News: Microelectronics
9 December 2022
Wolfspeed sponsors FIRST Robotics Competitions in North Carolina, California, Arkansas and Arizona
Wolfspeed Inc of Durham, NC, USA – which makes silicon carbide materials as well as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) power-switching & RF semiconductor devices – is sponsoring the FIRST Robotics Competition, a hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) program that combines the excitement of athletics with the rigors of science and technology for high-school students.
The sponsorship builds upon the company’s relationship with FIRST Robotics Competition, with Wolfspeed first announcing a $25,000 donation in November 2019 to the SUNY Poly Foundation to provide support for SUNY Polytechnic Institute FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) teams and the Muccbots, a team in Utica, New York.
“Our company represents 35 years of innovation, and we are proud to contribute as the participants work together to create solutions and change the world for better,” says Tamara Pearce, Wolfspeed’s senior director of diversity, equity and inclusion. “The jobs of the future don’t even exist yet, but this program helps develop the curiosity and problem-solving needed to be successful and adaptive to any challenges that the coming years may bring.”
FIRST is a youth-serving not-for-profit advancing STEM education. Its high-school-age program FIRST Robotics Competition challenges teams of students to build and program industrial-sized robots, ultimately playing a field game in an alliance with other teams and competing to attend the annual FIRST Championship. The program mimics real-world engineering scenarios and develops supplemental skillsets, such as collaboration, fundraising and marketing. The competition’s 2023 theme will focus on the United Nations’ sustainable development goal of ensuring access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for all. Wolfspeed employees have previously supported the program by serving as judges for the Arkansas-area competitions.
“Building on their continued commitment to endorse STEM programs and minimize opportunity gaps for under-represented populations, we are proud to have Wolfspeed’s support as a sponsor,” says Collin Fultz, senior program director of FIRST Robotics Competition. “As a leader in silicon carbide technology that helps to create a clean energy future for all, this partnership gives our participants yet another example of how teamwork paves the way for a brighter tomorrow.”
As part of its announced sustainability goals, Wolfspeed is seeking to establish STEM partnerships at 100% of its major locations by 2025. By serving as a sponsor for FIRST Robotics Competition in Durham, North Carolina; Morgan Hill, California; Fayetteville, Arkansas; and Mesa, Arizona, Wolfspeed reckons that it has made good progress on fulfilling this commitment.
