NJIT-Stryker Alumni Club Helps High Schools Kick Off New Season of First Robotics

The NJIT-Stryker Alumni Club helped local high schools kick off the new season of First Robotics on January 4, 2020.  First Robotics is a national organization that creates the requirements for robotic designs for high school teams where they build a robot and go against other regional high schools in a challenge competition event.  Stryker is a now a Mid-Atlantic First Robotics regional sponsor.  Stryker is funding and mentoring two N.J. high school teams; International High School in Paterson and Science Park High School in Newark. The NJIT-Stryker Alumni Club will be leading the effort.  Stryker is an orthopedic implant design and manufacturer located in Mahwah, N.J. 

“As alumni and as business professionals in the state of New Jersey, we want to give back," said Robert Cohen '83, '84, '87, Chief Technology Officer and VP of the Global Research and Development for the Stryker Joint Replacement Division and Vice-Chair of the NJIT Board of Trustees. "We have a passion for mentoring students that have a STEM focus to their education.  First Robotics high school teams design and make robots where they put their knowledge to the test.  Many of these students will contribute to future innovations and we are proud to be part of their journey.”

“We at Stryker are excited about the opportunity to get involved with this program and to share our industry knowledge and experience with these students," said Ken Trimmer, Sr. Director of Engineering Standards at Stryker. "This is a great opportunity to give back to a community with the Stryker-NJIT alumni club taking the lead.  The First Robotics program has an aggressive schedule where students will need to design and build a functioning robot in a relatively short period of time and be prepared to compete in a regional challenge event.  The Stryker mentors are looking forward to working closely with the students on project management, design and fabrication.  This is a very rewarding effort.  The NJIT-Stryker Alumni Club looks forward to an ongoing relationship with Science Park High School and working with these amazing students.”