Category Archives: Events

SCE events

Big Beam Team Places in Top 5 Nationally

The Official Results are in!  Our Big Beam team placed 5th at the 2014 National Big Beam Contest and 1st at the Zone 3 (Midwest Region) Big Beam Contest.   The contest is sponsored by PCI (Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute) and attracted many contenders.  Teams adhered to a strict set of rules to build an 18 foot long precast-prestressed concrete beam which was then tested as a 16 foot span.

Boasting a collaborative team of students from University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) and Missouri University of Science & Technology (MS&T), a great amount of effort went into achieving these results.  Our heartiest congratulations and “job well done” to team members Timothy Hines (UMKC), Kristen Reynolds (UMKC), Mayuri Patil (UMKC), Eli Hernandez(MS&T), Alex Griffin (MS&T), Hayder Alghazali (MS&T) and Kaylea Smith (MS&T) and to the team faculty advisors Ganesh Thiagarajan, Ph.D. (UMKC), John Myers, Ph.D. (MS&T).  Kevin Truman, Dean of UMKC School of Computing and Engineering, noted “It is great to see success such as this, but more importantly your commitment to work as a team, to collaborate between the campuses and to use your abilities to their fullest.  As a Dean I am most proud of the fact that you all have made these commitments and followed through; the success shown in the results is just icing on the cake as they say.”

We also want to thank Mr. Mark Simpson and his group at Coreslab Structures Kansas City office, who serve as the team’s PCI Producer.  Sponsorship by a PCI producer is a competition requirement and every year Coreslab Structures has enthusiastically sponsored our Big Beam Team.  Sponsorship is a lot of effort which includes the fabrication of the student team’s design, supplying both labor and materials, and then transporting the beam to Rolla from Kansas City.   Big Beam team member and civil engineering student Kristen Reynolds sums up the impact of their support, “I am so excited and feel so blessed to have been a part of this team and experience. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to be included in the UMKC and MS&T family and I have loved every minute of it. Let’s keep it up for next year!”

We wholeheartedly agree!  Go Big Beam Team!

SCE Baja Racing Team Places in TOP 10!

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It’s been a fantastic year for the UMKC Baja Racing Team, competing in 3 races this year culminating in winning 9th in design and 21st overall (in field of 118 vehicles) at the June 4-7 SAE competition held in Peoria, IL . The Peoria race was the third and fiercest competition of the year as each vehicle entered reflected continual improvements from lessons learned in the earlier two races.  The Baja SAE UTEP held April 24-27, 2014 in El Paso, TX found the UMKC Baja vehicle scoring 12th in maneuverability and 38th Overall.   The Baja SAE Kansas held May 22-25, 2014 Pittsburg, KS resulted in 6th in sled pull and 7th in sales presentation and 41st Overall.   Complete results for all three 2014 races are now posted.

In each race the UMKC Baja Racing Team received the top overall score of Missouri universities competing and was second behind Kansas State for Kansas universities. Congratulations to the team members, officers and advisors participating in the competitions!

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UMKC & SCE to host 2015 National Student Steel Bridge Competition

Save the Date!  UMKC & SCE have the honor of hosting the 2015 National Student Steel Bridge Competition which will be held here in Kansas City on May 22-23, 2015.  From an initial field expected to number over 200 teams, the top scoring teams at the regional competitions will then advance to the national competition in Kansas City.

Our UMKC ASCE Student Chapter for the School of Computing and Engineering has been very active with regard to competing in Steel Bridge.  Since 2001, our Steel Bridge team has competed in the NSSBC a total of 7 times. Their best showing was at the 2008 national competition in Florida where UMKC placed first in the Stiffness category and in the top 10 overall. For the past two years, the ASCE Student chapter (advised by Drs. John Kevern, and Jerry Richardson) has received letters of commendation from ASCE.  We look forward to showcasing Kansas City to our nation’s future civil engineers and their faculty advisors.

