Inventor Dean Kamen to Reveal Student Invention Winners of Sixth Annual FIRST®LEGO® League Global Innovation Award presented by XPRIZE®

Students who designed biodegradable items, waste sorters to solve
environmental issues; eligible to receive cash prizes

–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#20daysofinnovation—FIRST ^®

WHO: Twenty finalist teams made up of students ages 9-16 hope to
win the sixth annual FIRST ^® LEGO^® League
Global Innovation Award competition.

WHAT: Student teams from 21 countries across the globe competed
in the 2016 FIRST LEGO League Global Innovation Award competition
presented by XPRIZE®, which was narrowed down to 20 semi-finalists teams.

• Finalist teams will be interviewed about their inventions at the U.S.
  Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and one will win a $20,000 cash
  prize; two runner-up teams will each earn a cash prize of $5,000
• The prize money, courtesy of the event’s Presenting Sponsor – XPRIZE,
  will be used to further develop each team’s invention or used toward FIRST
  activities; and each team member will receive a LEGO® MINDSTORMS®
  EV3 set from LEGO Education and presentation skills literary coaching
  from TED-Ed.

WHERE/WHEN:

• FIRST LEGO League Global Innovation Award Ceremony
  • Wednesday, June 22, 2016
  • 3:30 – 4:15 P.M.: Meet and Greet with the Semi-Finalists
  • 4:30 P.M.: Awards Ceremony
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Madison Building; 600
    Dulany Street; Alexandria, VA
  • Live streaming webcast of event: https://livestream.com/uspto/GIAAwardCeremony2016

  WHY: The annual FIRST LEGO League Global Innovation Award
  helps students solve real-world problems by supporting the development
  of their ideas and inventions through the product development process. FIRST
  LEGO League teams submitted ideas stemming from the 2015-16 season’s
  TRASH TREK^SM Challenge, which tasked teams in 80 countries to
  explore the fascinating world of trash; from collection, to sorting, to
  smart production and reuse. More than 233,000 children worldwide learned
  there is more to your trash than meets the eye.

  VISUALS:

  • Students answering questions from experts about their inventions
  • Announcement of winning team and runners-up

  SPEAKERS:

  • Dean Kamen, Inventor and Founder of FIRST
  • Yvonne Cooper, Senior Director of Marketing and Communications for
    XPRIZE
  • Panel of student inventors

  ADDITIONAL DETAILS
  Dean Kamen founded the not-for-profit FIRST
  ^® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and
  Technology) in 1989 to inspire young people’s interest in science and
  technology. FIRST^® LEGO^® League is one of
  four programs in a Progression of Programs offered by FIRST.

  Each year, FIRST LEGO League issues a three-part challenge to its
  teams, which includes building, testing, and programming an autonomous
  robot using LEGO^® MINDSTORMS^® technology and
  conducting a research Project working under a set of Core
  Values. FIRST LEGO League teams with exemplary Project
  innovative solutions around the TRASH TREK theme were nominated to
  submit their ideas to the FIRST LEGO League Global Innovation
  Award competition.

  XPRIZE has returned as Presenting Sponsor of the Global Innovation Award
  for the sixth consecutive year. Partners in Innovation Sponsors include:
  Booz Allen Hamilton, John Deere, Rockwell Collins, NRG Energy, Inc., and
  LEGO Education, in cooperation with the USPTO.

  Contacts

  FIRST ^®
  Haley Dunn, 603-206-2494
  hdunn@firstinspires.org