Eagle Engineering Students Take Third at National Competition

A team of students from Eastern Washington University earned a podium finish at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) E-Fest, held April 10–11, in Dallas, Texas.

EWU’s ASME Club team placed third overall in the prestigious Student Design Competition after navigating a rigorous field of competitors.

The design competition required teams to engineer a versatile waste-collection robot that was tasked with navigating a simulated “model city.”

Collection challenges involved working across diverse terrains, accurately sorting garbage from recyclables, and hauling the waste to designated facilities. The event culminated in a high-pressure, head-to-head elimination bracket.

The winning EWU team included Zach Jump and David Alvarado, both mechanical engineering majors, and electrical engineering major Seth Hibpshman.

The team’s winning design featured a sophisticated robotic arm, precision servo steering, and a specialized dumping mechanism. To ensure peak performance and custom functionality, the students also engineered a custom-designed printed circuit board to serve as the robot’s primary control system.

About EWU ASME Club: The Eastern Washington University chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) provides students with opportunities to bridge the gap between academic theory and professional practice through hands-on competitions, networking, and technical development.

**Thank you to Leslie Mowatt for writing this story,