UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI–ROLLA


The 'University of Missouri–Rolla' (abbreviated 'UMR'), is an institution of higher learning located in Rolla, Missouri and part of the University of Missouri System. Its 5,500 students primarily study engineering and sciences.
On January 1, 2008, the university will change its name to 'Missouri University of Science and Technology'.[3]

Contents
History
Distinctions
Campus highlights
UMR Stonehenge
Millennium Arch
Curtis Laws Wilson Library
Student engineering projects
UMR Solar House Team
Advanced Aero Vehicle Group
Solar car
Formula SAE car
Concrete canoe
Human powered vehicle
Robotics Competition Team
Mine Rescue Team
Student life
Newspaper
Radio
St. Patrick's Day
Intramural sports
Student organizations
Fraternities and Sororities
Governing Councils
Fraternities (arranged by Greek alphabet)
Sororities (arranged by Greek alphabet)
Notable alumni
Computer Sciences
Engineering
Scientists
Mining
Astronauts
Business
References
External links

History


Norwood Hall from University Center West.

UMR was originally an MU offshoot called the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy (MSM), founded in 1870 as the first technological learning institution west of the Mississippi River. Early in its beginnings, the School of Mines was focused primarily on mining and metallurgy, but by the 1920s, had expanded into civil, electrical, mechanical, and chemical engineering as well as chemistry, physics, mathematics and geology.
A greater emphasis was placed on research and graduate education during the 1950s. In 1964, the School of Mines, although always a part of the University of Missouri system, changed its name to ''University of Missouri at Rolla''. The curriculum was expanded to include most of the science and engineering disciplines, as well as liberal arts. In 1968, the campus name was slightly altered to the ''University of Missouri–Rolla'', thus conforming to the naming scheme of the other three campuses. Business and management programs were gradually added in the following years. Although known primarily as an engineering school, UMR has a wide variety of majors in the arts, sciences, and business areas. On April 6, 2007 it was announced after a vote by the Missouri Board of Curators, that as of January 1, 2008 UMR would be known as ''Missouri University of Science and Technology'' or ''Missouri S&T'' for short.3
UMR ranks in the top twenty-five schools in the number of bachelor's degrees awarded in engineering.[4]

Distinctions


UMR has been voted a "top 100 value in education" and also named one of the nation's "most connected" campuses. UMR was voted "Large School of the Year 2005" by the Midwest Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls, or MACURH (a regional subdivision of NACURH).
The average ACT score of entering freshmen is consistently above both the state (21.5) and national (20.9) averages. The average ACT score for first-time freshmen was 27.1 in 2004.

Campus highlights


UMR Stonehenge

UMR Stonehenge, next to U.S. Highway 63.

UMR Stonehenge is a partial reconstruction of the original Stonehenge monument located on Salisbury Plain, west of London. UMR's version of the ancient structure is located on the northwest corner of campus, and was dedicated on June 20, 1984 during the summer solstice. It features a 50 foot (15 m) diameter ring of 30 stones around a horseshoe of five trilithons through which various sightings of sunrise and sunset can be made. About 160 tons of granite were used to construct the monument. The rock was cut by UMR's water jet cutter equipment, which used two waterjets cutting at a pressure of 15,000 pounds of force per square inch (103 MPa), slicing across the surface just like a conventional saw. The cutter moved at a speed of about 10 feet per minute (50 mm/s) and cut between one-quarter and one-half inch (6 and 13 mm) on each pass. [5]
After completion, UMR Stonehenge received an award from the National Society of Professional Engineers for being one of 1985's Ten Outstanding Engineering Achievements.[6]
The Millennium Arch, in front of Castleman Hall.

