A Mars robot vehicle designed by two Minnesota State University, Mankato students won second place in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ 2009 international student design competition.
Michael Trombley, a May 2009 mechanical engineering graduate from Woodbury, Minn., and Andrew Scalzo, a May 2009 manufacturing engineering technology graduate from New Berlin, Wis., created the robot while they were students.
The two won for their plans for a Mars radio-controlled NASA robot vehicle that can retrieve small rock samples and can move over specified obstacles. The vehicle is designed to be controlled from a manned spacecraft or from Earth.
The two took part in the international contest last month, during the ASME International Congress and Exposition 2009 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. They received a second-place trophy, a plaque and $1,000. In addition, Minnesota State Mankato’s American Society of Mechanical Engineers chapter received $500.
The chapter is advised by mechanical engineering faculty member Jin Park.
Trombley and Scalzo defeated 15 teams, including six foreign teams from Canada, Egypt, India and Lebanon. They qualified for the November international competition by winning first place in the regional design contest in April 2009.
Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive, doctoral university with 14,950 students and two satellite sites, is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, which comprises 32 institutions across the state.
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