academics

Human Powered Submarine team finishes second at international competition

After months of engineering improvements, fundraising, and preparation, the team scored big at the European International Submarine Races.

Jama Green

31 Aug 2026

The Human Powered Sub team waits at the gate to do a run at eISR — Competing against some of the world's top collegiate submarine teams, Human Powered Submarine tackled a demanding racecourse that required both speed and precision. Photo courtesy of European International Submarine Races.

Fresh off their second-place finish at the 18th International Submarine Races last summer, Virginia Tech's Human Powered Submarine team set its sights on a new challenge: competing overseas. And the team did just as well across the pond, coming in second in the European International Submarine Races in late June.

For two years, team members had discussed competing in the European International Submarine Races (eISR) in Gosport, England. Their current submarine, the EXLIENNI, had performed consistently throughout the weeklong ISR18 competition in Carderock, Maryland. The team even posted Virginia Tech's fastest speed at the biennial race since 2003.

“I started talking with team alumni and leadership members and asking, ‘Do you think we could actually do this?’” said Nicole Quiram ’26, an industrial and systems engineering alumna who led the Human Powered Submarine team last year. “There was a lot of excitement about what we were doing and how we had placed at ISR18. You could really feel the energy. Everyone felt we had a strong team, excellent divers, and a very competitive submarine.”

A generous gift

Funding was the first hurdle. The team would need to secure significant sponsorship support to make the trip a reality.

Luckily, team members made a connection with alumnus Mehul Sanghani ’98. Sanghani encouraged Keel USA, a defense manufacturing company, to make a sizable donation to the Human Powered Submarine team. Then Sanghani generously agreed to match Keel USA’s gift once the team had successfully qualified for the races.

Modifications and improvements

With funding secured, the team turned its attention to preparing EXLIENNI to compete effectively on the course.

A graphic showing the eISR 200-meter course. — The eISR 200-meter course gets progressively more difficult throughout the race. Graphic courtesy of www.subrace.eu

The eISR races are held at six-meter depth at QinetiQ's Ocean Basin facility at Haslar, Europe's largest freshwater tank. The 200-meter course begins with an initial sprint through two timing gates, followed by a 180-degree turn and a slalom that gets progressively more difficult throughout the competition.

EXLIENNI was initially designed to race a straight course at Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock’s towing basin, so the team had to re-evaluate how the sub would perform on the slalom course.

“A major focus was reliability,” said Wyatt Dunbar, senior in biomedical engineering and current Human Powered Submarine team vice president. “We spent a lot of time ensuring the drivetrain was working smoothly and that critical components wouldn't wear excessively during repeated runs. We also focused on making our turns more efficient for the slalom course and improving propulsion performance.”

According to Dunbar, ocean engineering alumnus Jeremy John ’26 completed a significant computational fluid dynamics and hydrodynamic analysis. He evaluated EXLIENNI’s control surfaces and propeller designs to maximize speed and maneuverability.

The team also added a drain hatch and additional viewing windows for improved pilot visibility on the slalom course.

hps students underwater with scuba gear and the exilienni — The fully flooded submarines are piloted by students in scuba gear, so coordinated communication and teamwork underwater is a critical part of a team’s success. Photo courtesy of the Human Powered Submarine team.

In late spring, a few members of the Human Powered Submarine team drove the submarine and all of their equipment to Dulles Airport, where Airbus built a custom shipping crate. Everything was packed there and transported to England by freight.

Learning from the competition

eight members of the human powered sub team at eISR — The eight Virginia Tech students who traveled overseas included (from left) Nicole Quiram, Ashley Woods, Chaim Gabriel, Wyatt Dunbar, Maggie Campbell, Niranjan Aradhey, Josh Nafziger, and Charlie Giglio. Photo courtesy of European International Submarine Races.

From June 29 to July 10, eight current students and recent graduates from the College of Engineering traveled to the United Kingdom to compete against 11 university teams from around the globe. Teams typically made two to three runs of the course per day.

“One thing I was particularly proud of was our dive team,” said Dunbar. “Their coordination was outstanding. They communicated effectively underwater, worked efficiently, prioritized safety, and focused on getting the submarine launched smoothly.”

The team to beat was OMER, from the École de technologie supérieure in Quebec, who have reigned as champions of each eISR competition since 2012. “We learned a lot from them,” said Quiram. “They have incredible engineers and an impressive amount of research behind their systems.”

All 12 teams were housed together at Kingfisher Caravan Park, leading to a lot of collaboration throughout the two-week period. Teams exchanged valuable knowledge, occasionally lending divers, and discussing best practices for procedures, hand signals, and safety checks.

Team members watch the EXLIENNI on one of their attempts during the two week competition. Photo courtesy of European International Submarine Races.

“Our best official speed was 4.5 knots, which was faster than our performance at ISR,” said Dunbar.

Virginia Tech finished second overall behind OMER, extending EXLIENNI’s momentum for placing at competition.

“It's always difficult doing something for the first time,” said Quiram. “We kept our expectations realistic. Our goal was simply to prove that we could compete. After the first day, though, it became apparent that we belonged there. We built momentum, and everything continued to go smoothly. Watching all of the planning, logistics, and long hours pay off was incredibly rewarding.”