[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 2, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E586-E587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             GIRLS OF STEEL

                                  _____
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL F. DOYLE

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 2, 2017

  Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
commend the

[[Page E587]]

Girls of Steel Robotics team on winning the Engineering Inspiration 
Award at the 2017 Greater Pittsburgh Regional FIRST Robotics 
Competition in California, PA. This award celebrates outstanding 
success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a 
team's school and community, and it qualified them to attend 
Championships in St. Louis April 26-29, 2017 for the seventh year in a 
row. This was their best year at Championships, where they ranked 28 
out of 68, with 6 wins, 3 losses, and 1 tie match.
  I think that placing so high nationally and winning the Engineering 
Inspiration award at the regional competition speaks volumes about the 
dedication these young women have demonstrated in pursuing Science, 
Technology, Engineering, and Math careers, sustaining their team, and 
collectively spending thousands of hours doing outreach in the 
community. Girls of Steel are often referred to as the hometown 
favorite robotics group and continue to be featured in videos, print 
media, and blog posts. In October 2016, they were represented at The 
White House Frontiers Conference in Pittsburgh where President Obama 
recognized the Girls of Steel teams.
  George Kantor, Senior Systems Scientist at Carnegie Mellon 
University's Field Robotics Center, won the prestigious Woodie Flowers 
Finalist Award at the Greater Pittsburgh Regional competition. This 
award is presented to mentors in the robotics competition who best 
lead, inspire, and empower their teams using excellent communication 
skills.
  FIRST, which stands for ``For Inspiration and Recognition of Science 
and Technology,'' is an organization dedicated to engaging students in 
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields. The FIRST 
Robotics Competition allows students to apply creativity and critical 
thinking in the demanding and competitive field of robotics, all while 
instilling a strong sense of pride in the participants. Hundreds of 
thousands of students gain practical, team-based engineering experience 
through FIRST every year.
  As a founder and co-chair of the Congressional Robotics Caucus, I 
believe competitions like these are important tools for helping young 
people to explore potential careers in STEM. I've witnessed firsthand 
the remarkable economic growth and job creation that these fields can 
bring in my home district, and I strongly believe that these fields are 
crucial to our nation's future prosperity. I want to commend 
organizations like FIRST for the important work they do in encouraging 
young people to pursue STEM careers.
  Sixty-three young women from 8th through 12th grades associated with 
schools located in and around Pittsburgh represent this year's Girls of 
Steel program, and in recognition of their hard work, intelligence, and 
teamwork, I would like to mention each of these inspiring young ladies 
by name. They are Alexandria Adams, Abhi Ajay, Aeryn Anderson, Peyton 
Balkovec, Arushi Bandi, Emilia Bianchini, Emma Burnett, Rosy Chen, Maya 
Cranor, Maansi Dasari, Hope DiGioia, Riley Doyle, Sofia Heller, 
Kristina Hilko, Madelyn Human, Rozie Fero, Corinne Hartman, Anna 
Jablonowski, Caroline Kenney, Isabelle Kowenhoven, Mary Laird, Jisue 
Lee, Agathe Legault, Rosie Li, Alice Liu, Sally Liu, Gayathri 
Manchella, Eve Mango, Jordan Martinez, Maia McCabe, Svea McCann, Sree 
Mekala, Cheyenne Meyers, Abbey Murcek, Anna Nesbitt, Anne Kailin 
Northam, Jimin Oh, Helen Paulini, Lehka Pendyala, Ananya Rao, Priya 
Ray, Maite Sadeh, Rachel Sadeh, Lauren Scheller-Wolf, Sarah Seay, Alexa 
Selwood, Swathi Senthil, Kriti Shah, Vivian Shao, Lauren Shovlin, 
Makayla Shreve, Amari Smith, Imani Smith, Kavya Soman, Ace Song, Adison 
Staskiewicz, JeanMarie Trichel, Mikayla Trost, Langley Turcsanyi, Anja 
Vogt, Janet Wang, Rebecca Wettergreen, and Ziya Xu.
  Additionally, I want to convey my sincere appreciation to the faculty 
and staff of Carnegie Mellon University's Field Robotics Center, who 
have mentored the Girls of Steel since 2010. Because of their efforts, 
more young women experience real-world technological challenges and 
learn from some of the nation's best at solving such problems. These 
experiences will certainly benefit these young women in the future, no 
matter what careers they eventually choose to pursue.
  I congratulate the Girls of Steel and wish them all continued success 
in their academic and professional endeavors

                          ____________________