Monthly Archives: August 2013

Prof. Praveen Rao Earns IBM Big Data and Analytics Faculty Award

Praveen Rao, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, was recognized by IBM for his work in the development of curriculum that will prepare a skilled workforce capable of tackling challenges in Big Data management. He is one of 14 professors world-wide that were selected by IBM Big Data and Analytics Faculty Awards for this award. According to the Wall Street Journal, IBM is working toward narrowing the Big Data Skills Gap By Partnering With More Than 1,000 Global Universities. The UMKC Today article, UMKC Professors Nets IBM Faculty Award, also has additional information.

UMKC NSBE Student Chapter Hosts Regional Conference

It was a busy summer for mechanical engineering student Sierra Shipley and electrical computer engineering student William Leverette as they served on the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Regional Leadership Conference Planning Committee helping to the organize NSBE Regional Leadership Conference held here in Kansas City August 9 – 11, 2013. Along with their NSBE student chapter staff advisor Selena Albert, Sierra and William made sure the 100 NSBE student engineers who traveled from all over the Midwest to attend the conference walked away with a better understanding of what it means to be a leader. See the UMKC Today article, UMKC Hosts National Society of Black Engineers Leadership Conference, for more information.

SCE Welcomes Our New Students

Our new SCE students enjoyed a warm and informative welcome from SCE student organization leaders, faculty, staff and our student led Student Mentoring and Recruitment Team (SMART). Dean Kevin Truman welcomed the 100 new undergraduate students by providing recommendations for creating a vibrant campus experience. He encouraged them to be active, rather than passive, learners, and gave suggestions for a successful transition to UMKC. A scavenger hunt activity led students to find out about student organizations, SCE laboratories, departmental offices, computer labs, the student lounge and other locations. SCE Student Affairs staff coordinates this annual SCE event which follows UMKC Convocation. At the conclusion of Convocation, students walk to their respective academic homes to learn more about their School’s student organizationsand being involved within their discipline and School. Our Best Wishes for a Great Academic Year to all our new SCE students!

Presentations Showcase Student Learning and Research

SCE students – get ready to be creative, engaged and challenged. To get an idea of what’s in store for you, take a look at how computer science students and mechanical engineering students participated in presentation/poster sessions last spring. Keep in mind that the three presentations/poster sessions described below are only a few examples of the many projects our SCE students become involved in at SCE. Our faculty know that collaboration and participation are fundamental to successful computer science and engineering professional practice!

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SCE Faculty and Students Central To Success of Computer Science 4 High School Summer Camp

The Computer Science 4 High School Summer Camp, CS4HS@UMKC, was developed and taught by SCE faculty Yugi Lee and Cory Beard, along with Alexis Petri from the UMKC Institute for Human Development and Liz Tascio, UMKC English Department faculty. Participants learned how to write computer code to tell their own creative stories using Scratch, a programming language developed by MIT Media Lab. View the students’ project pictures now posted on the web. The UMKC SCE CS4HS camp was sponsored through the Google Computer Science for High School initiative. It was one of dozens held across the world and sponsored by Google. Continue reading →

UM Faculty Scholars Program Fuels Great Collaboration

Dr. Ceki Halmen from the UMKC School of Computing and Engineering and Dr. Haitao Li from the UMSL College of Business Administration are co-PI’s on a recently funded University of Missouri Interdisciplinary Intercampus Research proposal entitled “Decision Support Tool Model for Scheduling and Resource Allocation in Construction Projects.” This collaborative effort was a direct result of Drs. Halmen and Li participating in the 2012-2013 UM Faculty Scholars Program where they met, discussed and developed this proof of concept research project which applies risk analysis methodology currently used in the operations research field to construction management in order to manage resources more efficiently in a construction project. Their project showcases well the power of collaborative research as Dr. Halmen is a civil engineer and Dr. Haitao Li’s area of expertise is in Logistics and Operations Management.

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SCE Students and Staff Lead Google Fiber Summer App Camps for High School Students

SCE students and staff were prime movers in ensuring two one-week Google Fiber Summer App Camps held this July at SCE were great successes. Matt Mohler, electrical computer engineering junior, IEEE Robotics team member and SCE Student Ambassador, served as the director for both camps. Using MIT’s App Inventor software and hands-on instructional techniques, students learned how to develop applications for Android platform phones. 17 Kansas City Missouri School District high school students and one teacher participated in the first camp session and 21 Kansas City Kansas School District high school students and two teachers participated in the second camp session. Continue reading →

Student Researchers Measure Stormwater Runoff

UMKC SCE student researchers Josh Arnold, Mike Scott and Yanan Ma have been hard at work helping Dr. Deb O’Bannon complete the field and lab work that is being used to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of urban raingardens in reducing stormwater runoff. During the spring of 2013, ending July 1, 2013, hydraulic and water quality monitoring was conducted for the raingarden installation located between 75^th St, 79^th St, Troost and the Paseo. Eight raingardens were monitored to measure their ability to absorb storm water. Continue reading →