The College of Southern Maryland’s competitive robotics team, the Talons, recently delivered an award-winning performance at the West Virginia VexU Qualifier held in Morgantown, West Virginia on March 10. The team advanced to the semi-finals and placed third overall, while also earning the event’s Design Award for its robot and design binder.
CSM students Bailey Burroughs, Michael Douglas, Ren Fletcher, Eli Gerstman, Ryan Goldsmith, Jonathan Gross, Brianna Rourke, Glenn Teeguarden, Hassan Turay, Ebin Sebastian, and Cameron Vinson, accompanied by CSM Faculty Coaches Jim Cleary, Liz Rourke, Ann Stine, and Brian Warnecke, represented the college at the competition hosted by Fairmont State University.
“I am very proud of this group, for what they’ve accomplished so far this year – not only in the various VexU competitions they’ve attended, but also in their academic goals, their contributions to the community, and their livelihood on campus,” said Associate Dean of CSM’s School of Professional and Technical Studies Dr. Stephanie McCaslin. “These are stellar students.”
The Design Award is presented to the team that demonstrates an organized and professional approach to the design process, project management, and time management. The Talons impressed the judges with their comprehensive and detailed design binder, as well as the functionality and effectiveness of their robot.
The Vex Robotics Competition is an international event that challenges students to design and build robots to compete in a variety of challenges. The event aims to develop students’ skills in engineering, programming, and problem-solving, while also fostering teamwork, communication, and leadership.
The Talons will now advance to the next round of the VexU competition, where they will compete against other top-performing teams from around the world.