Mr. Roboto

With the football Razorbacks heading into spring practice this week coming off a disappointing season and the basketball Hogs with almost no chance of making it to March Madness, Arkansans can still take heart that we’re No. 1 in the country.

Arkansas Tech’s robotics team, that is.

Tech took over the No. 1 spot in the country recently—and ranks No. 2 on the planet.

As impressive as the rankings are, it’s more impressive that ATU gained the honor even after losing the championship match to Texas A&M. Padding their way were wins in the “skills challenge” and “head-to-head” competitions, which were enough for the overall win and The Excellence Award.

“It feels incredibly rewarding to see that hard work and dedication of everyone involved pay off with such remarkable recognition,” said senior Christopher Osborne, adding that it’s indicative of the “passion and skill that each member of our team brings to the table.”

One of the driving forces behind the school’s success in the robotics program—not even five years old—is Jacob Weidenfeller, ATU instructor of electrical engineering, labs director, and adviser for the ATU VEX U robotics team.

“To be so highly ranked this late in the season is phenomenal for us, and our team plans to run more skills runs at our state event in [Arkansas Tech’s] Tucker Coliseum [this month] to see if we can go even higher.”

There’s not much room to go higher than the team already has, but that’s not stopping the Wonderboys as they travel back to the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas in April. This is where the team first made waves last year advancing to the quarterfinals—after upsetting the top seed—and finishing last season ranked in the top 16 in the world, according to Ryan Anderson’s story in the paper.

None of this happens without effort, grit, determination and—importantly—money.

Professor Weidenfeller says that expanding the program to greater heights will require fundraising, which can come in the form of sponsorships and donations. We’d bet they’d even take spokes, motors and wheels.