Join us September 19th for CT FIRST University Day

Graciously hosted by Northeast Utilities

Registration starts at 7AM with Opening Ceremonies to begin at 8AM

Pre-Register to secure your spot in any particular seminar

**$5/ person entrance fee, payable at the door. CASH ONLY PLEASE.

Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Please scroll down for a list of workshops and their descriptions. Workshops will be held from 9AM until 4PM, with a break for lunch at 12 noon. Workshops are segregated by individual FIRST programs - Junior FIRST LEGO League (grades K-3), FIRST LEGO League (grades 4-8), FIRST Tech Challenge (grades 9-12), and FIRST Robotics Competition (grades 9-12).

Workshop List

Open to All Programs

Introduction to FIRST - (9:15 - 10:15AM) - Sue Glasspiegel, Regional Director CT

Learn about how you and your company can get involved in FIRST and help promote science, technology, engineering, esteem and mathematics to Connecticut's youth.

We've Got Spirit, How About You? (1:45 - 4PM) - Presenter TBD

Bring your team cheers and spirit items to share in this interactive session. Participants will learn about team identity, team spirit, giveaways and learn the FIRST "standard" dances!

"Smart Products of the Future" - Panel Discussion on Emerging Technologies (12:30 - 1:30PM)

Facilitator: Michael Sperber; Panelists: Kathleen Kinsella, edgelab; Camilo Serna, Northeast Utilities; Larry Moulthrop, Proton Energy Systems

Jr. FIRST Lego League (grades K-3)

ONLY COACHES/MENTORS PLEASE

Starting, Funding, Running a Team (1:45 - 2:45PM) - Seema Winsor

Seema Winsor, along with Peter Dowling and 3 daughters, has run Stamford Robotics and SMART for 6 years. She has coordinated a JFLL Expo for the last 3 years. She has been recognized as a driving force and guiding inspiration for robotics education in Fairfield County.

Game Overview (3:00 - 4:00PM) - Seema Winsor

This year's game is Body Forward - Biomedical engineering.

FIRST Lego League (grades 4-8)

ONLY COACHES/MENTORS PLEASE

Morning Sessions

Starting, Running a team, Core values, Teamwork (9:15 - 10:15AM) - Mike Gentry

Why and how to get started with an FLL team. Topics include team building, judging at the competitions, and hints for running a successful team. Mike Gentry is the FLL affiliate partner in Connecticut and is involved in all four FIRST programs.

Tournament Schedule (10:15 - 10:45AM) -  Rick Vogl

What to expect for the qualifying events and the state tournament. Specific dates and locations will be announced along with a basic overview of how the day runs. (Specific to Connecticut.) Rick runs a qualifying tournament in Connecticut.

Project Presentations (10:45 - 11:45AM) - Al Trudeau

Brief overview of topic and resources for project. Judging rubrics will be discussed with a brief 2010 Body Forward Mission overview. Al Troudeau has been the head referee and table reseter for 5 of the last 6 years. He will go through the mission setup, scoring and the rules for the game.

Afternoon Sessions

NXT Programming for Beginners (1:45 - 4:00PM) - Bill Bourn

Bill Bourn is the head of the Glastonbury FLL team, The Terminators - high scorers at last year's state tournament.

NXT Programming Advanced (1:45 - 4:00PM) - Peter Dowling

Use NXT G for more advanced programming - sensor use and decision branching. This year's game requires the use of sensors not only to know where to send the robot, but when to stop it as well. Learn how in this seminar with Peter Dowling. Peter has been involved with FLL robotics for over 6 years. He has mentored a team, been a judge and overseen scoring at the local and state level.

