Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Robot Combat League Founder Announces $2 Million in STEM Education Grants

  • By Kate Lucariello
  • 11/22/22

Norwalk Havoc Robot League (NHRL) founder Austin McChord has announced STEM education grants of $2 million in two separate initiatives: $1 million in $10,000 grants each to 100 nonprofit universities, colleges, and tech schools to promote STEM education and iSports, and $1 million to STEM charities chosen by robotics team winners and finalists at the NHRL World Championship Tournament on Dec. 17, 2022.

robot combat league

iSports is a new category of sports that includes robotics, racing, Lego building, and Rubik's cubing. (Photo: Greg Raymond)

McChord, who in 2017 donated $50 million to his alma mater, Rochester Institute of Technology, to build an innovation hangar, is an advocate for STEM education and iSports. iSports is a new category of sport that includes robotics, racing, Lego building, and Rubik's cubing, a news announcement explained. The $1 million designated to the 2023 NHRL Collegiate Robotics Grants Programi is awarded in $10,000 grants to 100 collegiate programs to provide resources to help robotics teams reach their potential through innovation and intelligence. Applications are open now and will close on Dec. 15, 2022, at 5 p.m. For more information and to apply, go here. Awardees will be announced in January 2023.

The second program, the 2022 NHRL STEM Grants, will coincide with the NHRL World Championship Tournament. Each tournament winner will get to award $250,000 to the STEM charity of their choice, and the remaining $250,000 will be split equally and donated to charities selected by the remaining finalists. Robotics teams affiliated with nonprofit public or private two or four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. are eligible. Applications are open through Dec. 31, 2022, and awardees will be announced in January 2023.

McChord said he got into robotics sports as a hobby after leaving his startup cybersecurity company, Datto, in 2018 and founded the robot combat league NHRL, which welcomes robotics builders and innovators from all over the world and hosts a series of tournaments each year. Visit the NHRL home page to find out more.

About the Author

Kate Lucariello is a former newspaper editor, EAST Lab high school teacher and college English teacher.

Featured

  • Abstract futuristic digital network with glowing padlock icons

    Microsoft Intros New Agentic AI Security Multi-Model Defense System

    A new multi-model agentic AI security system built by Microsoft's Autonomous Code Security team helped researchers find 16 new vulnerabilities across the Windows networking and authentication stack, the company anounced in a recent security blog post.

  • Profile silhouette of a person thoughtfully touching their chin, overlaid with transparent data visualizations and digital interface elements suggesting artificial intelligence and analytics.

    The Institutional Knowledge Shift Is Reshaping Higher Ed IT

    Higher education IT leaders are navigating a quiet but consequential transition: Experienced team members are retiring or leaving for private-sector roles, and the teams replacing them are smaller, newer, and often stretched thin. The result is a structural shift in how technology decisions are made, executed, and sustained.

  • laptop displaying a red padlock icon sits on a wooden desk with a digital network interface background

    Malware Turns Microsoft 365 Calendar Into Covert Attack Vector

    Security researchers at Group-IB have uncovered a Windows malware strain that turns Microsoft 365 calendars into covert channels for receiving commands and stealing files from targeted organizations.

  • person typing on a touch screen schedule plan calendar

    DOJ Extends Deadline for ADA Title II Compliance

    Institutions working to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act Title II regulations for digital accessibility have received a temporary reprieve: The United States Department of Justice has published an interim final rule to push back the compliance deadline by one year.