September 8, 2026EagleBank 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.
August 19, 2026Electrical 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.
May 22, 2023Blimps filled the EagleBank Arena air at the Lighter Than Air (LTA) Defend the Republic competition in April. The winning Mason team, led by principal investigators Cameron Nowzari, Ningshi Yao, and Daigo Shishika, competed against six universities and about 50 LTA "blimps."
