Gates Corporation awards scholarships to students in robotics competition

Gates Corporation on June 22 announced it has awarded scholarships to three high school seniors who competed in the 2010 FIRST Robotics Team competition, using a Gates belt drive on their competition robots. As a Diamond Supplier-sponsor of the FIRST competition, Gates provided both components and monetary contributions for the non-for-profit organization’s annual science and technology competition.

Competing for the Gates scholarships in a field of 46 applicants, seniors Garima Gupta of Jacksonville, Fla.; Chris Parkins of Ogden, Utah; and Andrew Stoecker of Colorado Springs, Colo., each submitted a winning robotic project to the 2010 FIRST competition. They also successfully answered a challenge question posed by the Gates Industrial Power Transmission Selection Committee. Challenge questions required students to apply the kind of “out of the box” innovation and creativity demanded of real-world engineers. Their successful efforts earned each student a non-renewable $2,000 scholarship.

As an additional reward, the students and their parents were invited to visit the Gates Technical Center in Rochester Hills, Mich., one of Gates global technical centers dedicated to power transmission research and development. During their visits, the students and their families were hosted by Gates executive and technical leaders, who provided tours of the facilities. Meetings with technical and engineering staff members provided students the opportunity to learn about new projects underway and get a first-hand look at high-tech engineering and test labs.

“For the students, having the opportunity to experience the inner workings of Gates engineering and technical centers offers a great head start as they consider future careers,” said Tribby Warfield, President, Gates Power Transmission North America, who hosted the students. “For Gates and our parent company, Tomkins, this first-time competition underscores our belief in the importance of encouraging students in pursuing careers in science and technology. By associating with the prestigious FIRST competition, we can bring the best of business and engineering together on behalf of students, and hopefully instill an appreciation of the engineering profession that will last a lifetime.”

About FIRST
Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With support from three out of every five Fortune 500 companies and nearly $12 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) and FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) for high-school students, FIRST LEGO League (FLL) for 9 to 14-year-olds, (9 to 16-year-olds outside the U.S. and Canada) and Junior FIRST LEGO League (Jr.FLL) for 6 to 9-year-olds. Gracious Professionalism is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org.

About Gates Corporation
Gates Corporation is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial and automotive products, systems and component with operations in 33 countries. Gates maintains sales and marketing operations in every major industrial and automotive market, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East. Gates is part of the Industrial & Automotive group of Tomkins plc, a global engineering group with revenue of $4.2 billion in 2009. Tomkins plc has more than 25,000 employees worldwide and enjoys strong market positions and technical leadership across all of its business activities and owns some of the best-known brands in their respective markets.