FIRST Tech Challenge (grades 9-12)

STUDENTS WELCOME

Game Release Video - to be run on a loop throughout the day

FTC teams/mentors are welcome to sign up for most FRC seminars

FIRST Robotics Competition (grades 9-12)

Seminars limited to FRC teams are marked with **

STUDENTS WELCOME

Please note times when selecting your seminars

TIMS (All day) - Nicole Awwad

Need help registering your team in TIMS? There will be computers provided in the cafeteria for you to get into the new system, and someone right around the corner to help you with any of your questions. Bring all the information you might need to register!  Nicole is an Americorps VISTA (Volunteer in Service to America) working for FIRST in Connecticut.

Morning Sessions

**New Mentor Workshop (9:15 - 11:45AM) - Dana and Lynne Henry, Jack and Kathie Kentfield (intended for FRC teams)

Join us as we go over the program season and answer any questions you might have. The Henry's and Kentfield's are longtime mentors and volunteers for FIRST.  

Pro/ENGINEER Introduction (9:15 - 11:45AM) - Adam Haas, PTC

A workshop for those who have never used Pro/ENGINEER or have tried to but need a better understanding of the basic concepts. Topics covered will be Understanding the Interface, Working Directories, Spin, Pan, Zoom, Selection Techniques and Sketcher. Adam Haas is an application engineer at PTC.

The Animation Process (9:15 - 11:45AM) - Mike Astrachan, XVIVO

Mike Astrachan, Creative Director and Partner of XVIVO LLC, will discuss the animation production process including - writing a script, creating a storyboard, developing the animation, programming, producing voice overs, music and sound effects, editing and delivery of final master copy.

Fundraising (9:15 - 10:30AM) - Carolyn Singer

Carolyn Singer recently resigned from her grant writing position at FIRST headquarters. Carolyn will have an array of new ideas/ old fool-proof ideas for team fundraising.

LabVIEW Basics (9:15 - 11:45AM)- Chris Bakker, National Instruments

In the LabVIEW basics class we will be covering the fundamentals of graphical programming. How to navigate, create graphical user interfaces, identify and use the available programming structures, identify and use the available functions, and the basic principles of communications.

 Afternoon Sessions

Team Organization and Communication (1:45 - 4:00PM) - Kathie Kentfield

Kathie Kentfield, FIRST Senior Mentor, will share ideas and suggestions for organizing your team and stregthening your communcation skills - two areas teams often struggle with!

**FRC Inspection Process (1:45 - 4:00PM) - Mike Betts (intended for FRC teams)

Join Mike for an overview of the inspection process with emphasis on the purpose of robot inspections and the milestones that teams must meet to participate at a regional competition. Mike, Lead Robot Inspector at the CT Regional, will also cover common mistakes that rookie teams make. Disclaimer: The rules of the competition vary from year to year. Therefore, some of what Mike presents will be superseded in January.

 Pro/ENGINEER Advanced (1:45 - 4:00PM) - Adam Haas, PTC

A workshop for those who have used Pro/ENGINEER and understand the basic concepts but would like to move beyond the basics. Topics covered will be Managing Files, Sketcher, 2D Concept Sketching, Part Modeling and Assembly Modeling. Adam Haas is an application engineer at PTC.

**Chairman's Award (1:45 - 4:00PM)- FRC Team 236, Techno Ticks (intended for FRC teams)

How, after 7 years, the Techno Ticks changed their preparation for the championship and were finally successful. Why the drive for this award helped define their team and in some ways changed their school.

Introduction to FIRST Programming using C++ and Java (1:45 - 4:00PM) - Brad Miller, WPI

Includes an introduction to using the power distribution board. Brad Miller is Associate DIrector of the Robotics Resource Center at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

 LabVIEW Advanced (1:45 - 4:00PM) - Newton de Faria, National Instruments

In the LabVIEW advanced class we will assume understanding of the basics and address programming style, dashboards, data flow, design patterns like producer/consumer and state machines, performance evaluation, memory usage and management, as well as some of the FRC LabVIEW functions.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Facilities and security generously provided by Northeast Utilities
Expenses for food and mentor recognition decals generously covered by ING
Programs generously printed by Konica-Minolta Business Systems