From designing spaceflight solutions for NASA to competing on the world stage in robotics, students in the Erie High School Academy of Engineering & Aerospace spent the 2025-2026 school year turning classroom learning into nationally recognized accomplishments.
Across engineering, aerospace, robotics, cybersecurity, and senior capstone experiences, students tackled real-world challenges that pushed them to think critically, collaborate, problem-solve, and innovate. Their work earned recognition from organizations including NASA, the American Rocketry Challenge, and the VEX Robotics World Championships.
One of the year’s defining highlights came through the program’s involvement with NASA HUNCH and NASA HERC. Senior Design students developed projects centered on future space exploration, including biodegradable medicine packaging for Artemis missions, a VR microgravity simulation, and a nanocrop laboratory concept.
By the end of the year, every student in the Senior Design program received recognition from NASA for their work. The VR Microgravity Simulation team earned an invitation to present at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, with their presentation airing on NASA TV. The Biomedical Packaging team was named a national semi-finalist, while the Nanocrops team received honorable mention recognition.
Students also traveled to Huntsville, Alabama, to compete in NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge, where Erie’s human-powered rover team earned both the Pit Crew Award and the Industry STEM Engagement Award for their teamwork, perseverance, and industry collaboration.
The program’s VEX Robotics teams delivered another historic season. Erie robotics teams earned 15 awards throughout the year, including honors at the State Championship, Signature Events, and the World Championships.
Two Erie teams advanced to the VEX Robotics World Championships in St. Louis, continuing an impressive legacy for the program. This year’s senior-led team qualified for the World Championships for the fourth consecutive year of their high school careers, a remarkable accomplishment that reflects the sustained excellence of the program. Team 3743C Intellectual Idiots also won the Innovate Award on the world stage, marking the first time an Erie High team has earned an award at the VEX World Championships.
“This success is a direct testament to our students’ dedication and hard work to engineering and robotics. Beyond the trophies and recognition our engineering students earned, all of these accolades reflect something more important: our students’ ability to synthesize knowledge from across the curriculum—Math, ELA, Social Studies, and Science—and apply it to the complex, real-world engineering challenges.”
Chris Schmitz, Engineering teacher
The aerospace program also reached new heights through the American Rocketry Challenge. Out of more than 1,100 teams nationwide, Erie’s team Human Velocity qualified for the National Finals as one of the top 100 teams in the country.
Students Emily Taylor, Sophie Page, Kieran Toohey, and Audrey Powers represented Erie High at the national competition in Virginia and participated in “Rockets on the Hill” in Washington, D.C., where they met with members of Congress to advocate for STEM education and aerospace programs.
Beyond competitions, the Academy continued building opportunities for students through afterschool organizations like the Erie Engineering Student Association (EESA) and SWENext. Students hosted engineering outreach events, connected with professionals from aerospace and engineering industries, mentored younger students, and organized the second Erie Engineering Expo for middle and high school students interested in STEM pathways.
The program also continued emphasizing industry credentials and future-ready preparation. This year, 31 students earned their Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate certification, while additional students completed robotics and pre-engineering industry certification testing.
For the program’s graduating seniors, the year represented more than awards and recognition. It marked the culmination of years spent learning how to lead teams, navigate challenges, and persist through difficult engineering problems.
“I am incredibly proud and honored to see how the seniors have grown over the past several years. Even when these students reached a point or challenge where others would have given up, they persevered and kept pushing until their project worked. They learned new knowledge and skills on their own, they tried creative and interesting solutions, and they never called it quits.”
Katie Spendlow, Engineering teacher
This spring, the Erie Academy of Engineering & Aerospace will graduate 22 seniors earning official engineering diplomas, with every graduate pursuing engineering or computer science at four-year universities across the country. This is the St. Vrain Advantage.