Monthly Archives: March 2011

UMKC Computer Science student receives Microsoft Golden Ticket

Just as Charlie won a golden ticket to the chocolate factory, junior Riddhiman Das secured a golden ticket – a two-day, all-expenses-paid trip to Microsoft world headquarters in Redmond, Wash. Das is a Computer Science student in the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Computing and Engineering.

 On April 15, 50 computer science students will experience the products, people and culture of Microsoft.  Each year, Microsoft Golden Tickets are awarded to the best 50 computer science majors to have applied.

Following are a few highlights of the Microsoft Golden Ticket program:

  • Receiving access to Microsoft engineers, visionaries, grassroots innovators, unreleased technology and networking opportunities
  • Learning where new ideas come from, studying the breadth and depth of social challenges and gaining perspective of software’s role in solving today’s and tomorrow’s issues
  • Meeting with Bill Gates and other world leaders 

 

Click here for the full UMKC Press Release.  

Taya Upkes & Zane Potts 2011 Student LEAP Award recipients!

Congratulations to Taya Upkes and Zane Potts! They are UMKC SCE’s 2011 Student 2011 Leadership Excellence Achievement Program (LEAP) Award winners and are featured on the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers Western Chapter (MSPE WC) webpage! Each year, the student LEAP award is earned by the two MSPE student chapter students that write the best 300 – 1,000 word essays on engineering ethics. This year the question addressed in the student essays was based on a provided scenario and the question posed was “Was it unethical for Engineer A to make minor changes to design documents prepared and revised by Engineer B without consulting with Engineer B?“

Taya & Zane will be honored at the March 24, 2011 dinner/presentation that our UMKC MSPE student chapter is hosting for the MSPE WC. Their names will be added to the LEAP Award Recipient plaque housed in Flarsheim Hall. Included with each award is a $50.00 gift certificate. The annual LEAP Award was established by the MSPE WC in 2005.

In addition, to the two student LEAP award winners, one SCE faculty each year is the recipient of the faculty Leadership Excellence Achievement Program (LEAP) award. The UMKC School of Computing and Engineering faculty 2011 LEAP award winner is Dr. Daniel Leon-Salas. He was awarded the LEAP Award by the student members of the MSPE/NSPE. The faculty LEAP Award recognizes one SCE faculty per year for “demonstrated mentoring abilities that encourage students to seek leadership excellence in the engineering profession.”

Our UMKC MSPE student chapter has benefited greatly from MSPE WC’s mentorship and support and are very proud to host their March 24th dinner!

Daniel Leon-Salas 2011 Faculty LEAP Award Recipient

Congratulations to Daniel Leon-Salas, Assistant Professor in SCE’s Computer Science Electrical Engineering Department, and winner of the annual Leadership Excellence Achievement Program (LEAP) Award which was established by the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers Western Chapter (MSPE WC) in 2005. The LEAP award recognizes annually the SCE faculty, as determined by MSPE student chapter members via secret ballot, that has “demonstrated mentoring abilities that encourage students to seek leadership excellence in the engineering profession.” In addition to the faculty LEAP award, student LEAP awards are earned annually by the two MSPE student chapter students that write the best 300 – 1,000 word essays on engineering ethics. This year the question addressed in the student essays was based on a provided scenario and the question posed was “Was it unethical for Engineer A to make minor changes to design documents prepared and revised by Engineer B without consulting with Engineer B?“ This year’s student winners are Taya Upkes and Zane Potts. All the LEAP recipients are featured on the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers Western Chapter (MSPE WC) webpage! Dr. Daniel Leon-Salas, Taya Upkes & Zane Potts will be honored at the March 24, 2011 dinner/presentation that our UMKC MSPE student chapter is hosting for the MSPE WC and their names will be added to the LEAP Award Recipient plaque housed in Flarsheim Hall. The UMKC MSPE student chapter has benefited greatly from MSPE WC’s mentorship and support and thank them for their sponsorship of the LEAP award.

Deb Chatterjee Receives ONR Summer Fellowship

Deb Chatterjee, associate professor of Electrical Engineering, has been selected for an Office of Naval Research (ONR) fellowship for the third year in a row – 2009, 2010 & 2011.  He will  be working for the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Radar Division, Electromagnetics Branch from May to August, 2011.  Congratulations, Dr Chatterjee!

 

Reza Derakhshani’s Research Featured!

Assistant professor Reza Derakhshani’s research was featured in UM’s Research and Economic Development Annual Report, providing UM System readers an example of the exciting research being conducted by UMKC faculty.  SCE is proud to have one of our faculty represent our campus.  This same story has also been chosen for a publication UM System Vice President Mike Nichols is taking to a United Kingdom BioTrinity 2011 conference this April.

 

Dr. Kevern Key-note speaker at several conferences

It’s convention season again and Dr. Kevern is on the road lecturing about pervious and sustainable concrete across the US. So far this year Dr. Kevern has been the invited and key-note speaker at conferences in Washington D.C., Baton Rouge, LA, Kansas City, and Rapid City, SD. Pervious concrete is a popular topic for stormwater management, urban heat island mitigation, and slip and fall reduction.  His interesting upcoming research projects include installation and monitoring of the first photocatalytic (smog eating) high volume concrete roadway in the U.S., scheduled for construction during summer of 2011 in St. Louis. The project will include air, stormwater, and urban heat island components.

Deb Chatterjee Keynote Speaker at IDGA’s 7th Military Antennas Summit

Dr. Deb Chatterjee, has accepted an invitation to provide the keynote presentation at The Institute for Defense and Government Advancement (IDGA) 7th Military Antennas Summit. The summit will be held in San Diego CA, from March 21 – 23, 2011. Dr. Chatterjee is well known for his experience in the military communications field and is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at SCE. Topic for his address will be Applications of Military Antennas for UAVs.

SCE Students Assist at SAME Industry Day at UMKC!

Seven SCE students helped participants with parking and displays and then visited with the attendees arriving for the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Greater Kansas City Post 3rd Annual Industry Day Education and Training Workshop at UMKC on March 9, 2011. Despite the am temperature being around freezing, the students arrived at 6:30 am! More SCE student volunteers arrived in the late afternoon to help break-down the displays. SCE faculty/staff/students were invited to attend events on the agenda, stop by, view the displays and talk with representatives from local and regional consulting engineering firms, construction firms and materials suppliers (30 states are represented), other professional services companies, and government organizations such as the Army Corps of Engineers. All the volunteers reported that they had learned a great deal about various companies and industries!