ºÚÁϳԹÏ

Skip to content
From left: Justin Sitzman, Jesse Derrington, Andrew Choate, Joe Bretz, Valerie Kappert, Brady Webb, Bryan Mitchell
University Strategic Communication

ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï students take top spot in engineering robotics competition

From left: Justin Sitzman, Jesse Derrington, Andrew Choate, Joe Bretz, Valerie Kappert, Brady Webb, Bryan Mitchell


A team of students representing the ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï took first place in a robotics competition hosted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (IEEE) on April 1.

Participating teams were tasked with building a robot designed to compete in four distinct events themed around the "Star Wars" franchise. The ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï team's robot, "Aluminum Falcon," beat out 41 other student teams, including teams from the University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa, University of Alabama - Birmingham and the Georgia Institute of Technology in the final round.

Students represented in the group were:

  • Joe Bretz, Wadesville, IN
  • Valerie McKinney, Evansville, IN
  • Jesse Derrington, Evansville, IN
  • Bryan Mitchell, Evansville, IN
  • Andrew Choate, Evansville, IN
  • Justin Sitzman, Ferdinand, IN
  • Brady Webb, Norris City, IL

ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï robot The Aluminum Falcon"The team made a near perfect run" in the final round, according to Dr. Ron Diersing, ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï associate professor of engineering and one of two team faculty sponsors along with Dr. Art Chlebowski, assistant professor of engineering.

The competition was part of the IEEE's SoutheastCon in Charlotte, North Carolina. The ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï chapter of IEEE is part of the Engineering Department housed in ºÚÁϳԹÏ's Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education.

For more information, contact Diersing at rwdiersing@usi.edu.

Published by University Strategic Communication

Recent Stories