Students

EagleBank Arena buzzed with high-tech aerial excitement on August 15 as George Mason University hosted the culmination of the 2nd Annual Airborne Robotics Cup, a STEM outreach competition culminating in an intense 12-hour tournament featuring dynamic, lighter-than-air autonomous blimp “soccer” matches.

Electrical and computer engineering Assistant Professor Ningshi Yao tested the idea that competition drives strong results by designing two very different engineering challenges for local pre-college students: one sending student-built ground vehicles racing across a soccer field and the other taking to the skies.

Fueled by “the love of the game,” a team of Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center students overcame GPS‑free technical challenges to take first place at the 2026 Raytheon Autonomous Vehicle Competition.

Swimmer and electrical engineering major Ryan Serbia bounced back from adversary and is off to a promising start in the pool and in the classroom.

A multi-major team from George Mason University’s College of Engineering and Computing earned second place at Saucethon, a hardware-focused hackathon, gaining online attention for their creative cat-themed rescue robot and showcasing George Mason’s collaborative, interdisciplinary strength.

When the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) convened the first round of its high-tech competition at Fuse at Mason Square, they should have known it would end with a strong George Mason showing.

College of Engineering and Computing students are instrumental in building the payload for George Mason University's historic Landolt space mission.

As the saying goes, if you love something, set it free. If it maps an area, finds a target, delivers a package, and comes back, the trophy is yours forever. Or something like that.

Bioinspired blimps performed swimmingly

ECE PhD student Shay Snyder’s hard work and bright ideas brought his lab ample research funding when he started his degree. One secret of his success? Tenacious networking.