate progress towards FIRST’s mission of transforming our culture. The recipient team will be invited to a FIRST Championship where it will compete for the FIRST Impact Award against winners from other qualifying events.
- Team 1700, Gatorbotics from Palo Alto, CA (Championship Qualifying Award)
This team creates an expanding curriculum for youth STEM education, spearheads engineering programs at their school, and bridges communities across the peninsula and the world. With a robust commitment to supporting Women in STEM, they leverage their position in their community to ensure strong fundamentals in their pond. This team gears up local underserved communities making truly accessible programs for all. Leaving their shallow waters, they’re spreading their STEM curriculum across oceans to help alleviate poverty and empower women. These green chompers are unstoppable.
Engineering Inspiration
The Engineering Inspiration Award celebrates outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team’s school and community. This team will advance to the Championships and receive a $5000 NASA grant toward registration.
- Team 2854, The Prototypes from San Jose, CA (Championship Qualifying Award)
This team stood out for their ability to measure the results of their outreach programs. In addition to mentoring or assisting over 40 FIRST teams, they targeted female representation through SWE Next and girls clubs. As a result their team went from just 2 girls to over 20 in a year. This team really puts their ideas to the test.
Regional Winners
- Team 114, Eaglestrike from Los Altos, CA (Championship Qualifying Award)
- Team 5940, BREAD from Redwood City, CA (Championship Qualifying Award)
- Team 5507, Robotic Eagles from San Francisco, CA (Championship Qualifying Award – wildcard)
Dean’s List Finalist
In an effort to recognize the leadership and dedication of FIRST’s most outstanding FRC students, the Kamen family sponsors an award for selected top students known as the FIRST Dean’s List. This award celebrates a student’s outstanding leadership and effectiveness in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering and engineers, both within their school, as well as their community. FIRST Dean’s List Finalists will compete at the championship for the FIRST Dean’s List.
- Sophia D from Team 6962, Antares
- Mikayla M from Team 4186, Alameda Aztechs
Woodie Flowers Finalist Award
FIRST stands apart from other competitions in STEM and sports due to the FIRST Ethos of Gracious Professionalism, the concept of Coopertition, and the commitment to the FIRST Core Values. The guiding force behind these principles was Dr. Woodie Flowers. Dr. William Murphy, Jr., who was instrumental in creating the concept of FIRST with Dean Kamen, recognized the unique perspective, wisdom, and communication style that Woodie brought to the FIRST Robotics Competition.
In honor of Woodie, Dr. Murphy founded the Woodie Flowers Award in 1996. He recognized that the FIRST ethos would be carried forward by our FIRST mentors and sought to celebrate those mentors who demonstrate the leadership, ethical behavior, and communication skills exemplified by Woodie. Woodie believed “societies get the best of what they celebrate”.
Being recognized by students, through nomination essays, makes this honor very meaningful to mentors. It is truly an honor for a mentor to be nominated for this award.
- Alexis Tuason from Team 6418, The Missfits
Additional Awards
Congratulations to the Teams and individuals that earned the remaining awards at the San Francisco Regional! See the list here.