N E W S R E L E A S E

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 25, 2008 Contact: Communication and Media Relations, 678-301-6020

Gwinnett ninth grade engineering students win robotics tournament

A team of students from Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and

Technology (GSMST) finished in the top 10 in the “Georgia First Tech Challenge

Championship Tournament.” Their eighth-place finish is especially significant

considering these ninth graders competed against experienced engineering high

school students, many in higher grades.

“This group of ninth graders stood up to the pressure, knew what they wanted to

accomplish, performed flawlessly, and at the end of the scoring, had won the

Georgia State Championship in their very first year of competition.” explains Dr.

Chuck Lockert, GSMST engineering teacher. “Numerous parents attending the

event found themselves hoarse from yelling their support to this remarkable group

who didn’t know the meaning of the word quit. Our students never gave up and

controlled their invention -- their baby, their robot with great skill and daring.”

Dr. Lockert refers to the robot the ninth-grade students designed, known as a

robot of VEX parts. “VEX,” he explains, “is a line of robotic parts designed to be

assembled into a multitude of configurations.” The GSMST students learned to use

various structural members, motors, microcomputers, transmitters, and computer

programming in order for the robot to complete various tasks.

This year’s competition held at the DeVry University Decatur Campus,

involved picking up plastic rings and placing them on objects at different heights.

The higher the robot would ring a goal, the greater the score. The students had to

determine their game strategy and design their robot to maximize their play.

--30--