Millennium Arch

UMR worked with artist Edwina Sandys to develop a new way to make deep cuts in granite, and used the method to create the Millennium Arch sculpture, across the campus from Stonehenge. The Arch is a single trilithon with a vague silhouette of a man and a woman on each of its supporting megaliths several meters from the arch (and can be seen in the distance between the two silhouettes in the image to the left). The monument is located on 10th Street, facing Castleman Hall, in Rolla. The project was developed in the High Pressure Waterjet Laboratory of the Rock Mechanics & Explosive Research Center at UMR.
There are two similar megaliths showing the same silhouette on each side of the sidewalk entrance to the Rock Mechanics & Explosive Research Center.
Curtis Laws Wilson Library

The Curtis Laws Wilson Library is the main academic library on the campus [7].

Student engineering projects


There are many activities, clubs and teams at UMR, but there are several engineering design teams that frequently take the spotlight.
UMR Solar House Team

The UMR Solar House Team designs and builds a house that is completely sustained by energy collected directly from the sun. After the house is built on campus, it is disassembled and transported to Washington D.C. for the Solar Decathlon, a month long competition. The Solar House Team placed 7th overall in the Solar Decathlon. The team took 1st place in the Energy Balance category at the 2005 Competition and first place in Refrigeration at the 2002 competition. http://solarhouse.umr.edu
Advanced Aero Vehicle Group

The team constructs a remote controlled airplane for the annual Society of Automotive Engineers' Aero Design competition. This year's plane, which had an 8-foot wingspan and weighed only 9.4 pounds, competed in the Aero Design's open class designation at the east competition. The project is of interest mainly to aerospace engineering students, but students from other disciplines are also on the team. In 2005, the group placed third at the east competition and fifth at the west competition.
Solar car

UMR's solar car team has met with much success. Every two years, the team constructs a single-passenger car, its top covered with solar cells, that runs exclusively on solar power. The car's aluminum frame houses lithium ion batteries, which are much lighter than conventional lead-acid batteries. The driver lies on his back to make the car's design more aerodynamic. The car has a joystick instead of a steering wheel to allow the driver to exit the car more quickly and reduce the amount of space necessary for the driver. Every time the car is rebuilt, changes make it lighter and more efficient. The team regularly enters solar car races in the United States and occasionally enters international races. The car claimed first place in Sunrayce '99, first place in the 2000 Formula Sun Grand Prix, fourth place in the Australian World Solar Challenge in 2001, second place in the 2001 American Solar Challenge, and first place in the 2003 American Solar Challenge.
Formula SAE car

UMR's Formula SAE team constructs a small formula-style race car every year, suitable for mass production and sale to weekend autocrossers. The team competes in Pontiac, Michigan against more than 100 other teams from universities around the world. The vehicle's cost, sales presentation, engineering design, acceleration, braking, and racing performance all factor in to its final score. The team has placed in the top 20 in nine of the past twelve competitions, including third-, fourth-, and ninth-place finishes.
Concrete canoe

UMR's Concrete Canoe Team designs and constructs a concrete canoe and races it on a lake in regional and national competitions. The team has participated in concrete canoe competitions since the 1970s. The entire project, including fundraising and construction, is completed by the students. The team took third place in 2004.
Human powered vehicle

The UMR Human Powered Vehicle Team constructs a man-powered land vehicle every year to compete in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' Human Powered Vehicle Challenge. The vehicle, which looks something like a bobsled with bicycle wheels, must be light, highly efficient and powered only by its single occupant.
Robotics Competition Team

The Robotics Team participates annually in the Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC). The team builds autonomous vehicles that traverse obstacle courses consisting of lane markers and obstacles. The current vehicles are designed to be omnidirectional so that they can easily drive around obstacles. Typically there are 30-50 students on the team and two faculty advisors. The students handle all design and management aspects of the team but occasionally receive help from technicians to fabricate parts. For more information visit the Robotics Team website.
Mine Rescue Team

UMR is home to the only Mine Rescue Team made up entirely of college students. The team competes regularly against professionals in simulated mine disasters. The team placed 12th and 14th in the competition among industry teams at the South Regional Mine Rescue Competition, sponsored by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. The UMR team also had the highest scores on two written exams that were part of the competition.

