Students from East Texas A&M University earned first place in a national software-defined radio (SDR) competition, outperforming teams from major research universities across the country.

The team, composed of senior electrical engineering students in the College of Science and Engineering, competed in the 2025–2026 Air Force Research Laboratory SDR Challenge. The final showcase was held April 22–24 at the University of Dayton Research Institute in Dayton, Ohio, where only eight teams were selected to present working prototypes from a field of 22 teams representing 26 universities.

The selected teams were:

• Team 1: University of Louisville
• Team 2: University of North Dakota
• Team 3: University of Massachusetts Boston
• Team 4: North Carolina State University
• Team 5: East Texas A&M University
• Team 6: University of Washington
• Team 7: University of Connecticut
• Team 8: Texas A&M University

East Texas A&M came out on top.

Advised by Drs. Nizar Tayem and Redha Radaydeh, the East Texas A&M team—consisting of Logan Boxdorfer, Alden Edwards, Parker Reeves, Colton Vandburg and Brandan Lewis—developed a drone tracking system capable of estimating azimuth, elevation and range for indoor and outdoor applications using SDR technology. Their project demonstrated real-time performance and practical applications in communications, navigation and defense systems.

“To outperform master's and doctoral teams from top universities across the country is an extraordinary achievement—and our students earned it,” Tayem said. “They took complex signal processing concepts and built something real—something that works.”

The win highlights the strength of the university's electrical engineering program, which emphasizes hands-on learning, applied problem-solving and real-world experience. Students in the program regularly design, build and test systems that prepare them for careers in engineering, technology and advanced research.

For prospective students, the result underscores a clear message: East Texas A&M engineering students are not only learning in the classroom—they are competing, innovating and succeeding on a national stage.