Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology (BEST)
Dates: Fall, 2003
Description: You probably have heard of the US FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics competition, but you may not have heard of the BEST robotics competition. With goals very similar to FIRST, BEST stands for Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology. Both competitions are based on a six-week design, construct, and compete cycle where technical professionals are teamed with high school students. The radio-controlled robots are constructed from a fixed set of parts provided to the teams. The BEST competition resembles a sporting event, complete with bands, cheerleaders, and screaming parents. BEST was started in 1993 by engineers at Texas Instruments who liked FIRST, but wanted to put more emphasis on having the students do the work and to make the program available at no cost to the schools; competing in FIRST requires several thousand dollars per school. San Antonio BEST (SA BEST) was started in 1994 (the second BEST "hub") and has grown from 12 teams during that first year to an expected 32 teams in 2001. Over this same period, BEST has expanded to over 16 hubs in 7 states - most hubs are Texas, but the hubs stretch east as far as Illinois and Kentucky.
In addition to relying on the community for financial support, we rely on engineers and other technical professionals to volunteer their time to mentor the students. Once involved, most engineers have as much fun as the students do - we sometimes have to remind them that the game is for the kids.
Contact Info: If you or your company would like to get involved, or would like more information, please contact SWE San Antonio member Wiede Cutshall at wcutshall@hotmail.com. More info is also available at the San Antonio BEST web-site.
There is now an Austin BEST program so if you are interested, please contact Wiede for information on what volunteering entails but check out this web-site for contact information for Austin. Check out this link for info on Austin BEST