biagi_kevinALABAMA
Kevin Biagi ’80
Chief scientist, nou Systems Inc.

Like many students, Kevin Biagi (B.S. ’80) came to UMKC because it was a close to home and had a great reputation. That education has since taken him to the middle of the desert, testing bomb-detection equipment for the U.S. military.

Biagi is chief scientist at nou Systems, Inc., a small company that specializes in defense technology. In his 31-year career, Biagi has worked with missiles, satellites and other devices designed to help the U.S. government fight its enemies abroad.

That’s how he ended up spending several months in the desert blowing things up.

Biagi spent weeks in places like Yuma, Az. And China Lake, Cali. He once spent two months in Wake Island, more than 2,000 miles off the coast of Hawaii.

The goal was to help American forces protect themselves against unconventional bombs known as improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. Biagi and the rest of his team would plant explosives to see if their counter-IED technology could find them. The goal, Biagi says, was to “detect them before they go boom.”

“We tested [counter-IEDs] against homemade explosives that the bad guys would use,” Biagi says “You basically test it like you’re going to use it.”

Though his office is thousands of miles away from any war zone, Biagi says he hopes his work makes Americans safer.

“I was in meetings with people who had been in Afghanistan and had been in IED attacks, and had friends who died,” Biagi says. “That’s more than academics.”

Another rewarding part of his job, Biagi says, is the opportunity to solve problems. He currently works with small satellites in Huntsville, Ala., helping the Army utilize them on missions.

“It’s complex for a number of reasons,” Biagi says. “One is the science of it, even doing it in a lab. And then you say ‘okay, this has to be something that works in the field with soldiers.’ That’s a different story.”

UMKC is where Biagi decided to pursue a career in physics, but he also appreciates the writing skills he learned while pursuing his degree.

“I still tell people to this day, it’s a good mix as an undergraduate. Even if you want to go into science, having a good liberal arts background is important.”

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