The next generation

March 13, 2013 by

Creating a better tomorrow. That has been a theme for Rolla graduates for more than 140 years.

Throughout the university’s history, a steady stream of students has come to Rolla in search of a world-class education. For these individuals, Missouri S&T is more than just a place to get a diploma. It’s a place where they find their direction, learn how to be leaders and question conventional thinking. It’s a place where they can follow their own personal path and shape a future that’s distinctly their own.

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Filed Under: Features, In this issue, Spring 2013

Engineering … with a twist

March 13, 2013 by

Wesley Hackett knows a good problem when he sees it. And he loves problems. Perhaps that explains why he’s a huge fan of the Rubik’s Cube, the iconic 3D puzzle from the 1980s. In fact, he has at least five different models of the twisting object, from the simple 2×2 Mini Cube to a V-Cube 7 that has more than 200 pieces.

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Filed Under: Features, In this issue, Spring 2013

Good works

March 13, 2013 by

Rachel Feist witnessed the destructive effects of poor water quality. But she’s also seen how her skills can make life a little better for people — especially those living thousands of miles away from her hometown of Tulsa, Okla.

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Filed Under: Features, In this issue, Spring 2013

A man with a plan

March 10, 2013 by

Do you know where you will be five years from now? How about 10 years from now? Michael Bouchard does. He has a 15-year plan for personal success and has carefully outlined every step required to get him there.

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Filed Under: Features, In this issue, Spring 2013

Dancing with code

March 9, 2013 by

It’s no surprise that Marquia Lewis decided to study computer science in college. “I was around computers all the time growing up, and I really like them,” says Lewis, a sophomore whose mother, a software engineer for the Boeing Co. in St. Louis, also majored in computer science.

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Filed Under: Features, In this issue, Spring 2013

A lesson in dedication

March 9, 2013 by

An offensive lineman, Peterson helped the Miners end the 2012 season at No. 24 in the American Football Coaches Association poll. He sees hybrid power systems — the combination of solar photovoltaics with other power generation devices —­ as key to
the future. His portrait was taken in Emerson Hall.

Brian Peterson’s dedication to football — and to Missouri S&T — helped push the Miners to a record 10-1 season and landed him on the Capital One Academic All-America team. He is only the 19th Miner in the history of the football program to be selected for this honor.

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Filed Under: Features, In this issue, Spring 2013

Official business

March 9, 2013 by

Missouri S&T’s business and information technology degree programs have earned initial accreditation by the board of directors of AACSB International — the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

AACSB is the longest-serving global accrediting body for business and accounting programs.

To be accredited, S&T’s programs met 21 quality standards, including quality of faculty, resource management, and interactions of faculty and students. Fewer than 5 percent of institutions worldwide are AACSB accredited. S&T’s program started in fall 2001.

Filed Under: Around the Puck, Spring 2013

S&T to help train Saudi miners

March 9, 2013 by

Missouri S&T received a $24 million grant from the Saudi Arabian government to help train and educate Saudi mining professionals.

S&T will partner with the Technical and Vocational Training Corp., a Saudi government entity, and the Saudi Arabian Mining Co., Ma’aden, to establish Saudi Mining Polytechnic. With S&T leading the way, SMP plans to educate 200
professionals annually in mineral processing and surface and underground mining.

Canadian Petroleum Services, Caterpillar Global Mining, The Doe Run Co., Immersive Technologies, Orica Inc. and P&H Mining are also partners in the venture.

Filed Under: Around the Puck, Spring 2013

Preventing cataracts

March 9, 2013 by

Nuran Ercal (left) recently received a grant to fund the use of an antioxidant to prevent degenerative eye conditions. Pictured with Ercal is Sri Krishna Yasawi Maddirala, a Ph.D. student in chemistry.

Using eye drops prepared with the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine amide (NACA), Nuran Ercal is conducting research that could prevent or cure cataracts, macular degeneration and other degenerative eye disorders.

Ercal, the Richard K. Vitek (Chem’58)/Foundation for Chemical Research Endowed Chair in Biochemistry who is also an M.D., says NACA is better than the experimental treatment N-acetylcysteine because it crosses cell membranes easier and can be used in lower doses.

“NACA eye drops could represent an alternative to costly surgery, while greatly improving the quality of life for those afflicted,” says Ercal, who has been testing NACA on HIV-related problems, lead poisoning and other toxicities for 10 years. About four years ago she began testing it on eye disorders.

Ercal received a three-year, $378,000 research grant from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health using preliminary data based on research by her former Ph.D. student, Joshua Carey, Chem’07, Phys’07, PhD Chem’12.

Carey’s dissertation showed how NACA could slow cataract growth on rats that had been given a solution that causes cataracts to form.

“The NACA solution prevented cataracts from forming,” says Ercal. “Our research will build on Josh’s research, to see if NACA can actually reverse the degeneration as well.”

Filed Under: Around the Puck, Research, Spring 2013

Historic season on the gridiron

March 9, 2013 by

The first season for football in the Great Lakes Valley Conference was a historic one for the Miners. S&T finished with a 10-1 record to tie the university’s single-season record for victories. Even though the Miners weren’t invited to the NCAA Division II playoffs, the team was ranked 24th in the final poll conducted by the American Football Coaches Association. It was the first time since 1984 the program was ranked.

“I was very pleased with the way things came together this year,” says Miner head coach David Brown, who stepped down in mid-February to become an assistant coach at Fresno State University. “We learned how to compete and finish. It takes a lot just to have a winning season, so you can only imagine what has to happen in order to win 10 games. It was a total team effort.

“Our senior class played a huge part in placing S&T football on the national stage,” Brown says. “We definitely have a solid foundation to build on for years to come.”

Filed Under: Around the Puck, Sports, Spring 2013