As a kid, did you sit in math or science class and wonder "when will I ever use this?" What if a teacher had said to you:"To make this a bit more relevant, we're going to design, build and program a 120-pound, 5 foot tall robot that will move on its own and complete a complicated task. You'll be using math and physics to determine things such as the torque required to lift a giant arm on your robot. We'll be using real pneumatics and motors, designing it using CAD software, programming it using C++, and machining it ourselves using a CNC machine. Then we'll travel to a competition where we'll compete against 200 other robots from around the world in a three-day contest. "

Might you have come to school excited each day? Might that have inspired you to pursue an engineering degree?Such a program is going on in our local high schools right now! As the volunteer coaches of the Coeur d'Alene High School TeraViks FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team, we help our students get first-hand engineering and business experience in a fun and very competitive way. FIRST (www.usfirst.org) has more than 2,200 teams in high schools around the globe. It's called "the varsity sport for the mind," and combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology. It's as close to "real-world engineering" as a student can get.

In 2010, the TeraViks won the very prestigious Rookie All Star Award at the Oregon Regional Competition and went on to the FIRST World Championship in Atlanta. This year, the team was presented with a very special "Judge's Award." There are also FIRST Robotics teams at Post Falls, Lake City, Timberlake, Lakeland and Bonners Ferry high schools. As coaches of the TeraViks, we strive to ensure that every graduating senior on our robotics team goes on to college. FIRST offers over $12M in scholarships! It takes around $15,000 to build our robot and compete in one regional event. Our team is 100 percent funded by donations from companies and individuals - not from the school budget. We heartily thank Sunshine Minting, Esterline/Advanced Input Systems, ExtraTech, Discover Technology, McAllister Technical Services, the Kiwanis Club, NASA, IBM, Platt, Transtector, and many individuals for sponsoring our team. We also have a group of mentors - experienced engineers and business professionals - who volunteer hundreds of hours guiding the students on our team. Glenn Eaton, Martin Mueller, Andrew Ball, Leighton Wall, Ronnie Ross and Tim Lovlyn - thank you so very much!

With all the challenges going on in our schools, people need to know that an exceptional program like FIRST Robotics is present here in North Idaho! If you have or know of a student in high school who would benefit from this team, please let your school know. Also, we want all businesses in Cd'A to be aware of this team and program - our students would be pleased to come to your place of business to speak! Please feel free to contact us at cdarobotics@gmail.com should you have any questions.

Brian and Pam Induni are coaches of the CHS FIRST Robotics Competition team.