Kudos to SolidWorks for a program full of fascinating speakers of interest to engineers as engineers, as designers, as people. And none of them plugged SolidWorks.

Today's speaker was Dean Kamen, inventor, entrepreneur, and founder of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). Dean's vision: “ …to create a world where science and technology are celebrated….  where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes….”

The purpose of FIRST is to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology. Based in Manchester, N.H., it designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math.

FIRST provides two well-known programs, the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) for high-school students and FIRST LEGO® League (FLL) for 9 to 14 year-olds. FIRST also offers the Junior FIRST LEGO League (JFLL) for 6- to 9-year-olds and the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), an intermediate robotics competition that offers high-school-aged students the traditional challenge of FRC, but with a more accessible and affordable robotics kit. FIRST also operates a research and development facility called FIRST Place at its headquarters.

If you would like to help kids understand the opportunities available in engineering and science careers, get involved in FIRST as a volunteer! Click here for details.