Engineers are in high demand in Southern Nevada and across the nation, yet American universities are struggling to keep pace with industrialized nations worldwide when it comes to attracting and producing professionals. That is why the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering at UNLV is developing creative approaches to recruit the next generation of scientists and engineers. One such strategy involves the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition.

From March 29-31, the college will play host to more than 1,200 high school students on 50 teams from Southern Nevada and across the nation for the third annual FIRST Robotics Competition. Held at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center, FIRST combines elements of sport with science and technology in a high-energy, team-driven contest that has inspired thousands of high school students to pursue science and engineering careers.

"Each fall semester, the College of Engineering hosts a recruiting fair at which potential employers consistently indicate the need for three times the engineers we graduate. Multiply that with the other 49 states and you understand the crisis within the profession," says Eric Sandgren, dean of the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering.

FIRST engages nearly 30,000 students on more than 1,300 teams in 37 regional competitions for a chance to compete in the FIRST national championship in Atlanta. When UNLV was initially awarded a regional in 2005, only three local high school teams competed. Now, in just its third year in Las Vegas, 12 local teams will compete with as many as 38 additional teams from throughout the nation.

"FIRST provides a rare opportunity to host 1,200 of the brightest high school students in the nation and show them that the skills they're learning for the competition can lead to valuable and rewarding careers," says Sandgren.

FIRST was developed by accomplished inventor Dean Kamen to prove to students that science can be as exciting as sports and entertainment and to inspire them to pursue careers in engineering. The FIRST Robotics Competition is an international contest during which students, with the help of UNLV and engineering industry mentors, design and build unique robots from an identical kit of parts to participate in various two-day competitions.

The theme of this year's event is "Rack 'N' Roll," which will require the students to hang inflated colored tubes on pegs configured in rows and columns on a 10-foot high center "rack" structure--picture an evolved version of Tic-Tac-Toe or Connect Four. Extra points will be awarded to teams that can lift a fellow robot four inches off the floor before the end of the two-minute and 15-second match.

The FIRST Robotics Las Vegas Regional is free and open to the public. More information on FIRST, including a complete schedule of this year's event, can be found online at www.lvfirst.org.