Former PTO Director Jon Dudas has taken an interesting new job as President of the non-profit organization FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) (www.usfirst.org). FIRST was originally founded by Dean Kamen and has the goal of helping youth find inspiration and career pathways in science, technology and engineering.
More than 200,000 students competed in FIRST robotics and technology competitions in the past year. Kamen sees these technology initiatives as an alternative to sports. Kamen: “Not every kid wants to be a professional engineer, but they deserve the opportunity to get a taste of the world of science, engineering, technology and problem-solving. It ought to be at least as accessible to every kid as any sport. . . . Bounce, bounce, throw’ is a nice thing to get good at, but it’s not going to change security, healthcare environmental issues, or quality of life.”
Jon Dudas has been a partner at Foley & Lardner since leaving the PTO in early 2009.