CMU students earn top honors in first-ever appearance at WERC Environmental Design Contest

Central Michigan University recently made its inaugural appearance at the WERC Environmental Design Contest, hosted by New Mexico State University College of Engineering. The effort was led by a multidisciplinary team of seniors from CMU’s InSciTE program within the College of Science and Engineering, representing a range of fields including environmental engineering, mechanical engineering, computer engineering, actuarial science, statistics, and mathematics.

The team competed in Task 4, which focused on developing logistics containers for upcoming Artemis lunar missions. The project required designing a self-sufficient, energy-efficient system capable of maintaining stable internal temperature and pressure conditions while safely housing 130 Cargo Transfer Bags containing approximately 1,965 kilograms of supplies. The design also prioritized accessibility, ergonomic usability, and adaptability for future repurposing in space mission logistics.

In its first year participating in the competition, CMU earned recognition across multiple categories, including first place in the Business Flash Pitch and second place in the Bench Scale Demonstration. Environmental engineering senior Kayla Florian was also named Outstanding Student. Team members included Kayla Florian, Bruno Jorgensen, Maxwell Hornak, Anna Lubbers, Vibeke Rivet, and Daniel Thanaslu. Overall, the team’s performance reflects a strong collaborative effort and a successful debut that highlights CMU’s growing engagement in interdisciplinary, real-world engineering challenges tied to space exploration.