FIRST LEGO League: AIChE Members Help Students Engineer the Future - Building Block by Building Block

Two AIChE members are showing middle school students how to get in gear for a greener future.

John Weidner and Edward Gatzke - chemical engineering professors at the Univ. of South Carolina (USC) - are among the creatore of the FIRST LEGO League's 2007 "Power Puzzle" Challenge. The challenge, part of an annual technology competition sponsored by the not-for-profit organization FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), introduces tens of tiiousands of young people to concepts in scientific thinking and real world problem-solving.

Founded by inventor Dean Kamen, FIRST'S mission is to inspire students' interest and participation in science and technology. Using LEGO Mindstorms technologies and LEGO play materials, children aged 9-14 work alongside adult mentors to design, build and program robots to perform intricate tasks in an arena competition. More than 10,000 teams from 38 countries are involved in the Power Puzzle, which this year draws attention to energy management and conservation.

Power Puzzle challenges are underway at more man 300 qualifying events. These culminate at the FIRST LEGO League World Festival and Championship, Apr. 17-19, 2008, in Atlanta's Georgia Dome. Eighty-four teams from 27 countries will compete.

The creation of the Power Puzzle called for the expertise of engineers like Weidner and Gatzke - who not only had the necessary technical knowledge, but had also been long-time participants in LEGO League programs.

Since FIRST LEGO League's (FLL) 1998 inception, the South Carolina state tournament has been was one of the nation's largest. Engineers, college faculty and their students have been among the legion of volunteers needed to run the competitions.

In 2002, the South Carolina Dept. of Education asked USCs College of Engineering and Computing to take over the state FLL tournament. John Weidner, whose own children had been participating in the LEGO League, agreed to serve as coordinator of the 2003 "Mission to Mars" challenge. Weidner soon found himself hooked on the concept.

"It was extremely rewarding to watch 9-14-year-old kids handling real engineering issues of teamwork, time constraints, and technical topics - gears, motors and structures," says Weidner. He coordinated the 2004 "No Limits" competition, which involved engineering solutions to accommodate people with disabilities, 2005's "Ocean Odyssey," which asked students to select a sea resource or human activity, and to trace its impact on the ocean's health, biodiversity and productivity, and 2006's "Nano Quest," where students used LEGO elements to visualize engineering tasks conducted on the micro-scale.

During this time, Weidner asked his USC colleague Ed Gatzke, who had been judging local FLL competitions, to act as his head referee. "I've had fun with LEGO toys since I was a small child. I currently have my children playing with LEGOs," says Gatzke.

Gatzke notes that the LEGO League's focus on robotics and construction may not seem like an obvious fit with chemical engineering, but it does relate to his own process control research. "The students typically run everything in open-loop, rarely using sensors," says Gatzke. "But at least they are getting exposure to technology in a fun and creative way."

When FIRST wanted to develop an energy-themed challenge, John and Ed were a logical choice for the design team. "FIRST knew that we were passionate about the program," says Weidner, "and when they heard that Ed and I perform research on fuel cells and hydrogen, they asked us to help design Puzzle Power. Our role was to provide the underlying technical foundation and context for the game. We came up with the main themes - how to create sustainable options to meet our planet's growing energy needs in a way that is good for the environment. Hopefully the challenge is exposing students to many of these options - some simple, like growing biofuels, and others futuristic, such as solar panels in space."

Gatzke adds, "I hope that the puzzle will get people to think about tradeoffs related to energy choices, and expose them to concepts of energy production, conversion, and storage."

Since 2002, Gatzke and Weidner have seen South Carolina LEGO League participation grow from 50 to 140 teams, making it one of the model programs in the U.S. "We want this to be in every elementary and middle school throughout the state," says Weidner.

The tournament experience is also great fun. "FIRST designed this competition as 'Sports for the Mind,' so it is as loud and exciting as any sporting event," says Weidner.

The competitions require lots of volunteer support. 'Tournaments need referees, judges to watch team presentations and examine robots, technical support to assemble the playing fields, and wranglers to get teams in the right place at the right time," says Gatzke. "Before the tournament takes place, volunteers can help build the tournament tables, assemble the challenge, or even coach a local team."

One LEGO League fan is AIChE past president Bill Byers, who has been volunteering as a regional judge in Oregon. "I particularly like FIRST's core value of instilling 'gracious professionalism' in young people," says Byers. "That's a concept that can't be started too early."

The next LEGO League challenge - devoted to the environment - will be announced in September 2008. Like the Power Puzzle, the environmental challenge should provide a good fit for chemical engineering insight.

To learn about FIRST LEGO League competitions and opportunities for involvement, visit www.firstlegoleague.org.