Tag Archives: Pat O’Bannon

Jim Mahoney & Pat O’Bannon honored by SCE students

SCE faculty James Mahoney, P.E. and SCE staff Pat O’Bannon each received well-deserved recognition as ”2013 UMKC Apple Polishers” for their outstanding service and mentorship of students.  UMKC’s Apple Polisher Awards honor UMKC outstanding faculty and staff who have made a significant impact on students’ lives, professionally, academically and/or personally.  Nominations for the Apple Polisher awards are made by student leaders from each academic unit.

Jim_Mahoney_Apple_PolisherJames Mahoney, P.E. has taught at SCE for over 10 years.  In the Fall you will find him teaching senior and masters mechanical engineering students Finite Element Methods.  In the Spring he helps mechanical engineering juniors learn ME399-Heat and Mass Transfer.  A University of Missouri engineering alumnus, he works as Chief of Analysis at Honeywell.

Pat_Obannon_Apple_PolisherPat O’Bannon, SCE’s Senior Engineering Research Technician, keeps our SCE engineering laboratories running smoothly as he trains students on power tools and laboratory equipment.   Every SCE engineering student can attest to Pat’s amazing spectrum of talent and willingness to help students.  His office is the first stop for students when they need materials and/or technical advice when working on class projects.  Both our students and our faculty rely on him to find needed equipment or spare parts.   Pat is always ready to help new engineers to solve problems and achieve success.

SCE proudly congratulates James Mahoney and Pat O’Bannon!  All award recipients were honored at the April 23, 2013 Apple Polishers award ceremony in Pierson Auditorium. The annual recognition event is organized by UMKC Student Government Association.

SCE Students Help with Model Bridge Building Contest

January 26, 2013 marked the tenth year that SCE engineering students, Professor Ganesh Thiagajaran and Engineering Research Technician Pat O’Bannon have happily provided logistics and volunteers for the 30th Annual Model Bridge Building Competition which is organized and sponsored by the Western Chapter of the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers (MSPE). SCE engineering students Tim Hines, Bhargav Javvaji, Clark Johnson, Bhavani Ramneedi, Sean Rivers and Jerome Shin loaded and measured each of the 11 model bridge entries and carefully recorded results. Under the direction of Contest Chairperson Jim Guthrie, DE, PE, bridges were tested while their high school student builders and their teacher mentors experienced memorable demonstrations on how truss-type bridge design must include attention to individual member and global requirements, and the economics of the lightest bridge for the largest applied load.

Everyone found out the maximum load their bridge could withstand as weight was added until the bridges broke. The purpose of the testing was to determine the most efficient bridge as all were constructed per the contest rules and specifications provided by the 2013 International Bridge Building Contest. The winning bridge spanned 300 mm, weighed 22.3 grams, and supported 62.5 pounds of sand (28,349.4 grams) for an efficiency rating of 1,271.3. Cash prizes of $150, $75 and $50 will be awarded to the builder and teacher mentor of the three most efficient bridges at the 2013 Engineers Week Luncheon which is attended by hundreds of practicing engineers.