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By USucceed, April 28, 2015 8:41 am

The UMKC School of Computing and Engineering Robotics Team recently attended the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Region 5 Robotics Competition, where they placed second among the 23 teams in attendance.

UMKC entered five robots in the April 18 competition held concurrently with the IEEE Region 5 Business Meeting and Conference in New Orleans, La. This is UMKC’s 11^th consecutive year to send a team to the competition.

Three robots were made by the UMKC Robotics Team and two robots were made by the electrical and computer engineering senior design students. UMKC’s competing students represented computer science, electrical and computer engineering and mechanical engineering programs.

“The UMKC Robot Team provides students from all disciplines and levels a chance to apply what they are learning in the classroom to an object which provides them a visual of all their hard work,” said Debby Dilks, UMKC staff member and team advisor.

“Not only do the current robot team members make lifelong friends, but they become a part of something bigger,” Dilks said. “Traditionally, right before we leave for a competition, past robot team members from all over the world send us good luck and best wishes on our Facebook page. They are just as excited as we are at this success.”

The top placing team, UMKC 1, included Matt Justus, Eric Gonzalez, Ryan Rouse and Darren Cogan. A short video of their robot competing in the final qualification round is available online.

Other robot teams and their members, by order of placement, were:

• UMKC 3: Connor Murphy, Kristen Bilgere, Stephanie Retzke and Josh Herndon
• UMKC 5: Mladen Kojic, Chuck Collins, Josh Wears, Ryan Hamilton and Sam Ringwood (Senior Design Team)
• UMKC 2: Scott McElfresh, Calvin Seever, Chase Peterson and Chris Denniston
• UMKC 4: Michael Mahoney, Feras Alabdalla, Innocent Nsoh-Awasom, Brian Ruggiero and John Koech (Senior Design Team)

UMKC Robotics is a multi-disciplinary competition team including students from the Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science degree programs. The senior design teams consist of senior students in the Electrical and Computer Engineering program. The robot team also had a business major on this year’s team. In the past, they have had biology, pharmacy, physics, chemistry, civil engineering and English majors on the team.

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By USucceed, April 28, 2015 8:32 am

[guest post by Melanie Guthrie, director of the Master of Science in Anesthesia program at the UMKC School of Medicine]

The UMKC MSA program students and faculty have recently returned from another great annual conference.  The American Academy of Anesthesiologists Assistants (AAAA) annual meeting was held in Orlando Florida this year.  There were many highlights but the obvious were the awards and recognition our students received.

Juveria Nayeem, a UMKC third year student was honored as outgoing co-chairperson of the student component society and Joseph Borup, a first year student was recognized as one of the new incoming co-chairs.  Many other UMKC students were honored for their service on various other committees.

The UMKC MSA program is proud to announce that we have once again claimed the title of AA student Jeopardy champions!  This is a friendly competition between all of the programs.  The uniqueness about UMKC is that they are all first year students participating and while other programs students have been in classes for 6-9 months our students have been in class 6 weeks!

Last but not least the AAAA began last year a AAAA cup that one program receives each year.  This is based philanthropy, leadership, involvement, professionalism, and the Jeopardy competition.  For the second year in row the program brought the trophy back to UMKC.

I am very proud of our students and wanted to share with you some of their recent accomplishments.  It is wonderful to go to these meetings and to hear from so many people how great our students are!

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By USucceed, March 31, 2015 4:52 pm

Whatever your goals are, UMKC Summer Session is a great way to meet them. Whether you’re looking to catch up, make sure you stay on track, or want to graduate in 4 years, UMKC Summer Session 2015 offers flexible scheduling, a variety of classes, online offerings, and in-state tuition for area Kansas students.  Registration is now open for everyone.

Each year Summer Session allows students to complete course credits in over 50 academic areas within many UMKC schools:
• Bloch School of Management
• College of Arts and Sciences
• School of Biological Sciences
• School of Education
• School of Nursing and Health Studies
• School of Computing and Engineering

Check with your academic advisor about summer classes for you. For a full rundown of Summer Session 2015, including registration dates and course lists, visit www.umkc.edu/summer.

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By USucceed, February 24, 2015 4:14 pm

Did You Receive a Membership Invitation to Phi Kappa Phi?

Congratulations on earning an invitation to membership in The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi!  It means you are among the best and brightest that your university has to offer—not just in your chosen field of study, but among all academic disciplines.  The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline honor society.  Standards for election are extremely high.  Membership is by invitation only to the top 7.5 percent of second-semester juniors and the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students.

Because Phi Kappa Phi is highly selective, membership is a stamp of excellence that is recognized by graduate and professional school admissions committees and employers.  UMKC’s Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 103 is a Chapter of Merit.