| Look For 50-Foot Tall Michael Jackson Robot
A 50-foot robotic replica of Michael Jackson will be reportedly erected in the desert surrounding Las Vegas, according to reports. The self-proclaimed king of pop is currently in talks to sign a long-term concert deal in Nevada's Sin City and local businessmen claim the huge Jackson likeness is among the proposals. Consultant Mike Luckman of Luckman Van Pier, tells the New York Daily News, "It would be in the desert sands. Laser beams would shoot out of it so it would be the first thing people flying would see. Neon is wonderful, but it's old school." Luckman's partner, designer Andre Van Pier, adds, "Michael's looked at the sketches and likes them." However, Jackson's spokeswoman Raymone Bain explains, "He hasn't made up his mind about whether a Vegas show is in the cards for him.
FIRST robotics team a winner
A Saginaw Career Complex robotics team is looking ahead to the FIRST national championships in Atlanta after capturing a regional championship over the weekend. Team Phoenix emerged as the top squad from a field of 64 during the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology's West Michigan Regional at Grand Valley State University in Allendale. The 16 students will head to the finals at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta Thursday through Saturday, April 12-14. The competition for this season is "Rack 'n Roll," a game where the robots pick up inner tubes and hang them on a tower of swaying posts while keeping the competitors' robots from doing the same. v .
Oak Park Middle earns 3 first place technology awards
In a contest that challenges students creativity, problem-solving skills and technological knowledge, Oak Park Middle School students annually dominate. Oak Park won three first-place trophies in the recent Alabama Council on Technology Education competition. This is the fifth straight year that Oak Park claimed top honors in multiple categories at the competition at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. Now other Decatur schools are getting into the act. Leon Sheffield Elementary magnet school claimed three first-place finishes in the elementary categories. Other schools Brookhaven and Cedar Ridge middle schools joined the other two Decatur schools in qualifying students for the ACTE State competition in April. Level 1 is third and fourth grades; Level 2 is fifth and sixth grades; and Level 3 is seventh and eighth grades.
Microsoft funds research center with $1.5M grant
Microsoft Corp. on Monday announced a $1.5 million grant to Carnegie Mellon University that will lead to the creation of a center for computational thinking. The three-year grant represents only the latest collaboration between the Redmond software company and the computer science department at the Pittsburgh university. .
Global contest links students
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -Chris Fitzhugh plans to spend spring break building a copper and PVC-pipe model to show how temperature differences in the ocean can be used to generate electricity.
It's not just a personal quest.
The 17-year-old from Peacham and his teammates - two in Mexico, one at St. Johnsbury Academy - are competing in the Global Challenge, a Vermont-based contest aimed at improving American students' math and science skills.
During the school year, 58 teams of American students coupled with students from China, India and Japan have been tackling technological solutions to global warming. They chat online, divide jobs based on skill, consult with advisers, and now, in the final grueling weeks, write a professional business plan.
"The most important goal is to engage U.S students in international collaboration using science and technology," said David Gibson, executive director of the Global Challenge and a research assistant professor in computer sciences at the University of Vermont.
|
