Flowers was born in Jena, Louisiana on November 18, 1943, and named after his grandfathers Woodie and Claude. His father, Abe Flowers, was a welder and inventor; his mother, Bertie Graham, was an elementary-school and special education teacher. As a boy, he showed mechanical aptitude like his father, Abe, and he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. When he was seventeen, he and four friends were driving on Louisiana Highway 127 when they were hit head-on by another vehicle that was traveling at about. The collision killed two people in Flowers' vehicle and one in the other. The event ingrained his self-described "genetic opposition to violence" and his "fierce, vocal loathing of any spectacle that involves crashing pieces of machinery into each other with deliberate force." Flowers attended Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, graduating with his B.S. in 1966. He then attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning his M.S., M.E., and Ph.D. under the direction of Bob Mann. His thesis, titled "A man-interactive simulator system for above-knee prosthetics studies," was on a robot-like prosthetic knee inspired by Mann's Boston Arm. After receiving his doctorate, Flowers began as an assistant professor at MIT, working with Herb Richardson on the "Introduction to Design and Manufacturing" class. Known by its course number as 2.70, the class featured a design competition to build robotic mechanisms to accomplish a given challenge. Flowers took over the class in 1974, changing it into one of the most popular classes at MIT. He changed the challenge every year, always trying to make it more complex and exciting. The competition was televised several years on the PBS show Discover the World of Science. The competition became akin to a sporting event, and was even jokingly referred to as MIT's true homecoming game. In 1987, Flowers handed the class over to Harry West. Discover the World of Science changed its name to Scientific American Frontiers in 1990, and Flowers served as its host until 1993 when he was replaced by Alan Alda. In 1990, Flowers began working with Dean Kamen on FIRST, a project to inspire a culture that celebrates science and technology. Taking elements from 2.70, they created the FIRST Robotics Competition in 1992. Flowers introduced the phrase "gracious professionalism" to FIRST, an idea which has since pervaded FIRST literature and culture. Flowers served every year as National Advisor to FIRST. He was active at FIRST events, working as an MC and treated along with Kamen "like heroes." At the 2017 VEX Robotics World Championship, Woodie Flowers was inducted into the STEM Hall of Fame. Flowers was a "Distinguished Partner" at Olin College, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2007, he received a degree honoris causa from Chilean university Universidad Nacional Andrés Bello. He died on October 11, 2019, in Massachusetts following complications from aorta surgery.
FRC Woodie Flowers Award
In 1996, the FIRST Robotics Competition created the Woodie Flowers award, which was awarded to Flowers that year. In years since, the award has served as a way for FRC teams to recognize distinguished adult mentors. At each FRC regional competition a Woodie Flowers Finalist Award is presented to one nominee, qualifying them for the Championship Woodie Flowers Award presented at the FIRST Championship.
