Our team was founded in 2004 with the help of two students, one who transferred to Montgomery from Hillsborough and another who transferred to Montgomery from Bound Brook. Both students helped spark interest in what would later become the Robotics Team: FIRST Team 1403 Cougar Robotics.
We had full support of our school board, the Vice Principal Mr. Clymer, and Mr. Kloberg, a senior mentor of FIRST robotics. Our team kicked off its first year in great success, receiving numerous accolades at regional competitions and earning the opportunity to go to the World Championships. In the 2005 and 2006 seasons, we were advised by Mr. O’Toole. In 2007, our current MHS technology education teacher Mr. Leicht took on the role of Team Advisor.
Our team has greatly transformed since 2004. In the beginning, the robot was mostly built by professional engineers, but now, our team’s devotion to educating the newer members has created an environment where the students do the vast majority of the work on the robot themselves.
We share our main goal with the founder of FIRST, Dean Kamen, which is to, “put engineering, science, technology into a format of healthy, fun competition, we can attract all sorts of kids that might not see the kind of activity we do as accessible or rewarding.” Achieving this goal will help future leaders reach success in these areas and give our country a prosperous future.
To realize these goals, our team encourages commitment, teamwork, and the education of members. We also advocate hard work in order to do well in FIRST Robotics Competition Events. We believe that competition allows us to learn from our mistakes and understand the ideas of others. With strong goals and views for the future, Team 1403 certainly has made a huge impact in educating the youth in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math and will continue doing so. Members of each of our sub-teams are expected to work together in building the best robot which completes the required tasks. Through hard work and dedication, every team hopes to win competitions and eventually visit the White House to show their hard work to the nation’s current leader
We also look to inspire the younger generation to develop genuine interests in science and technology using various outreach events where we demonstrate engineering to students and children. At these events, we share the joys of learning about science and technology by letting children play with VEX robots we have built. We also educate parents and community members about the message of FIRST.
Awards Won
| Year | Event | Award |
| 2004 | New Jersey Regional | Highest Rookie Seed Rookie All Star Award |
| 2005 | Buckeye Regional | Regional Finalists Xerox Creativity Award |
| 2007 | New Jersey Regional | Regional Engineering Inspiration Award |
| Boston Regional | Motorola Quality Award | |
| 2008 | New Jersey Regional | Regional Engineering Inspiration Award |
| 2009 | Philadelphia Regional | Chrysler Team Spirit Award |
| 2010 | New Jersey Regional | Regional Chairman’s Award |
| New York City Regional | Creativity Award sponsored by Xerox | |
| 2011 | Philadelphia Regional | Engineering Excellence Award sponsored by Delphi |
| 2012 | Rutgers University FIRST Robotics District Competition | Quality Award sponsored by Motorola Regional Finalist |
| Mount Olive FIRST Robotics District Competition | Quality Award sponsored by Motorola Regional Finalist | |
| 2013 | Hatboro-Horsham FIRST Robotics District Competition | Engineering Inspiration Award |
| Virginia Regional | Engineering Excellence Award sponsored by Delphi | |
| Lenape Seneca FIRST Robotics District Competition | Industrial Design Award sponsored by General Motors | |
| Mid-Atlantic Robotics FRC Region Championship | Regional Finalist | |
| 2014 | MAR FIRST Robotics Mt. Olive District Competition | Finalist Quality Award sponsored by Motorola |
| MAR FIRST Robotics Bridgewater-Raritan District Competition | Quality Award sponsored by Motorola | |
| 2015 | MAR District – Hatboro-Horsham Event | District Event Finalist Industrial Design Award sponsored by General Motors |
| MAR District – Bridgewater- Raritan Event | District Event Winner Quality Award sponsored by Motorola | |
| Mid-Atlantic Robotics District Championship | Industrial Design Award sponsored by General Motors | |
| 2016 | MAR District – Mt. Olive Event | Innovation in Control Award sponsored by Rockwell Automation |
| MAR District – Bridgewater-Raritan Event | Judges’ Award | |
| MAR District – Montgomery Event | District Chairman’s Award | |
| Mid-Atlantic Robotics District Championship | FIRST Championship District Points Qualifying Team (Championship Qualifying) | |
| 2017 | MAR District – Mount Olive Event | District Event Finalist |
| MAR District – Montgomery Event | Gracious Professionalism Award sponsored by Johnson & Johnson | |
| FIRST Mid-Atlantic District Championship sponsored by Johnson and Johnson | Volunteer of the Year | |
| 2018 | MAR District Mount Olive Event | Judges’ Award |
| MAR District Montgomery Event | Quality Award sponsored by Motorola Solutions Foundation | |
| FIRST Mid-Atlantic District Championship | FIRST Dean’s List Finalist AwardGracious Professionalism Award sponsored by Johnson & Johnson | |
| 2019 | FMA District Mount Olive Event | District Chairman’s Award |
| FMA District Bridgewater-Raritan Event | District Event Winner Entrepreneurship Award sponsored by Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers | |
| FMA District Montgomery Event | District Event Finalist Quality Award sponsored by Motorola Solutions Foundation | |
| FIRST Mid-Atlantic District Championship | Regional Chairman’s Award (Championship Qualifying) | |
| FIRST Championship – Detroit – Archimedes Subdivision | Gracious Professionalism Award sponsored by Johnson & Johnson (Championship Division) |