March 13, 2015New group raises $486,000 to sponsor local FIRST programs, including the 2015 New York Tech Valley FIRST® Robotics Competition GLOBALFOUNDRIES today announced the creation of a new collaborative effort pledging $486,000 over the next three years to support local science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education through FIRST® robotics. This new coalition of companies currently includes GF and a number of the company’s supply chain partners involved in the Fab 8 campus, including Applied Materials, ASML, KLA Tencor, Lam Research, Mattson Technology, M+W Group, PDF Solutions, SCREEN Semiconductor Solutions and Turner Construction. More companies are expected to get involved and will be announced as this effort gets underway and continues to expand. Together these companies will support local STEM programs over the next three years through FIRST robotics, including the New York Tech Valley 2015 FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC) for high school students. This year’s FRC event, which is also supported by GE, National Grid, Time Warner Cable and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, will take place at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) East Campus Athletic Village (ECAV) in Troy, NY from March 19 – 21, 2015. FIRST is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which aims to inspire young people grades K-12 to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in mentor-based programs that build science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills, while inspiring innovation and future careers. The robotics competition at RPI is the culminating annual event of the FIRST Robotics Program and will be the region’s second annual event this year. In addition, the organization features programs for younger kids, including the Jr. FIRST LEGO League, The FIRST LEGO League, and FIRST Tech Challenge. GF is honored to be among a growing network of corporations, educational and professional institutions, foundations and individuals that support FIRST in New York’s Tech Valley. As part of our partnership with the organization, GF has pledged $25,000 per year for the next three years, for a total of $75,000, and has invited supply chain partners to get involved through this new coalition. “It’s important that students start out with a good foundation in STEM and this new coalition is designed to directly impact K-12 students in the local region,” said Dr. Thomas Caulfield, senior vice president and general manager of Fab 8, GF. “Our goal is to better prepare Tech Valley’s workforce for tomorrow by supporting education and workforce development with the hope of inspiring students to pursue education and career pathways in STEM related fields. No one company or organization can do this alone. Just as the success of our Fab 8 campus is a team effort, so is our approach to investing in the local community. I’m very excited to be working with these great partners as we look to make a significant impact on local STEM education.” As a leading corporate citizen of the Tech Valley community, GF works collaboratively with a wide arrange of partners to achieve business success, but our commitment goes further – we have a responsibility and an opportunity to do good in our community. By supporting programs like STEM, we can make an investment in the future of the Tech Valley region and its businesses. This theme is one that is seen across GF, worldwide. We hope that you will join us at The New York Tech Valley 2015 FIRST® Robotics Competition March 19th – 21st! In the meantime, follow the event on Twitter at @FIRSTweets and monitor the discussion using the hashtag #morethanrobots! What: The New York Tech Valley 2015 FIRST® Robotics CompetitionWhen: March 19 – 21, 2015 (complete event agenda available here)Where: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute East Campus Athletic Village, 20 Georgian Court, Troy New YorkEvent Agenda and more info: https://www.techvalleyfirst.org/index.php?page=agenda Good luck to all who are competing! Stay tuned for results and photos from the event! To see a video highlighting GF support of FIRST robotics, click here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emTJ1o0LdvQ More information about this new collaborative effort to support local STEM through FIRST will be announced soon. For more information, or to get involved in this exciting effort, please contact: Travis BullardGF[email protected]518-305-9025
