Category Archives: Alumni

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!

SCE Student Jason Regina Recognized for his Contributions

Civil Engineering senior Jason Regina has been recognized by UMKC as a Fall 2013 Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Honor Recipient.

Jason was one of seven UMKC graduating seniors honored in his class.  This competitive award recognizes students that have made a significant contribution to the university or community via volunteer efforts.  In addition, a cumulative 3.25 or greater GPA is required as an academic pre-requisite.

Regarding Jason’s nomination, the selection committee advised “The committee was very impressed with his academic achievements, leadership roles, and community service . . .”  Jason has been instrumental in promoting international education, actively involved with Engineers without Borders, and is a member of the Tau Beta Pi and Chi Epsilon honor societies.

A breakfast reception and award ceremony was held on Dec. 13, 2013 to honor all of the Fall 2013 recipients.

Congratulations to the SCE Class of 2013

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Congratulations to the UMKC School of Computing and Engineering (SCE) class of 2013! Demand for highly skilled engineering, computer science and information technology professionals is strong and growing. We know bright futures await our 74 SCE undergraduate, masters and doctoral students who earned their degrees on December 13, 2013.

Preceding the 5 pm winter commencement ceremony, Dean Kevin Z. Truman and our SCE faculty and staff hosted a reception and afternoon luncheon for our graduates and their guests.

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SCE Alumni Divya Ketharnath Receives Scholarship to Pursue Ph.D.

UMKC School of Computing and Engineering alumni, Divya Ketharnath (M.S.E.E. 2008), was recently awarded an esteemed scholarship to continue pursuing her Ph.D. in electrical engineering at the University of Houston, where she is conducting nanoparticle research for cancer therapy applications.

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2013 SCE Alumni Golf Tournament Raises Scholarship Funds Despite Challenging Weather

SCE Alumni Golf Tournament

SCE alumni and supporters participated in our annual SCE Alumni Golf Tournament on June 5, 2013 at the Deer Creek Golf Course to raise funds for SCE scholarships. The rain storm earlier in the morning created a few challenges for the afternoon golfers including a bridge washing out making the 4th tee inaccessible and giant, muddy water splashes as carts pushed through low lying water. Twelve teams braved the course and were rewarded with delightfully cool, yet comfortable, weather and a great show from Deer Creek’s fast, gushing waters and even some rapids due to heavy rains much of the week prior to the event. The day concluded with a clubhouse dinner and presentations. Continue reading

Alumni Achievement Award Recipient Rajiv Chilakalapudi Travels from India to Visit Alma Mater

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SCE is very proud of alum Rajiv Chilakalapudi (Master of Science in Computer Science 1997), our 2013 SCE Alumni Achievement Award Recipient. Traveling all the way from India, Rajiv spent several days this April at UMKC and SCE reconnecting with the faculty that inspired him, sharing with SCE students and faculty how he started his company and lessons learned from his experiences, meeting with school friends and participating in events in honor of the Class of 2013 Alumni Award recipients. Continue reading

ECE Graduate Tim Sylvester Listed in ENR Top 20 under 40

Tim Sylvester is getting noticed. He was recently listed in the the ENR Top 20 under 40 and is an active contributor to KC’s entrepreneurial community. Tim’s company, Integrated Roadways, recently completed installing modular pavement slabs on I-35 for KDOT. Future versions will include sensors that capture data related to roadway conditions such as traffic jams, potholes, cracks in addition to measuring vehicle type and throughput.

SCE supporter & student sells company he co-founded to Microsoft

Eleven years ago Steve Dispensa co-founded Phonefactor which quickly became a leader in multifactor authentication (MFA) solutions. A gifted computer scientist, Steve found the undergraduate and graduate coursework he took from several SCE computer science faculty provided him the theoretical and technical knowledge he needed as the Chief Technical Officer for Phonefactor. The innovation and significance of Phonefactor’s work in authentication solutions was internationally recognized when Microsoft announced it had acquired Phonefactor on October 4, 2012. As the announcement explained, “The acquisition of PhoneFactor will help Microsoft bring effective and easy-to-use multifactor authentication to our cloud services and on-premises applications,” said Bharat Shah, corporate vice president, Server and Tools Division for Microsoft. “In addition, PhoneFactor’s solutions will help Microsoft customers, partners and developers enhance the security of almost any authentication scenario.” Steve serves on our SCE undergraduate computer science degree advisory board, providing SCE input and feedback on its computer science programs from an industry perspective. More about Phonefactor’s acquisition can be found here.