The 7th Students International Olympiad on Mechanism and Machine Science (SIOMMS 2026) was held at Shandong University (Weihai) from April 15 to 18. Relying on their solid professional foundation and excellent teamwork, YSU team, together with Tsinghua University and Tianjin University, swept all three first prizes in this competition, achieving a historic result for our university in such event.
Certified by the International Federation for the Theory of Machines and Mechanisms (IFToMM), this event is renowned as the "Olympics" in the field of mechanism and machine science. It focuses on evaluating students' comprehensive application capabilities in core areas such as planar mechanism, kinematics, and dynamics. Robotics mechanism is a traditional and distinctive research direction of the school. Although this competition directly tested planar mechanism theory, the underlying ideas of spatial mechanism analysis and synthesis are directly in line with our university's profound accumulation in parallel mechanism science, providing students with cutting-edge perspectives and theoretical confidence.
After a rigorous internal selection process on campus, the university formed a representative team consisting of three students: Zhao Ruoxuan, Zhang Yi, and Di Yuanhao. Ye Nijia, head of the teaching group for the Mechanical Principles course, served as the instructor. Before the competition, she developed a systematic training plan for the team and provided targeted guidance on mechanism analysis, problem-solving strategies, and on-the-spot adaptability, ensuring the team members' stable performance. The Mechanical Principles Course Teaching Group serves as a vital vehicle for inheriting the university's distinctive strengths in mechanism science, providing a complete support chain for the preparation - spanning from fundamentals to practical applications, and from coursework to contest.
YSU team, along with the contestants and the Chairman of the Olympiad
In the competition, the three students faced challenges calmly and cooperated closely, demonstrating exceptional theoretical grounding and logical thinking skills. Ultimately, YSU team won the first prize in the team category. Individually, Zhao Ruoxuan received the second prize and the Special Mention Award, while Zhang Yi and Di Yuanhao each won the third prize, achieving a double harvest in both team and individual awards.
Honorary Certificates for the Participating Team
Held biennially, SIOMMS is a highly influential university-level event in the global fields of mechanism and mechanical engineering. These outstanding achievements are not only the result of the university's strong emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship education, as well as its deep integration of academic learning and competition training, but also a vivid testament to the school's over 30-year heritage in mechanism science and the profound teaching and research capabilities of the Mechanical Principles Course Teaching Group.
