SOUTHFIELD, Mich.—Lawrence Technological University hosted a ceremony at its Southfield campus on Tuesday, Nov. 11, to recognize its student robotics team for winning overall first place in the Self-Drive category earlier this year at the 32nd annual Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC).
Established in 1993 by the U.S. Army DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC), host school Oakland University, and the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Great Lakes Chapter (GLC), the annual competition challenges students to develop autonomous vehicles within real-world constraints.
LTU’s rACTor Self-Drive team secured the top spot at the Self-Drive Autonomous Vehicle Division in June, taking home the Lescoe Cup Grand Award trophy and $3,000 in prize money from longtime sponsor, RoboNation Inc.
Patrick Nelson, dean of LTU’s College of Arts and Sciences, and Bernard Theisen, CTO at GVSC and president of the AUVSI GLC, presented award plaques to team members at the recent campus event.
Faculty adviser CJ Chung, who has led LTU’s IGVC Self-Drive teams for 23 years, sees the annual competition as an opportunity for students to gain real-world experience in autonomous vehicle technology. “IGVC is a learning journey for students,” Chung said. “Every challenge becomes a lesson for future innovation.”
Nelson highlighted LTU’s commitment to hands-on education as key factor in the team’s success.
“Our students’ passion and our faculty’s dedication drive LTU’s success in robotics,” he said. “The IGVC team represents the very best of hands-on, real-world learning at LTU.”
Competition organizers are pleased to see students developing career-ready skills.
“The AUVSI GLC believes the IGVC is the premier university-level robotic autonomous ground event in the world,” Theisen said. “IGVC is a great engineering project that requires all facets of the profession and additional skillsets to round out the teams.”
The campus ceremony also launched the 2026 competition team and honored alumni Nathaniel Johnson and Emily Trudell, who competed from 2007-09, with certificates recognizing their financial support of the program.
The team seeks new members and sponsors for the 2026 competition, which will be hosted May 29-June 1 at Oakland University.
For more information, contact Chung at cchung@ltu.edu
About Lawrence Technological University
Lawrence Technological University is one of only 13 private, technological, comprehensive doctoral universities in the United States. Located in Southfield, Mich., LTU was founded in 1932 and offers more than 100 programs through its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Business and Information Technology, Engineering, and Health Sciences, as well as Specs @ LTU as part of its growing center for professional development. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 11 percent of universities for alumni salaries. Forbes and The Wall Street Journal rank LTU among the nation’s top 10 percent. U.S. News and World Report list it in the top tier of best Midwest colleges. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership activities on Lawrence Tech’s 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.
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