In April, the Missouri Coordinating Board of Higher Education approved a new master of science degree in explosives engineering.

In July, Ralph Flori, PetE’79, MS PetE’81, PhD PetE’87, began his term as chair of geological sciences and engineering.

On July 1, Dan Oerther, director of the Ohio Center of Excellence in Sustaining the Urban Environment and professor of environmental engineering at the University of Cincinnati, became the John A. and Susan Mathes Chair of Civil Engineering.

Outdated freshman laboratories on campus got an upgrade over the summer thanks to a $160,000 estate gift from Jon T. Schneeberger, whose father, Fred C. Schneeberger, earned a bachelor’s degree in general studies in 1925. The gift upgraded nine biology, chemistry and physics laboratories on campus.

Ganesh Kumar Venayagamoorthy, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, received the 2010 Outstanding Scientist Award for Innovation from the Academy of Science in St. Louis for his efforts to develop new ways to intelligently control power grids.

Yangchuan Xing, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering, received a grant of nearly $1 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to improve cathode performance in lithium-air batteries. The grant is part of a $106 million effort to make electric cars more affordable and to produce advanced biofuels more efficiently from renewable electricity instead of sunlight.