WVU Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering

05/31/2026

Major congratulations to the West Virginia University Robotics team from the WVU Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.

This team took 4th place at the international University Rover Challenge, which concluded yesterday. The competition this year had over 100 competitors and 38 named finalists from 11 countries. It features challenges in extreme delivery, remote equipment servicing, science, and autonomous navigation.

This is the 4th year WVU has been in the top 5 of the tough competition (1st in 2023, 2nd in both 2024 and 2025, and 4th in 2026). This is an impressive achievement and track record. Kudos to their faculty advisor, Yu Gu .

URC2026 Scores

05/18/2026

Here is our WHY!

Let’s Go!! West Virginia University, WVU Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Picture taken from Scott Wayne’s Facebook. Here are some of our graduating seniors who just participated in Baja SAE and Formula SAE competitions .

05/15/2026

Congratulations to the West Virginia University WVU Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources WVU Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering BAJA SAE Team.

They are back from last week’s competition at Baja-SAE Oregon. Here is a team picture post the endurance race. The team competed in all the dynamic event, went for 14 laps in the endurance race and earned a 23rd of field of more than 75 teams in the Hill Climb event.

Here is a team picture from after the endurance race and an action shot courtesy of the faculty advisor Tony McKenzie.

05/14/2026

Friends and Colleagues,
As another successful academic year comes to a close, please take a moment to read through all of the contributions and achievements students, faculty, and staff and alumni of the WVU Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering in our Spring 2026 InMotion Newsletter. I’ve pasted my letter below, and the provided link is to the entire newsletter.

https://media.statler.wvu.edu/public/emails/inmotion/spring2026.html

——

Dear MMAE Alumni and Friends,

This is the time of year we get to enjoy our students proudly displaying their triumphs in designing, building, testing and competing with their all-terrain vehicles, balloon satellites, electric vehicles, experimental rockets, formula-style racecars, industry-sponsored design projects, planetary rovers, small satellites, and unmanned aerial vehicles. The talent in our department is truly awesome!

Please get ready to cheer on our Mountaineer Engineers as they compete across the nation in engineering design competitions this spring and into the summer. We are so grateful to have dedicated faculty, staff, and donors who enable the success of our students in these experiences. Check out the Statler College social channels on their experiences!

Speaking of Mountaineer Engineers, we are so proud of Reese Allen who is studying mechanical engineering and data science and was named the 72nd Mountaineer Mascot of WVU. We are equally excited for Camndon Reed, a dual robotics engineering and computer engineering student who just earned the nationally competitive Barry Goldwater Scholarship for his undergraduate research in robotics. Camndon is the second consecutive Goldwater Scholarship recipient in a department major. Meanwhile, Noah C. Parsons, EI , an aerospace engineering master’s student was recognized by Aviation Week’s 20 Twenties 2026 class for his academic achievement, community involvement, personal perseverance, and research impact. Finally, Isabella Hart, dual Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering graduate was named to the Order of Augusta, WVU’s highest undergraduate student award.

Our department continues to grow and find success. Three new faculty joined us in Fall 2025 and two more are joining us in Fall 2026. Our undergraduate population has grown about 30% in the past few years and now exceeds 720 undergraduate students this semester. Faculty-led externally funded research has nearly tripled over the past five years and is on track to exceed $20 million annually with the field-specific NSF research and development rankings continuing to improve each year.

Please read the stories above in detail to learn more about deserving faculty award recipients and recognition, student awards, outstanding alumni and WVU features of some of the people who make our department proud.

Let's Go,
Jason Gross, Professor and Chair, MMAE Department, WVU

05/07/2026

Proud of our MMAE students featured for their research.

05/05/2026

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2026 Travis Stimeling Award for Mentoring Undergraduates in Research.

We’re proud to see Statler College represented by Yu Gu and Ksh*tij Tewari, whose dedication to mentoring undergraduate researchers continues to drive innovation, discovery and student success.

This recognition highlights the critical role mentorship plays in shaping the next generation of engineers and researchers.

Read more here ⬇️
https://media.statler.wvu.edu/news/2026/04/24/recipients-named-for-2026-travis-stimeling-awards-for-mentoring-undergraduates-in-research

05/05/2026

Major congratulations to Isabella Hart , Dual Mechanical and Aerospace alumna from WVU Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering for being named to the Order of Augusta. This is West Virginia University’s highest student award and is only given to 8 students each year.

Isabella graduated in December 2025 and now works as an associate Guidance, Navigation and Controls Engineer with Northrop Grumman. She was a Bucklew Scholar, MMAE Mountaineer Mentor, WVU Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, and very engaged.

Please read the award announcement and find her complete profile in the release:

Six members of the West Virginia University Class of 2026 and two December 2025 graduates have earned the Order of Augusta, the University’s most prestigious honor for academic excellence, leadership and service. The eight inductees were selected from the 52 WVU Foundation Outstanding Seniors.

05/01/2026

Great fun at the annual department picnic!! Thanks to the ASME student leadership, student volunteers, staff and faculty who made this happen!

05/01/2026

04/29/2026

For day 3 of 3 consecutive afternoons of the WVU Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering capstone showcase week, the projects featured included:

The WVU AIAA Design Build, Fly, Club that just took 18th place from 98 teams at competition last week.

The WVU Microgravity Research Team and Club, the team showcased their drone payload and rocket payload; the club is working towards competition in June at NASA JSC

The WVU Experimental Rocketry team that is preparing for 30k SRAD at the International Rocketry Engineering Competition in Texas in June, and

The Balloon Satellites elective class which launched 6 high altitude balloon experiments a few weeks ago.

What a wonderful conclusion to design week!!