Bangalore, January 20th, 2015— Analog Devices, Inc. is celebrating its 50th anniversary by expanding support of FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), a not-for-profit organization founded by inventor Dean Kamen to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology. A global leader in high-performance semiconductors for signal processing applications, ADI has contributed to the FIRST mission since 2004 through employees volunteering as mentors and judges, donations of converters, sensors and other products, as well as monetary donations and support of FIRST competition teams.
“Through the world of robotics, FIRST empowers young people and starts them on the road to becoming innovators of tomorrow,” said Ray Stata cofounder and chairman of the board, Analog Devices. “It is truly amazing and inspiring to see these students developing robots while in middle school and high school with capabilities that surpass the most advanced systems in development back in 1965 when ADI was founded. We are honored to be a part of FIRST and we are proud of the many ADI employees who support the teams.”
To commemorate the company’s 50th anniversary, ADI made donations of over $50,000 through a corporate sponsorship that will help to fund FIRST events in New England and California, and as a diamond-level supplier to the FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC®), donating materials such as MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) components and controllers that will be used by competition teams around the world. FRC offers high school students the opportunity to work directly with professional engineers to gain hands-on experience by building and programming task-oriented robots. ADI and its employees also are continuing to provide support for this effort by serving as volunteer mentors, judges, and fundraisers at FRC and the closely affiliated FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL®) team events throughout North America.
“FIRST shares our commitment to STEM programs in the communities where we work and live by inspiring the next generation of young people to pursue careers in engineering and math,” said Vincent Roche, president and CEO, Analog Devices. “As we begin our next 50 years as a leading technology provider, ADI is pleased to continue our support—financially and through the talents of our dedicated employee-volunteers.”
“We congratulate Analog Devices on a half-century of innovation and appreciate the generous support they have shown FIRST over the years,” said Donald E. Bossi, president, FIRST. “It’s through partnerships like this that FIRST will inspire the coming generations of inventors and innovators who will shape our world.”
