The Future of STEM is at the Innovation Challenge @ Dahlgren

The annual robotics and engineering competition, hosted by Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, is a pipeline to STEM careers for area students.

Feb 17, 2026

By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Students work on their robots during the 2026 Innovation Challenge at Dahlgren. Photos courtesy NSWCDD.

For two days last week, middle and high school students from across the Fredericksburg region and the Northern Neck gathered for the annual Innovation Challenge at Dahlgren—otherwise known as “the STEM Superbowl.”

“The students have been working with their teachers for months in advance” to get ready for the challenge, said Tyler Truslow, STEM director at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. “This is the culmination of all that preparation.”

Sixteen high school and 14 middle school teams competed over the two days to tackle the challenge set for them by Dahlgren’s STEM outreach team. They had to use coding to program robots to complete a mission inspired by the real-world work done by the facility’s scientists and engineers in support of the U.S. Navy.

“We weave in new elements every year—this year, there’s a cyber-security component,” Truslow said.

The first Innovation Challenge was held in 2022 for high school teams only, and was expanded to middle schools two years later. The goal of the competition—and of Dahlgren’s STEM outreach program in general—is to build excitement around STEM and related career opportunities early in students’ academic years.

“We’ve seen that middle school challenge gets kids interested the high school challenge, and the high school challenge gets students interested in opportunities at Dahlgren,” said Truslow. “Many then come back as student interns.”

Student interns get the opportunity to do “real project work” that contributes to the research and development work the facility is known for, Truslow said, and often, they go on to become full-time hires.

So the challenge is “a pipeline to a career at Dahlgren,” he said.

Participating school divisions also see the challenge as an opportunity to establish a pipeline to a STEM career for students. William Fields, CTE teacher at Fredericksburg’s James Monroe High School, has taken teams to the innovation challenge for four years now, and in that time he’s seen students start with no coding experience and go on to become seasoned coders.

The challenge also gives students the chance to experience team work, problem solving, and learning through frustration in a setting that mirrors the real world, Fields said.

“I think they enjoy that,” he said.

David Smith, instructional technology specialist for Westmoreland County schools, brought teams to the challenge for the first time last year. They are back this year,, and Smith spoke about what he’s done to build up the program at Westmoreland Middle and High School in the intervening year.

Last year “was a learning experience,” he said. “We didn’t have a dedicated time [during the school day] to work on the project.

This school year, Smith offers a coding class during student flex time. “We’ve worked on coding robots and engineering principles to mimic what we experienced [at the challenge] last year.”

Smith has three teams participating in the challenge this year and his work paid off, a Westmoreland High School won third place in the high school challenge.

Smith said he plans to focus his efforts going forward on recruiting female students.

“I’m always trying to diversify,” he said.

The winners of this year’s middle school innovation challenge were Richmond County Elementary/Middle School and Fredericksburg Academy Team 1, each of which went home with a Lego Spike kit as a prize.

The winner of the high school challenge was Fredericksburg Christian School, which took home a $2,000 check for its STEM program, as well as a trophy.

The Academy of Technology and Innovation took home the second place prize of $1,200; and Westmoreland High School the third place prize of $800.

Spotsylvania High School received the Esprit de Corps Award, which was introduced last year and recognizes the team that best embodies the spirit of collaboration throughout the event. Their prize was a 3D printer.

All four high school winners also received XRP Robotics kits.