PEP27
is Bigger, Better, & Welcomes You!! Thanks to continued growing support from
the Office of Naval Research the PEP East competition is growing in Portsmouth, VA to new
teams. In addition, the Submarine Industrial Base is sponsoring PEP West, a new competition
In April 2026 at Bremerton, WA. The competitions are united in one goal: Going fast to go
far in careers. Students, please submit
resumes that we share with hiring managers, and collaborate with the community by joining the PEP Discord.
Recruiters, we connect your careers with 64 universities and 700+ students. We are here to
fill your internships and entry-level openings. If you need support to launch/expand
internship and co-ops, we are uniquely positioned to work with our academic partners to
create a powerful talent pipeline for your organization.
The search for internships and careers start now! We will be hosting industry job talks
throughout the fall semester. You can get a jump on the process by sharing your resume with us
and our hiring community: Resume Upload
Current PEP27 schedule:
Funding provided to PEP27 teams:
- New PEP East, West Teams: $7,000
- Returning PEP East Teams: $5,000
- Regional Budget Warriors Teams: $1,500
PEP sign-ups
were due September 28, 2026. We are in the midst of locking down these competition
details. But, we are not certain about any of the regional competitions but hope to have updates
on testing sessions and grant applications still up. Teams considering joining PEP28 can sign
use the PEP27 sign-up form as a guide.
PEP27 Sign-up: Teams can sign-up using the PEP27
Sign-up Google form or by emailing the PEP27 Sign-up PDF
to education@navalengineers.org. There's also
an
extra page for signing up
additional teammates. If you have any questions, you can email education@navalengineers.org or sign-up
for the Office Hours meetings August 31 (4pm ET) and September 15 (1pm). All
sign-up forms are due September 28, 2026 at 2359 ET.
PEP27 Rules
If you would like to discuss PEP 27, email education@navalengineers.org.
We competed in a total of six racing divisions. You can
further explore these results at navalengineers.org/PEP26:
- Manned Displacement: 6 teams
- Manned Planing: 14 teams
- Budget Warriors: 4 teams
- Unmanned Autonomous: 16 teams
- Unmanned Over-the-Horizon RC: 5 teams
- Unmanned Open: 19 teams
We are so excited that PEP26 was a tremendous
success!
The
new divisions are generating so much excitement as 53 teams took on the PEP challenge to
demonstrate their ingenuity and skills. This year's competition is April 14-16 at Portsmouth
City Park (VA). On Wednesday, PEP hosted a job fair thanks to the Campus757 &
Hampton Roads Workforce Council while
racing three divisions and qualifying the remaining cract. On Thursday, we wrapped up the
autonomy, over-the-horizon, and unmanned open divisions.
Each craft has the same path to success: build early, test often, improve, improve, improve. We
are
rushing to PEP26 and continue to seek volunteers, judges, and corporate
sponsors that can maximize this event. We expect 350 students onsite, hundreds of local
students,
and 50+ volunteers onsite to make this the biggest Promoting Electric Propulsion (PEP)
Competition
yet!
We were especially thankful that Bath Iron Works
Careers
has sponsored the sound equipment that will ensure we communicate with all teams and spectators
throughout the three-day event.
The fastest & longest lasting electric craft in the
world!
The PEP27 rules are slightly modified to maximize the engineering experience for teams (PEP26 rules and rubrics).
The
highlights:
- We are highly focused on the safety rules: have to have a very accessible kill swith and
tow
point. Need to have appropriate trailer and apparel for launch and recovery.
- Uncrewed Open Division craft must still carry a 60-pound payload.
- Other uncrewed divisions (autonomy, over-the-horizion, and budget) require a 30-pound
payload.
- Race times may be limited to 45 minutes (teams that finished after 45 minutes have not
been
top 5 and we're trying to have as many boats in the water).
- All craft have a maximum voltage of 55V.
A few scoring rules to remember:
- Autonomy division includes opportunity for extra points for greater levels of autonomy.
- Over-The-Horizon division operators will be on shore. A bow camera and other control
information will be needed to drive the course accurately from the shore.
- Budget Warrior builds are capped at $1,500 and must carry 30-pounds of ballast around
the
2-mile track.
- Teams will bring their payloads and should be ready to weigh it as the judges require.
- The crewed heats are largely the same: less than 55.5 volts and race for 5 miles.
If you would to talk about PEP27, please email education@navalengineers.org. Sign-up forms are due September 28, but
you
can email us if you would like to talk about joining PEP now or in the future.
To meet these challenges, we are excited to share educational opportunities from Ansys, the
American
Bureau of Shipping, and ASNE. The PEP Discord is
still
the go-to location for people interested in learning and sharing about electric propulsion.
Please join our community today!
In addition, ASNE memberships are free for all
students as is attendance at the Fleet Maintenance & Modernization
Symposium; Technology, Systems, & Ships; and Combat Systems Symposium.
Why do we Promote Electric Propulsion? Jobs!
Today's Navy is exploring a variety of crewed and uncrewed
platforms. It
has been exciting to see a US-built autonomous fleet journey from San Diego to Australia (USNI
News), and the Naval Research Enterprise (NRE) is rapidly expanding the number of new
platforms and systems. For example, the Defense Innovation Unit sought proposals on scalable
Small
Unmanned Surface Vessels that can carry 1,000 pounds of fuel while operating in contested
environments for days (DefenseScope).
It's an amazing time when small uncrewed craft are 11 meters, medium USVs are anything less than
200
feet, and large unmanned surface vessels (LUSVs) are growing in size and
complexity.
Interested
in the Navy's uncrewed future? Read the Congressional Research Service's Navy Large Unmanned Surface and
Undersea
Vehicles
We are developing the workforce that will continue these exciting
developments. Check out these videos that introduced the PEP Competition. Dr. Steven Russell is
the
Program Officer from the Office of Naval Research who has overseen and guided PEP from the very
beginning. CAPT Dale Lumme is ASNE's Executive Director and brings a unique perspective of how
PEP
fits in the naval engineering workforce.
If you are interested in joining us, please reach out to talk about your plans (education@navalengineers.org), ask any
questions, and hear a little more about this year's unique opportunities. Please review the race
rules, and quickly identify your basic design that is within your budget. Note that your budget
will
need to include travel to Virginia Beach, VA for your team and your craft. Then, you will want
to
identify a system that you can design and test before winter break. It's key to begin
fabricating
and testing before the spring semester if you want to have time to test and improve your craft
in
the fall. We are happy to meet with you as often as is useful for you. You are not alone.
If you have any questions, please email
us! When you are ready to submit the
form,
just email it to education@navalengineers.org
Interested in learning about PEP? You can email us
directly.
You may also want to review the Competition Celebrations to see the range of designs in the
manned
and unmanned competitions.
Considering options for your PEP27 boat? Check out
previous
competitions: 2023
2024
2025
2026
PEP: Powering the Future Workforce
The Naval Engineering community needs a large, energetic workforce
ready
to tackle modern problems. PEP empowers students with knowledge and real-world experience. This
senior project is consistently one of the most sought-after options in ME departments. This
program
brings new perspectives and new voices to the naval engineering, and prepares them to be
successful
upon graduation.
These universities and ASNE's form two legs of a three-legged
stool
that includes industry. These teams need industry partners to provide mentors, in-kind
donations,
and a window into professional naval engineering. These student teams are meeting virtually
throughout Fall semester providing a unique opportunity for professionals to join the
conversation
for an hour or two, and help guide the future naval engineering workforce.
PEP includes hundreds of college students in universities across the
country. They need our help to complete this education and find their career.