Engineer Extraordinaire Woodie Flowers, Motivating Math and Science Through Competitive Spirit
Woodie Flowers: A Pioneer in STEM Education and Robotics
Woodie Claude Flowers, a native of Jena, Louisiana, passed away in 2019 at the age of 75. His legacy, however, continues to live on, particularly in the realm of STEM education and robotics.
Flowers joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) faculty after earning his Ph.D. in 1973. He took over the famous design course known as 2.70 (now 2.007) and went on to make significant contributions to engineering education.
One of Flowers's most notable achievements was the creation of the course Introduction to Design (2.70) and the co-founding of the FIRST Robotics Competition. This competition, launched in 1992 along with inventor Dean Kamen, has become a global movement, challenging high school students to design, build, and program robots to meet creative challenges.
Flowers's educational approach emphasized intuitive communication and collaboration within engineering design, principles that formed a core part of the ethos behind FIRST Robotics Competition. His message emphasized the importance of hard work, bold creation, and respect for others in engineering.
Flowers is remembered as the "absolute moral core" of the FIRST community, commanding respect by living the values he taught. His teaching style fostered creativity and cooperation in MIT classrooms, encouraging students to think critically and take risks, celebrating their successes.
Flowers's legacy extends beyond awards and buildings, impacting every student who discovered a love of STEM through FIRST. Many of his students have gone on to become educators and industry leaders, emulating his teaching methods. He coined the term "gracious professionalism" to capture his ethos of fierce yet friendly competition.
Flowers's educational journey began at Louisiana Tech University, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1966. He then attended MIT, where he completed a master's in mechanical engineering in 1968, an engineer's degree in 1971, and a Ph.D. in 1973 under Professor Robert Mann. Flowers was named the Pappalardo Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT in 1994.
In summary, Woodie Flowers' education and career path can be outlined as follows:
- Education: Bachelor's degree from Louisiana Tech University (1966), M.S. (1968), ME (1971), PhD (1973) from MIT
- Academic Career: MIT Professor, creator of Introduction to Design course (2.70)
- Major Contribution: Co-founder of FIRST Robotics Competition, promoting STEM through hands-on team robotics challenges
This trajectory from graduate studies at MIT into a pioneering role in engineering education and robotics competition highlights his significant influence on STEM education culture. Flowers's legacy continues to inspire a more hands-on, humane approach to learning in classrooms.
- The FIRST Robotics Competition, co-founded by Woodie Flowers and Dean Kamen in 1992, spotlights the creativity and teamwork of high school students as they design, build, and program robots to solve real-world challenges, effectively merging technology and education-and-self-development.
- In addition to showcasing technical prowess, the FIRST Robotics Competition has become a forum for sportsmanship and gracious professionalism, a term coined by Woodie Flowers, emphasizing the importance of collaborative, courteous, and respectful competition.
- Beyond engineering education, Flowers's legacy can also be seen in the realm of news and media, as his impact on technology and robotics has been documented in numerous videos that shed light on his life, teachings, and the broader movement of STEM education he helped launch.
