NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., is awarding 25 high school
teams with sponsorships to compete in a robotics competition.

Sponsorships include funding to pay for the $5,000 entry fee to the First (For
Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), Southern California regional
competition, and in some cases pay for travel costs for one person to attend the January
kickoff meeting in Manchester, N.H. A local kickoff in Los Angeles will be available to
schools unable to travel to N.H.

The competitions are organized by First, a non-profit organization whose mission is to
generate an interest in science and technology. The First robotics competition aims to inspire
students, provide hands-on activities and foster teamwork. The program allows students to
work with engineers to build a robot. Each year, students get a task that their robot must
perform and a kit with nuts, bolts and other materials to get them started.

JPL is sponsoring the Southern California regional competition, which is the most
popular regional in the country, with more than 59 schools indicating interest. It is one of 13
competitions across the United States. The competition will take place April 4 to April 6,
2002 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The national robotics competition will be held
at Walt Disney World’s Epcot Center in Orlando, Fla., April 25 to April 27, 2002. More than
530 teams are expected.

Information on First is available at: http://www.usfirst.org/ . Managed for NASA by
the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, JPL is the lead U.S. center for robotic
exploration of the solar system.

A complete list of all the NASA sponsorship winners is available at:
http://robots.larc.nasa.gov/ .

A list of the JPL awardees follows (all in California unless otherwise noted):

1. Arcadia High School, Arcadia
2. Cactus High School, Glendale, Ariz.
3. California Academy of Math & Science, Carson
4. Carl Hayden Community High School, Phoenix, Ariz.
5. Casa Grande Union High School, Casa Grande, Ariz.
6. Clark Magnet High School, La Crescenta
7. Coastal Academy, Torrance
8. Crescenta Valley High School, La Crescenta
9. Culver City High School, Culver City
10. Frazier Mountain High School, Lebec
11. Immaculate Heart High School, Los Angeles
12. Ironwood High School, Glendale, Ariz.
13. Jordan High School, Los Angeles
14. La Canada High School, La Canada
15. Pinewood Academy, La Canada Flintridge
16. Rolling Hills Prep School, Palos Verdes Estates
17. South High School, Bakersfield
18. South Mountain High School, Phoenix, Ariz.
19. Susan Miller Dorsey High School, Los Angeles
20. The Preuss School at UCSD, La Jolla
21. University High School, Los Angeles
22. Van Nuys High School, Van Nuys
23. Vanden High School, Fairfield
24. West Covina High School, West Covina
25. William Howard Taft High School, Woodland Hills