Student life


For on campus events, please see the UMR event calendar.
Newspaper

The student-run newspaper at UMR is ''The Missouri Miner'', published every Thursday during the school year, and can be read online.
Radio

There are two broadcast radio stations associated with UMR:

★ 'KMST' is member-supported public radio, typically playing classical, bluegrass and jazz, as well as National Public Radio programs. On July 16, 2007, KUMR officially changed its call letters to KMST, in association with the upcoming change of name from "University of Missouri-Rolla" to the "Missouri University of Science and Technology".

★ 'KMNR' is a student-run, freeform radio station whose music playlist varies with the mood and inclination of the DJ, with some playing caller requests. Every year KMNR hosts two concerts - Freakers Ball in the fall and Glitter Ball in the spring.
There is also an amateur radio station, WØEEE.
St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is the largest annual celebration and predominant cultural event at UMR, with each year's observance boasted as the "Best Ever!". During St. Pat's, students wear green sweatshirts (which are sold as fund-raisers throughout the season), carry shillelaghs, and party. One tradition is the killing of rubber snakes, in commemoration of St. Patrick's mythical banishing of snakes from Ireland. Along with snake invasion comes the tradition of Follies. Students meet daily at "the Puck" (a short cylindrical stage) to hear jokes and participate in short competitions. On the third day of Follies, students move to the town's bandshell to participate in the ceremonial arrival of St. Pat's Court. The day after Follies, students participate in Gonzo and Games. Gonzo and Games are two days of elaborate games in which different organizations compete. Friday of St. Pat's week is concluded with Coronation, a ceremony where the Queen of Love and Beauty is announced. The final event of St. Pat's week is a Saturday morning parade on Pine Street, which is painted green by St. Pat's Board Alumni. This parade is known throughout the United States and boasts well over one hundred floats and participating groups.
St. Pat's Board Alumni paint Pine Street green

Campus organizations name one member to be a Student Knight of St. Patrick. In past years, Student Knights were dunked into a green-colored pool of goo, rumored to consist of various vile substances and affectionately known as ''Alice.'' In its heyday, a "date" with Alice was considered to be quite an honor. ''Alice'' was discontinued by the school administration in the mid-nineties due to health and safety concerns.
The rationale for the celebration is the notion that St. Patrick is the patron saint of engineers. [8]
[9]
Among UMR students, St. Patrick is recognized more commonly as an emblem for the university than the official mascot, Joe Miner.
The recognition of St. Patrick as the "Patron Saint of Engineers" began in 1903 when the Engineering students of the University of Missouri - Columbia claimed St. Patrick's Day to be a holiday for engineers.[10] The tradition has remained to this day and has been adopted by many other schools across the nation.
St. Patrick's Day 2008 will mark the 100th continuous year of St. Patrick's Day celebrations at UMR.[11]
Intramural sports

Intramural sports have a very large following at the University of Missouri-Rolla. With over 60 men's teams and over 10 women's teams, sports are arranged into divisions. Nineteen different sports are contested each year: Golf, Softball, Swimming, Ultimate, Cross Country, Football, Billiards, Badminton, Volleyball, Darts, Racquetball, Bowling, Basketball, Table Tennis, Tennis, Track, Washers (similar to Horseshoes), Weightlifting, and Soccer. Additional information can be found at the Intramural Managers Association page.
Student organizations

There are over 200 student organizations at UMR ranging from professional societies to community service organizations and beyond. A full list can be found on the Student Life homepage.
Fraternities and Sororities

Greek life is a large part of UMR and a very involved part of the student body. There are four sororities and twenty one fraternities. [12] The Greek chapters perform an extraordinary amount of community service each year and raise thousands of dollars for local and national charities. They also promote scholarship and leadership amongst their members.
Governing Councils


Interfraternity Council

Panhellenic Council

Greek Judicial Board

Order of Omega
Fraternities (arranged by Greek alphabet)



