On Sunday, the Parsippany Hills High School robotics team, the NanoGurus,  competes in the New Jersey State Championship Meet held at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark.  Forty-eight teams vie for two top spots and the opportunity to go to the national meet.

The competition comes just weeks after the Par Hills scientists took first place in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Tech Challenge robotics tournament held Jan. 21 at Penn State University's York, Penn. campus.

The NanoGurus compete in the FTC division of the FIRST Robotics League. This year’s divisional challenge is called “Bowled Over” and involves two 6-pound bowling balls, 10 milk crates, pvc pipes, 88 standard racquetballs, and 12 racquetballs with magnets inside them.

Financial support for the team's robotics creations comes from Evonik, C Town Supermarkets, Omland Engineering, Norwalt Design, Dewberry Engineering, Rockaway Lanes, Windham Construction and  FST Engineers. 

The Nanogurus have won a wide array of awards this season, including:

• 10/15/11 ­­– Think Award – for best Engineering notebook @ the Early Bird Scrimmage held at PHHS.
• 10/29/11 – Think Award – for best Engineering notebook @ the Halloween Scrimmage in Oradell 
• 11/12/11 – First Place Overall / Winning Alliance @ Ramp Riot Scrimmage in Ambler, Penn.
• 11/12/11 – Inspire Award @ Ramp Riot Scrimmage in Ambler, Penn. 
• 12/04/11 – Second place overall and the "Inspire Award" @ Crate Expectations NJ Qualifier in Moorestown
• 01/21/12 – First Place Overall and the Connect Award @ the Southcentral Pennsylvania Qualifier Meet held at Penn State Campus in York, Penn.

The PHHS robotics team has also qualified to compete at the Pennsylvania State Championship Meet on Feb. 25 at the Pennsylvania College of Technology.