Students debut drone, NASA club at showcase
‘We are very excited to have a club where we can work and play with drones,’ says Andrew Vanderah, club president of the U of A Drone Racing Club.
This year, College of Engineering students had more opportunities than ever before. The annual clubs showcase invites students to explore shared interests and connect with peers from diverse academic backgrounds, regardless of their major. In 2025, five clubs expanded the college’s offerings of student organizations to an all-time high of 50.
The U of A Drone Racing Club made its debut with a clear message: members will design, build and race drones competitively.
“Our main goal is to have club members compete in collegiate championships, but most importantly, it's a great place to share our love of drones,” said club president Andrew Vanderah.
Vanderah, a mechanical engineering junior, said four teams will tackle different specialties: engineering and building, software and AI integration, flight and testing, and media and logistics.
Together, they will pilot a drone around the Collegiate Drone Racing Association obstacle course, pushing to advance to the in-person semifinals in spring for a chance to win a cash prize and national recognition.
“We are looking forward to learning from each other and hopefully winning big at the next CDRA competition,” Vanderah said.
Another competition club asked students to set their sights even higher – outer space.
The U of A NASA RASC-AL Launch Club recruited members to join their mission in developing concepts for planetary exploration.
NASA’s Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts - Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) Competition challenges undergraduate and graduate students to compete for $112,000 in prizes. The RASC-AL Launch Club will choose from four themes and create a concept that advances scientific research on Mars and the moon.
Members can design communication technology for the Martian surface, an operations model for lunar sample return, or infrastructure for a lunar economy and power management, said club president Ata Kolanci.
“It’s not every day that students get a chance to be involved in space exploration projects, especially as freshmen,” said Kolanci, an aerospace engineering junior. “We want every club member to feel engaged so they can do research and be a part of something cool.”