NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 28, 2006

Contact: Contact: Mike Emery
713.743.8186 (office)
713.415.6551 (pager)
pemery@uh.edu

ROBOTS GEAR UP FOR STIFF COMPETITION IN UH BOTBALL TOURNAMENT

Don’t let the name fool you. Botball may sound like an interplanetary android competition, but it’s actually a friendly game using robotics to teach science, mathematics, engineering and technology. Middle and high school students will engage in this educational challenge during the Texas Regional Botball Tournament on Saturday, March 11, at the University of Houston.

For the fourth year in a row, UH is involved with this educational event, which is free and open to the public. Hosted by the UH College of Technology’s Coordination of Robotics Education (CORE), it will feature student teams from Texas schools who will construct robots using sensors, motors, software and LEGO® pieces. Teams will then program their robots to complete specific tasks on a 4-foot-8-inch board. Remote control devices are not allowed in the competition.

“Robotics is an effective teaching tool,” said Enrique Barbieri, CORE director and professor of engineering technology. “Many students have a familiarity with robots through movies and television, but they don’t realize that the technology that makes robots do what they do is used in our everyday lives. Whether it’s an alarm clock or a programmable microwave oven, robotics concepts are all around us. ”

CORE is part of the College of Technology’s Center for Technology Literacy, which trains and supports Texas technology educators.

For more information about the Texas Regional Botball Robotics Tournament, contact Taresa Mikle at
713-743-1855 or tmikle@central.uh.edu.

WHAT: Texas Regional Botball Robotics Tournament
WHEN: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. Saturday, March 11
WHERE: University of Houston
University Center – Houston Room (Room 251, Second floor)
Entrance 1 off Calhoun Rd.
WHO: University of Houston’s College of Technology

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.