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SUBWAY RIDE TO SUCCESS

More than a dozen students from Morris High School took the subway
from the South Bronx to Columbia's campus to build a robot. For
eight weeks, the team worked every day after school and on weekends.
Under the guidance of Bob Stark, manager of the Mechanical Engineering
laboratory, the team strategized, designed and built a robot.
"The contest was more than just building a robot," said
Stark. "It also involved strategy." The robot was built
to move across a playing court, spin 360 degrees, raise itself up
to a height of six feet on a scissors jack and sink basketball-sized
rubber balls through a net.
The contest is sponsored by the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition
of Science and Technology) Foundation, with more than 400 schools
participating nationwide. The Morris High robot was entered in the
regional competition at Rutgers University.
The Bronx students won The Judges' Award, given to the team that
has overcome notable challenges in order to achieve a high level,
and the Presidential Classroom Scholarship Award, given to the team
captain.
"We have really made a difference," said Vice Dean Morton
B. Friedman, "because these students have been able to apply
in the lab what they learned in the classroom." The University
will host the next regional Robotics Design Competition on campus
in March, 2001.
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