[Tyler]

Obama Calls on NAS to Consider Robot Competitions
     


Most of you will remember Obama's mention
of
the maker movement in his inaugural address. Now he's not only
mentioned makers again but specifically called
on the National Academy of Sciences to consider robotics
competitions as one of several methods to inspire American students
to pursue science and engineering.
"Think about new and creative ways to engage young people in
science and engineering, like science festivals, robotics competitions,
and fairs that encourage young people to create, build, and invent -- to
be makers of things, not just consumers of things."

Needless to say, the folks at
Make are pretty happy too. The current president has brought
quite a
change for those interested in science. He's reversed many of the
previous administration's anti-science
initiatives, issuing a memorandum
calling for scientific integrity. At the NAS meeting he announced a
major initiative to "boost research funding and bolster math and
science education" which calls for at least 3 percent
of the GDP to go toward funding basic science research, reversing the
decline of recent years. To hear a mention of robotics on
top of all that is very cool indeed. The full text of Obama's
remarks to the NAS can be found online. Image above by flickr
user NAS
   

http://robots.net/article/2818.html