The Tennessee Valley Authority and Bicentennial Volunteers on Aug. 15 announced $655,000 in robotics awards for 179 schools and non-profit organizations that serve youth across the TVA’s seven-state region.
The funds can be used to create a new robotics program or enhance a program that already exists. This is the first year for the robotics awards program, which is similar to TVA and BVI’s long-standing STEM awards. Any school or non-profit that receives electricity from a local power company served by TVA was eligible to apply. A complete list of winners can be found at tva.com/robotics.
“TVA and BVI are working hand in hand to expand the reach of robotics education, which will help create more opportunities for youth across our seven-state region,” said TVA President and CEO Don Moul. “Skills in robotics are already required for many careers today, and we want to equip our future workforce with the tools they need to step into and excel in those fields.”
Examples of how the winners intend to use the funding include:
• At Tupelo Middle School in Mississippi, a teacher plans to take her class on a field trip to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. to see professionals in engineering and coding and funds will also be used to make participating in the First Lego League free for all students.
• In northwest Tennessee, there are plans at Lake County High School to update and expand their robotics equipment, including purchasing new VEX IQ parts, sensors, pneumatics kits and additional laptops to improve programming reliability.
While this is the first year for robotics awards, TVA, BVI and the TVA Retirees Association have supported robotics programs across the region for many years.
