By Charley Falkenburg, Staff Writer
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MONTGOMERY The Township Committee had a special visitor on Feb. 7 “Jordan,” an award winning robot that appears to be able to shoot more baskets more accurately than most humans.
Jordan is the creation of the Montgomery High robotics team. This robot has made Team 1403 a fierce contender among other high school teams in the region, who all compete in the annual For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) competitions.
On Feb. 7 the Township Committee honored the team and Jordanfor their accomplishments with a proclamation.
”There are so many wonderful groups and teams in the schools, but I wanted to recognize the robotics team because of how they promote the love of science and engineering,” said Mayor Ed Trzaska.
That night, the mayor and the committee saw Jordan in action.
Comprised of a tube-shaped structure, sensors, a reliable electric board and a sturdy drive train, Jordan is able to shoot balls consistently. In fact, its consistency led Team 1403 to call it “Jordan” after basketball star Michael Jordan.
As a result, Jordan has led the team to its most successful year in FIRST Robotics competitions. In 2012, the Cougars were finalists and won the Motorola Quality Award at two Mid-Atlantic Regional competitions at Rutgers University and Mount Olive.
The string of successes show what a long way Team 1403 has come since it first came on the map nine years ago with 35 members. Now, Team 1403 has more than 100 members, with an influx of 50 freshmen participants this year alone.
Committeewoman Christine Madrid and Mayor Trzaska were particularly pleased to hear 16 members were girls a high number in a science and engineering field, which is often considered male-dominated.
”As an engineer myself, I know our country needs more kids pursuing these disciplines,” said Mayor Trzaska. “I was happy to hear this year’s team includes 16 girls and that the number continues to increase.”
The teenagers before the committee might have been young, but many were already able to list career fields they plan on conquering. From mechanical and airspace to civil and biomedical, they all appeared to have their sights on some type of engineering in their futures.
Right now, Team 1403 is hard at work preparing for the championship in April in St. Louis, Mo. They will be up against 2,500 other teams consisting of more than 50,000 high school students across 58 regions and 17 districts. They have six weeks to build a robot that can fling as many colored Frisbees into matching goals during a two minute and 15 second match. The robot must also climb up pyramids and end by hanging from the pyramid.
”It’s a real time crunch,” added Mr. Leicht.
Thus far, they have a 90 degree shooter made entirely out of aluminum that can fling Frisbees about 65 feet.
The challenge might have seemed daunting, but it appeared to make the mayor, who is a civil engineer himself, a little envious.
”This makes me bittersweet hat I didn’t get to do this when I was growing up,” he said, eliciting murmurs of agreement from the adults in the room.
It’s not exactly an inexpensive activity and costs about $5,000 to enter FIRST competitions and receive a kit of basic parts. However, Team 1403 continually raises its own money through sponsors, donations and grants.
In addition to spreading science and technology fever, FIRST Robotics offers $16 million in scholarships. Mr. Leicht said the odds of winning a scholarship from FIRST are 1 in 4.
Despite the exciting prospect of a scholarship, it seemed the team as well the committee was more eager to see what Team 1403 whips up for the championship.
”The quality of their robots are amazing and they keep getting better every year,” said Mayor Trzaska. “I look forward to seeing the new robot in action.”
For more information and updates on Team 1403’s progress, check out their website at www.cougarrobotics.com.

