High School Robotics Team Wins World Championship
Hephaestus Robotics captures first global title, the result of a powerful partnership between Santa Cruz COE and nonprofit X Academy
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — After back-to-back podium finishes on the world stage, Hephaestus Robotics climbed all the way to the top.
The team of Santa Cruz County high school students won first place in the Ranger Class at the 2026 MATE ROV World Championship on Saturday, June 27, in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, capturing the program’s first world title.
The world championship, held June 25-27 and hosted by the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University and the National Research Council Canada, brought together 86 student underwater robotics teams from 16 countries across multiple competition classes. Hephaestus was among 47 high school teams from 13 countries competing in the Ranger Class.
The championship marks a breakthrough for Hephaestus Robotics, which earned third place at the MATE ROV World Championship in both 2024 and 2025 before returning to the global stage this year after winning the MATE Monterey Bay Regional ROV Competition in April.
“Competing on the world stage against so many talented teams was an unforgettable experience. As the electronics lead, seeing our countless hours of late-night troubleshooting, complex wiring, and system integration culminate in a world title is wildly rewarding,” said Mission Director Sam Imahara of Kirby School.
Mission Director, Sam Imahara describing the features of the Talos VI, the ROV during the 15-minute Engineering Presentation
In St. John’s, Hephaestus Robotics competed in the Marine Institute’s flume tank, a 1.7 million-liter facility designed to simulate ocean currents, as well as the National Research Council Canada wave basin, where teams completed mission tasks in conditions modeled on offshore environments. The team successfully replaced a simulated eDNA sensor, worked to recover an anchor buoy, and deployed an autonomous float designed to hold depth and collect data.
The flume tank proved to be the most challenging, where a few human errors created great learning opportunities.
“These many months of continuously fixing issues and dedication led us to finally achieving the full 85 points, something only three out of 47 teams managed to do,” said Float Team Vice President Amber Williams of Pacific Collegiate School. “After watching the float fail at regionals, having everything come together at worlds felt incredible and made all those hours feel like nothing in comparison to the overwhelming relief and joy that washed over us.”
Vikram, Sophia and Amber constructed an autonomous float that held depth, collected data, sent and graphed it at the surface computer - only 3 teams of 47 met this challenge successfully.
Teams were challenged to map and document cold-water coral ecosystems, deploy and service subsea monitoring technologies, support offshore energy systems, and conduct under-ice data collection. In addition to in-water performance, the competition requires teams to operate as start-up companies, developing technical documentation, managing budgets, presenting marketing displays, and delivering engineering presentations to a panel of industry professionals.
Talos VI collects a starfish sample with ease. Hephaestus earned 340 of 395 points for the 3 product demos.
“Rather than simply simulating operations within a controlled pool, our team rose to the challenge of performing real-world ocean protection,” said Elle Williams, a Santa Cruz High student and ROV pilot for the bonus mission. “We deployed a professional sonar tool on our ROV to scan for and identify ghost gear and debris in the Atlantic Ocean! That was amazing.”
The bonus mission was held at “The Launch” research facility, Canada’s premier cold-water living lab, where Talos VI was deployed for a real-world mission for the first time in salt water
With financial support from IBEW 332, Aptos VFW, family and friends, and fundraising events at Hook & Line restaurant, MJA Vineyards, and in-kind donations from Westside Water Company, the 21-student Hephaestus team traveled to the easternmost point of North America for the nine-day competition. Team members represented eight high schools: Pacific Collegiate, Sequoia High, Soquel High, Santa Cruz High, Scotts Valley High, Pajaro Valley High, Sapphire School, and Kirby School.
Elle, Julia, Adi and Evan return from a perfect score mission of identifying marine debris in the harbor
“Our team brought together students from across Santa Cruz County, including the children of Silicon Valley tech workers, doctors, carpenters, electricians, and farmworkers,” said Tim Sylvester, founder of X Academy and lead mentor. “After nine months of hard work and more than 100 hours of practice in the pool, they truly earned this win. This has been a life-changing experience for the students.”
The Santa Cruz COE X Academy Robotics Clubs are a partnership between the Santa Cruz County Office of Education and nonprofit X Academy. The program gives high school students from across the county hands-on experience in engineering, computer science, teamwork, entrepreneurship, and project management, at no cost to participants.
