Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn. -- ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) hosted its 9th Annual Wu Student Presentation Competition at the college, April 17, 2026.
The annual competition features graduate students who present their research work to an audience and judges in a competition-based format. According to the university’s website, the purpose of this competition is to allow students to develop their oral presentation skills and audience engagement while also learning about numerous fields of research, akin to a symposium.
There were six competitors this year and presentations covered disciplines in mechanical, aerospace and biomedical engineering. Brandon Meadows, a master’s student in aerospace engineering, won first place. His presentation was entitled, “Development of a Sensitive Cantilever Beam Thrust Stand for Electrospray Thruster Diagnostics.” Tyler Roy, a master’s student in aerospace engineering, won second place. His presentation was entitled, “Tailoring Diamond – like Carbon Films for Lunar Dust Mitigation.” Meadows won a $1,000 travel grant and Roy won a $500 travel grant.
Helping to judge this year’s competition were James Masters, Computational Development and Analysis Group Lead for the Arnold Engineering Development Complex Test Operations and Sustainment contractor, Gabrielle Till, TOS Test Operations Engineer, and Rylan Cox, Technical and Management Advisory Services contractor Technical Director of Analysis of Arnold Air Force Base, headquarters of Arnold Engineering Development Complex.
Masters, who is familiar with the long-held competition, said the event allowed up-and-coming engineers an opportunity to present in front of others in preparation for their future careers.
“I thought the competition was great,” he said. “Effectively presenting your work in a way that is able to convey the story you want to tell the particular audience you are presenting to is an important part of being an effective engineer. It was evident that both the students and the university put in the effort to make the presentations and the environment high quality. The generous gift from the Wu family added stakes to the competition and provided motivation to put in the effort for the students to perform to their full ability.”
Judging and attending the competition for the first time, Till, stated it was an opportunity to be able to attend such an event.
“I couldn’t say no to the opportunity of an introduction to projects at the nearby university,” said Till. “It was incredible. The introductory remarks about the history of the competition sponsor were inspiring, and I found myself in awe of those participating. The competition seems like a fantastic opportunity to encourage students to practice sharing their ideas with the world.”
Masters said he hopes the students who participated understand just how important the presentation of their work is to the actual work itself.
“I hope that the students took away the fact that effectively presenting your work can be as important as the work itself,” he said. “I hope we, as judges, conveyed that all of their presentations, even those that didn’t receive one of the prizes, were of sufficient quality that they would be at home at a technical conference such as those put on by [American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics]. I hope they go on to submit their work to be presented at such a conference.”
Till added that their presentations proved that great science isn’t just about the data — it’s about the people who can bring that data to life.
“It was both how incredible the work they did, in gathering data for their actual graduate research and in presenting it to us lay-folks, and the importance of practicing the softer professional skills like interpersonal communication,” she explained. “Most STEM fields put heavy emphasis on technical skills, and most people know the stereotypes of awkward engineers standing in a corner staring at their shoes. The competitors did away with the stereotype, and while it’s an ongoing effort to maintain these skills, they’re well on their way.”
About the competition
The Wu Student Competition was named after Jimmy and Susan Wu, who were professor emeriti at UTSI. Susan founded ERC in 1988 when she left her tenured position after 23 years at UTSI. After Susan’s passing, the family decided to sell ERC to Brightstar Capital Partners in April 2021. Brightstar purchased two additional companies in the same industry and combined them into Astrion. Astrion employs over 5,000 employees across the country, including their joint venture company, Beyond New Horizons (BNH), who won the AEDC TOS II contract in October 2024.