The Knoxville News Sentinel covered the Robotics Competition Kickoff at the University of Tennessee’s Science and Engineering Research Facility. The national competition, sponsored by For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), is designed to inspire young people to pursue educational and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math, while learning about teamwork. About 55,000 students on 2,000 teams nationwide will take part in this year’s contest.