New SCE Student Collaborative Space Dedicated

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A $59,000 gift from Burns & McDonnell and UMKC SCE alumni who are employees of the engineering firm, is responsible for the new “student collaboration space” which was officially opened at a dedication reception on June 5.
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2014 SCE Alumni Golf Tournament Raises $8000 for Student Scholarships

The annual SCE Alumni Golf Tournament held at Deer Creek Golf Course on Wednesday, June 4, 2014!  Thirteen teams braved the course and, despite threatening rain skies at the start, were rewarded with cool breezes and sunny skies.  Proceeds raised at the golf tournament help meet the needs of SCE students through scholarships and programs that directly benefit them.  Thanks to participants’ amazing generosity, the SCE Alumni Association will increase funding of its endowed SCE Alumni Association Scholarship by more than $8,000.  The tournament would not have been possible without its sponsors and players.  SCE thanks all involved for their support and enthusiasm!  Sponsors, including Burns & McDonnell as the presenting sponsor of the tournament, included:

  • Duane Anstaett, P.E.
  • Burns & McDonnell
  • Garmin
  • Gibbens Drake Scott
  • The Golf Doctor
  • HDR Inc.
  • Olsson Associates
  • Siemens
  • TREKK Design Group

Thank you!

John Kevern and Mike Kelly are 2014 SCE Good Teaching Award Recipients

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Mike Kelly, Teaching Professor in CSEE and John Kevern, Assistant Professor in CME, were recently presented with the 2014 SCE Good Teaching Awards.  Annually, the UMKC SCE Good Teaching Award is given to two SCE faculty, one from our Civil and Mechanical Engineering (CME) department and one from our Computer Science Electrical Engineering (CSEE) department.   Selected by a vote of the graduating SCE seniors, this award truly reflects SCE students’ appreciation and regard.

The awards were announced in front of their students and peers at the May 2, 2014 Spring Awards Ceremony and Reception held in Pierson Auditorium in the Atterbury Student Success Center.  SCE gratefully acknowledges the SCE Alumni Association Board for their support of the Good Teaching Awards. The SCE AA Board established an endowed fund to support the Engineering Good Teaching award and works each year with the dean to review the SCE students’ nominations and ratify recipients.

SCE Students Recognized for Involvement and Leadership

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SCE has amazing students and we were proud to recognize their achievements at the May 2, 2014 annual SCE Spring Awards Ceremony and Reception held at Pierson Auditorium in the Atterbury Student Success Center.

SCE students participating in our student competition teams, student organizations, student mentoring and recruitment team (SMART), and our outstanding students (junior, senior, masters and IPh.D students in each discipline) as determined by the faculty were acknowledged for their leadership, involvement, dedication and hard work. Parents and guests joined SCE’s dean, faculty and staff in celebrating their excellence, commitment and drive. We send to all involved our heartiest congratulations!

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SCE Student Leaders Receive UMKC SGA Awards

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Two SCE student leaders received UMKC SGA Awards at the May 5, 2014 SGA Leadership Awards Banquet.  Mechanical engineering freshman Torshawna Griffin received the UMKC SGA Emerging Leader Award, given to a freshman, sophomore or first year transfer student whose energy and vision revitalized their student org or council.  Mechanical engineering graduating senior Sierra Shipley received the UMKC SGA Best Leader of a Student Organization, the highest award given to a student organization leader.  Sierra is the 2013-2014 president of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). These awards are given to 13 student leaders annually.  Nominations for the awards are evaluated by the SGA executive board which selects each years’ recipients.  Congratulations Torshawna and Sierra!

SCE Students Compete in IBM BlueMix Hackathon

UMKC was the first school in the country to have a 24-hour IBM BlueMix Beta Hackathon as part of the IBM BlueMix Beta Program. The fast-paced student competition began May 1, 2014. The hackathon consisted of teams of UMKC SCE students competing against each other to come up with a new BlueMix application. Each team was comprised of two to three students, including both undergraduate and graduate students.  Prizes included certificates and IBM promoting the winners. See the April 29, 2014 UMKC Today article for more details.