Ron Dukes and FIRST Robotics
Led by our own Ronald Dukes, the X-Cats took home the trophy this past weekend at the Finger Lakes Regional. The Wilson Magnet High School team won as a part of an alliance of teams from Honeoye and Lockport High schools. Over 40 teams participated in the Rebound Rumble at the FIRST Robotics Competition. Following weeks of preparation, student-controlled robots threw basketballs into three different levels of baskets at the locally-sponsored event.
Ron walked into the office with a big smile on Monday and was quick to show off the trophy. He has been donating his time and expertise to FIRST since 1992. Naturally, we’re proud of Ron and glad to see our employees investing in the next generation.
Ron is on a roll. In addition to leading his team to victory, he was recently promoted to Lead Developer in our Technology Group. Ron joined the CaterTrax team a little over a year ago as a Web Developer, bringing with him over 15 years of software/web development and systems integration experience. He has been a great addition to our passionate, talented team.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded by inventor Dean Kamen and MIT Professor Woodie Flowers in the early 90’s. Businesses and universities team up with high schools forming partnerships between mentors and students with the goal of designing and building remote-control robots to compete in an exciting competition.
For more information on the FIRST Robotics Competition, visit: www.usfirst.org
If you’d like to see the robot in action, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaiVaKb3H-w
Congrats on your win Ron! Great job this year!