Alpha Epsilon Pi - ΑΕΠ

Alpha Phi Alpha - ΑΦΑ

Beta Sigma Psi - ΒΣΨ

Delta Lambda Phi - ΔΛΦ

Delta Sigma Phi - ΔΣΦ

Delta Tau Delta - ΔΤΔ

Theta Xi - ΘΞ

Kappa Alpha - ΚΑ

Kappa Alpha Psi - ΚΑΨ

Kappa Sigma - ΚΣ

Lambda Chi Alpha - ΛΧΑ

Pi Kappa Alpha - ΠΚΑ

Pi Kappa Phi - ΠΚΦ

Sigma Nu - ΣΝ

Sigma Pi - ΣΠ

Sigma Tau Gamma - ΣΤΓ

Sigma Phi Epsilon - ΣΦΕ

Sigma Chi - ΣΧ

Tau Kappa Epsilon - ΤΚΕ

Phi Kappa Theta - ΦΚΘ

Triangle

Sororities (arranged by Greek alphabet)


Zeta Tau Alpha - ΖΤΑ

Kappa Delta - ΚΔ

Phi Sigma Rho - ΦΣΡ

Chi Omega - ΧΩ

Notable alumni



Gary Havener of Fort Worth, Texas, graduated in 1962, donated $5 million for construction of the Havener Center, at the time the largest single donation from a private source that the university had ever received. [13]

John Toomey, graduated in 1949, donated $5 million for the construction of the new mechanical and aerospace engineering complex, Toomey Hall. The largest donation for the construction of an academic building in UMR’s history.[14]

Greg "Fossilman" Raymer, 2004 World Series of Poker champion, won $5 million.

Aaron Buerge, who received his Bachelor of Science from UMR in 1997, was the second bachelor to appear on the TV show ''The Bachelor''.
Computer Sciences


Steve Sullivan, 2001 Academy Award winner for visual effects; a principal engineer with George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic special effects company [15]
Engineering


Joe N. Ballard, retired Army General and former commander of the United States Army Corps of Engineers

Dr. Joan Woodard, Executive Vice President and Deputy Laboratories Director for the nuclear weapons program at Sandia National Laboratories [16]

Richard R. Paul, retired Air Force General and commander of Air Force Research Laboratory[17]
Scientists


Farouk El-Baz, Supervisor of Lunar Science Planning in NASA's Apollo Program
Mining


Daniel C. Jackling, discovered the porphyry copper deposit that created the Bingham Canyon Mine and later founded the Utah Copper Company (later bought by Kennecott Copper).
Astronauts


Thomas Akers, retired Air Force Col., a veteran of four space flights, holds bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics from UMR ('73 and '75), and is currently a professor at UMR.

Janet Kavandi, whose debut space shuttle flight in June 1999 was the final Mir-shuttle docking, holds a master's degree in chemistry from UMR ('82).

Sandra Magnus, who became a NASA astronaut in 1996, holds a bachelor's degree in physics ('86) and a master's degree in electrical engineering ('90) from UMR.
Business


Gary D. Forsee - CEO of Sprint

Ted Weise, former president of FedEx, one of the first employees of FedEx (formerly Federal Express) when the company started in the early 1970s, and worked his way up to the position of president. He holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from UMR ('67).[18]

References


1. UMR enrollment exceeds 5,550 students
2. America's Best Colleges 2008
3.
Curators approve UMR name change
4.
About UMR
5. UMR Stonehenge Website
6. UMR Stonehenge FAQ page
7. Curtis Laws Wilson Library. University of Missouri-Rolla. ''URL retrieved April 4 2007''.
8. St. Patrick
9. St. Patrick Was an Engineer
10. A History of the College of Engineering at MU
11. History: St. Pat's Celebration Committee
12. Governing Councils and Chapters
13. Entrepreneur Gary Havener leads the way for a new student center with a historic million gift
14. UMR to break ground on Toomey Hall
15. Winners - 2001 Scientific & Technical Awards - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
16. Dr. Joan B. Woodard
17. Biographies : MAJOR GENERAL RICHARD R. PAUL
18. FedEx CEO Theodore L. Weise to Retire, COO David J. Bronczek to Succeed Weise

External links



UMR homepage (www.umr.edu)

Official UMR Info

St. Patrick's Day Celebration Committee

University of Missouri System homepage



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