“This championship is the result of years of student leadership, mentorship, problem-solving, and persistence,” said Dr. Faris Sabbah, Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools. “The Hephaestus Robotics Team has shown what is possible when students have access to rigorous, hands-on learning and a community of mentors who believe in them. We are incredibly proud of these students for representing Santa Cruz County on the world stage, and grateful to X Academy for the dedicated mentorship that has allowed this program to thrive.”
In the MATE ROV program, students operate as mock companies, developing technical reports, engineering presentations, budgets, marketing displays, and working ROVs that are evaluated by professionals in science, engineering, education, and marine technology.
Since partnering with the Santa Cruz County Office of Education in 2023, X Academy’s volunteer mentors have engaged more than 200 students from 15 high schools in building underwater robotics. The program operates weekly build sessions in Santa Cruz and Watsonville and supports student teams from across the county.
“This win proves that when you give students a high but achievable goal, combined with high support in the form of caring mentors who create space to iterate, make mistakes, and try again, they are capable of doing amazing things,” said Barbara Meister, executive director of X Academy.
Graduating team members said the experience will shape their next steps in school and career.
“Being a part of the Hephaestus Team taught me to be relentless and to not give up no matter what gets thrown your way,” said Carlos Ortiz-Lopez, a Sequoia High School graduate. “I will use this to help me become an apprentice electrician with the IBEW.”
Raul and team are all smiles after a nearly flawless performance in the flume tank, collecting coral samples, creating a 3D photogrammetry image of a cold water coral garden, and using AI imaging to detect the invasive European green crab in the waters of Newfoundland.
For Raul Lopez, who will be a freshman at Cal State Monterey Bay majoring in mechatronics, the experience also opened new possibilities.
“This experience taught me how to work within a big team made of smaller teams, an experience I hope to contribute to building a MATE ROV college team at CSUMB,” Lopez said.
To learn more about the Santa Cruz COE X Academy Robotics Clubs, visit: Robotics Club
Hephaestus Robotics Team Members
Sarah Bost, Santa Cruz High
Daphne Bingham, Pacific Collegiate
Sophia Casaletto, Pacific Collegiate
Ian Chen, Pacific Collegiate
Ethan Chuan, Scotts Valley High
Rowan Delander, Sapphire School
Evan Gaylord, Pacific Collegiate
Isaac Guihaire, Santa Cruz High
Sam Imahara, Kirby School
Raul Lopez, Pajaro Valley High
Johnny Mattson, Santa Cruz High
Cristo Melchor, Soquel High
Aditya Menon, Pacific Collegiate
Nico Mora-Shulman, Pacific Collegiate
Carlos Ortiz-Lopez, Sequoia High
Oscar Pasotti-Schoenman, Santa Cruz High
Joaquin Payet, Santa Cruz High
Vikram Sathish, Pacific Collegiate
Julia Tick, Pacific Collegiate
Amber Williams, Pacific Collegiate
Elle Williams, Santa Cruz High
About the Santa Cruz County Office of Education
The Santa Cruz County Office of Education (Santa Cruz COE) is a public agency striving to lead an equitable and innovative education system for all Santa Cruz County students. Under the leadership of Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Faris Sabbah, the Santa Cruz COE accomplishes this mission by convening education leaders to catalyze systemic change; providing support and oversight to 10 public school districts; and offering a range of arts, environmental education, child development, career and technical education, and instructional programs and services directly to students, from birth through age 24 and beyond. For more information, visit santacruzcoe.org.
About the X Academy
The X Academy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing STEAM enrichment programs to students throughout Santa Cruz County. Founded by parents Tim Sylvester and Barbara Meister, the X Academy was inspired by the Math Circles operating in Silicon Valley. Since 2014, they’ve organized over 120 weekly Math Circles at Cabrillo College for more than 550 students from 62 different schools. The X Academy hosts Julia Robinson Math Festivals, the AMC 8 and Math Kangaroo competitions, and enabled 8 students to attend national math camps. When the pandemic shuttered classrooms, Tim and Barbara opened their garage door and backyard in 2021, to its first high school robotics team to compete in the MATE ROV underwater robotics competition. Since partnering with the Santa Cruz County Office of Education in 2023, X Academy’s dedicated team of volunteer mentors has engaged over 200 students from 15 high schools in building underwater robotics. Find out more about the X Academy at xacademy.org.
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