(Editorial - Graphic Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

Local students interested in robotics and engineering don’t have to look far to find inspiration. West Virginia University’s robotics team is the best in the world.

Team Mountaineers works out of the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, and topped teams from ten countries to design and build a new Mars rover, as part of the 2023 University Rover Challenge at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah.

“Each team competed in the System Acceptance Review and four missions including equipment servicing, extreme delivery, science, and autonomy for 100 points each,” said Yu Gu, team faculty adviser and mechanical and aerospace engineering associate professor. “This is the second time for WVU to compete in Utah with Team Mountaineers showing outstanding leadership, teamwork and technical skills.”

What wonderful news for young people in West Virginia wondering whether they can pursue such a dream right here at home. Our best and brightest students do not need to get their higher education in another state to achieve big successes.

“This win is also the fruit of six years of hard work by hundreds of WVU students, including those who are currently here and who have graduated, those who have been to Utah and who have stayed back, those who boldly proposed new ideas and those who were quietly making sure everything worked perfectly,” Gu said.

Not only does such teamwork send a message to potential students, it should also serve as a reminder to those in Washington, D.C., that world-class research and development happens in the Mountain State. Imagine what we could get done if more research dollars were directed our way.

Congratulations to the robotics team at WVU. It seems shouts of “Let’s go, Mountaineers!” are appropriate far beyond our athletic venues. In fact, so far as the robotics team is concerned, even the cry of “Let’s go … to Mars!” may be only the beginning.