March 2025: Statler Circuit Department Digest and Awards

Fundamentals of Engineering

Two teams from the Statler College took part in the Lockheed Martin Engineering Ethics Competition held in Bethesda, MD. Gage Therrien and Vincent Bordash (Blue Team), Azmeer Akhtar and Grant Sherman (Gold Team)- for their exceptional performance. Both Lizzie Santiago and Atheer Almasri from the Fundamentals of Engineering Program provided mentorship and support throughout the competition.

Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

AIWVU has been selected as a finalist in the NASA Lunar Autonomy Challenge! This achievement is a testament to the collaborative spirit and innovative thinking of team members Sean Carpenter, Nathaniel Muhs, Shane Thoma, Brady Mercer, Olivia Gottlieb, Austin Fiber and Conor Quinlan and faculty advisor Tom Devine from the WVU Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering

Professor and Chair of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering, Jason Gross received the the first Mountaineer Area Council North Star Award. This high-level award is presented by councils on the behalf of the National Court of Honor for non-registered volunteers who have made a significant contribution to Scouting.

The University Rover Challenge Team qualified for the University Rover Challenge competition at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah in May. The URC is an international competition organized by The Mars Society. Students are challenged to design the next generation of Mars rovers.

Mining Engineering

Kaveh Asgari, a mining engineering graduate student, recently received the Society of Metallurgy and Mining Exploration MPD Fred C. Bond Award for the best paper presentation during the MINEXCHANGE 2025 SME Annual Conference & Expo SME in Denver.  

Mining and Industrial Extension

WVU hosted the Mining Extension Bench Bash Contest where WVU student and industry professionals competed in Bench 4 and Bio-240R bench categories. Mining engineering student Dylan Shilling, earned 2nd Place Overall while mechanical engineering students Evan Rice secured 7th place and Grace Hansen landed 8th place overall. 17 contestants in BG-4 bench included WVU and industry participants from ACNR Inc., Core Natural Resources, Iron Synergy and Cargil Salt. Eight contestants participating in the Bio-240R bench included Alliance Resource Partners and Core Natural Resources.

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