More than an All-American

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Aubrey Moore, Missouri S&T student. Photo by B.A. Rupert

Aubrey Moore stepped up to the starting line in the finals of the 400-meter run at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships knowing she was an All-American. She was attempting to become the second S&T student-athlete with an individual national championship and the first female to win one.

Unfortunately for Moore, it didn’t happen. In contention for the national title, she was running the race of her life when she fell in the final few meters. She finished eighth.

“It was tough,” says Moore, now a senior majoring in chemistry. “Things didn’t end like I wanted them to, but overall I was really pleased with myself for what I accomplished because it was my best year ever.”

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The shoe must go on

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Darla Ellis, Missouri S&T 2006 chemical engineering grad. Photo by B.A. Rupert

Darla Ellis begins her workday like many of us do – standing in front of an open closet, pondering what to wear. She takes the time to find the pair of shoes that will coordinate perfectly with her outfit. But her decision never involves pumps or flats. No, for Ellis the perfect shoes are Nikes, every time.

In Ellis’ work, wearing Nikes is a matter of practicality. “We’re a pretty casual bunch here. There are days I might have to crawl behind a big piece of machinery and that’s not really something you want to do in a business suit.”

But wearing Nikes is also part of her job. Ellis, a 2006 chemical engineering grad, is a manufacturing engineer II for Nike’s plant in St. Charles, Mo. She works in extrusion, where sheets of plastic are developed for use in various types of Nike athletic shoes.

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Big Apple

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Gerald Cohen, Missouri S&T professor of foreign languages. Photo by B.A. Rupert

Did you ever wonder how Chicago got the nickname Windy City? Are you curious why Philadelphia is called the City of Brotherly Love? Did you even know that Providence, R.I. is the Beehive of Industry?

City nicknames like these are fascinating to etymologists like Gerald Cohen. He’s spent two decades researching what is perhaps the most famous city nickname – New York’s Big Apple.

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The village green

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Missouri S&T’s Dan Oerther, the John and Susan Mathes Chair of Environmental Engineering, is committed to sustainable living, along with his wife Sarah and their son Barney. They live in one of four solar-powered homes designed and built by Missouri S&T students.


Missouri S&T environmental engineering professor Dan Oerther and his family want to show the campus and community how to live intentionally. And they have the perfect place for it.

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The future is electric

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Dr. Mehdi Ferdowsi, Missouri S&T assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Andrew Meintz, a Ph.D. student in electrical engineering. Photo by B.A. Rupert

When Mehdi Ferdowsi and Andrew Meintz offered the inaugural class on electric and hybrid vehicles a year ago, they made an instant connection with students from a variety of engineering disciplines.

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Phytoforensics: Green remediation takes root

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Dr. Joel Burken, Missouri S&T professor of civil and environmental engineering, tests a tree in Rolla’s Schuman Park with then high school senior Amanda Holmes and S&T graduate student Matt Limmer. Photo by B.A. Rupert

Two years ago, sophomore Amanda Holmes couldn’t wait to get started as an environmental engineering student at Missouri S&T. She got a chance to conduct environmental research alongside a full professor and graduate students while still a senior at Rolla High School.

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The art and science of glass blowing

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Missouri S&T students work in the Hot Glass Shop on campus. Photo by B.A. Rupert


Many Missourians have long associated glass blowing with artisans who populate Silver Dollar City. But students at Missouri S&T can watch glass blowing — and practice it themselves — on campus.

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The tradition continues

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The story of the first Best Ever St. Pat’s

2011_stpats_discover_image2.jpgDr. Lance Haynes, faculty adviser to the St. Pat’s Board.

St. Patrick lived roughly 1,600 years ago and historians will tell you he wasn’t really Irish – he was probably Welsh. Legend has it that he was kidnapped as a teenager by pirates and taken to Ireland, where he was enslaved. He escaped and eventually became the patron saint of Ireland. (After becoming a Bishop, he went back to Ireland and ultimately died there.) He was never an engineer and there haven’t been snakes in Ireland since before the last ice age.

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Clean water for Bolivia

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Jennifer Hoffman, Missouri S&T student. Photo by Tom Shipley


For many students, spring break and summer vacations are perfect times to kick back and relax. But for members of the Engineers Without Borders student chapter at Missouri S&T, those are perfect times to go beyond their own backyards to solve real-life problems in developing countries.

“EWB was one of the main reasons I was attracted to S&T,” says Maria Heath, a sophomore in mechanical engineering. “I really wanted to apply what I learn in classes to help others. It turns out that I am learning many practical lessons through EWB before I learn them in class.”

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Stepping out

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Ron Lytle, Missouri S&T student, talks about stepping. Photo by B.A. Rupert


Stepping or step-dancing is a tradition among African American fraternities and sororities. Popularized by movies like Spike Lee’s School Daze and more recently, Sylvain White’s Stomp the Yard, the practice originated in the mid-20th century, according to Ron Lytle, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at Missouri S&T. Lytle and his fellow Alphas perform step shows at various events.

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From Rolla to Guatemala: Water studies

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Nicole Heinley, Missouri S&T student. Photo submitted


As part of her graduate school studies, Nicole Heinley visited Guatemala twice in the past year, including last spring break, to conduct research on ceramic pot filters that are used locally to remove bacteria from water. Her findings were recently accepted to be published in the Journal of Water Science and Technology.

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