Trendy tastes

May 13, 2015 by
Michael Wuest, Bus’07, MBA’08, is the marketing manager of the University of Missouri-Columbia Campus Dining Services.

Michael Wuest, a Missouri S&T business graduate, is the marketing manager of the University of Missouri-Columbia Campus Dining Services. Photo by Sam O’Keefe

Feeding a college student is hard work. Feeding thousands of them every day is even harder. With various allergies, dietary restrictions and personal preferences, college students are arguably among the pickiest of eaters, says Michael Wuest.

Wuest, who holds a bachelor’s degree in business and an MBA from Missouri S&T, is responsible for pleasing the palates of thousands of college students every day. As the marketing manager of the University of Missouri-Columbia Campus Dining Services, he knows how hard it is to find and implement dining options that students will like.

Wuest and his team serve over 4 million meals a year. They accommodate all the needs and preferences of each student through options — lots of them.

“Every restaurant has at least one vegetarian option, and other dining options have gluten-free meals,” says Wuest, who got his start in the food service business as marketing manager for Chartwells on the S&T campus. “Both standard facilities and specific restaurants have those options.”

When choosing new dining options and locales, Wuest takes everything from student feedback and historical data to traffic flow patterns and upcoming construction into account — all while staying innovative and on top of current trends.

“The biggest component of our success is open communication with our primary customers — the students — and providing the options they want when we know it’s a good fit,” he says.

With so many choices, it is hard to ensure quality and consistency and eliminate waste. Wuest says batch cooking solves all three problems.

“We know how many students will come in during a certain time, and we know roughly how much we can make in a certain amount of time,” Wuest says. “During our busiest times, we make 10 to 30 servings of a food item at a time, and when there are only a certain number of servings left, we make more.”

Wuest says that cooking in batches does not involve taking frozen food from a box and putting it in the oven.

“Campus dining is not ‘plop and slop,’” he says. “Dining programs nationwide … are returning to the traditional way of cooking by making the majority of our food in-house from scratch.”

In addition to prioritizing quality, cutting waste and implementing from-scratch cooking, Wuest stays on top of major trends in campus dining systems.

“The big three things on everyone’s radar are regional and ethnic cuisines, sensitivity to special dietary needs and having facilities that allow students to order what they want,” Wuest says. “The all-you-care-to-eat system of the past is going away.”

Wuest and his team are sure they will please the palates of nearly every student.

“People will pay for the food they enjoy,” Wuest says. “So, as long as we have the right quality, service and value, we will accomplish our mission.”

By Arielle Bodine

Adapted from the Spring 2015 issue of Missouri S&T Magazine.

Filed Under: Alumni, Features, People Tagged With: , , ,

The Hasselmann legacy

March 10, 2015 by
Karl F. Hasselmann, a 1925 mining engineering graduate and Hasselmann Alumni House’s namesake, poses for a picture with his wife Marjory. The Miner Alumni Association’s new house was dedicated in his honor during St. Pat’s on Saturday, March 14.

Karl F. Hasselmann, a 1925 mining engineering graduate and Hasselmann Alumni House’s namesake, poses for a picture with his wife Marjory. The Miner Alumni Association’s new house was dedicated in his honor during St. Pat’s on Saturday, March 14. Contributed Photo

Behind the name of the Miner Alumni Association’s new home is a 1925 graduate who grew up on an Iowa farm and came to Rolla to study mining engineering.

A pioneer in offshore oil and gas exploration, Karl F. Hasselmann got his first taste of drilling for black gold on a summer job in Oklahoma his junior year. After graduating, the football and track letterman joined the California Co. as a field geologist, gaining the experience that led to his next career step as the chief geologist for Sinclair Exploration Co., with responsibility for prospecting in Austria, Hungary and Germany. While working in Europe, two turning points changed his life: He began researching how to use gravitational survey methods to locate offshore oil — and he met and married an American vacationing abroad, Marjory Nell Meyer.

After returning to the United States in 1933, Hasselmann was ready to look for oil in the Gulf of Mexico. He founded Houston-based Salt Dome Oil Corp. and began using the gravitational methods he developed to identify possible oil pools. After detecting a likely source in Galveston Bay, he drilled.

In February 1938, Salt Dome Oil, in partnership with Standard Oil Co. of Texas, discovered one of the first oil pools in the Texas Gulf — a forerunner of the massive offshore developments to come in the Gulf of Mexico and worldwide. The research launched nearly a decade earlier by the young geologist delivered results.

Throughout his career, Hasselmann maintained a strong connection to Missouri S&T. He was awarded a professional degree in 1945 and an honorary doctorate in 1966. He served as president of the Houston alumni section, president of the Miner Alumni Association and co-chair of the 1964 centennial fundraising campaign. In addition to establishing the Karl F. Hasselmann Chair in Geological Engineering at what is now Missouri S&T, Hasselmann and his wife, Marjory, established chairs at Rice University and at the Mayo Clinic.

The facade of Hasselmann Alumni House.

The facade of Hasselmann Alumni House. Photo by Sam O’Keefe

But the contribution that made the greatest difference to S&T was an estate gift that encompassed not only a significant monetary bequest but also the continued proceeds from mineral rights and oil and gas leases held in trust. As Missouri S&T’s most generous donors, Karl and Marjory Hasselmann have contributed more than $20.4 million to date. Their remarkable legacy is recognized in the naming of the new alumni home, which will serve as the headquarters for alumni visiting campus.

The Miner Alumni Association held a public dedication ceremony for Hasselmann Alumni House on Saturday, March 14.

Maridel Allinder

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Snakes invade Missouri S&T

February 25, 2015 by

St. Pat’s Snake Invasion: The Game
Go back in time with this special St. Pat’s game! A nest of snakes has made its way from the springs, streams, swamps and glades of the Ozarks to the highlands of Rolla. Playing as St. Pat, strike down 107 snakes using only your shillelagh and skill. Defeat them all before time runs out and receive a special bonus score. Can you save campus and banish the snakes from Missouri S&T? Help make this St. Pat’s the Best Ever!

 

 

A (Very Brief) History of Snake Invasions at S&T
According to legend, or Dr. Lance Haynes, fourth faculty advisor of St. Pat’s, Snake Invasion was started in 1912 by the junior class as a way to “initiate” freshmen.

Freshmen must use giant sticks called shillelaghs to club (plastic) snakes to death and bite their heads off.

This being the 108th Best Ever, each participating student is expected to club at least one snake 108 times consecutively. If they fail to do so, they have to start over.

Until they complete the ritual rite of passage, participating students must carry around their shillelaghs. So, don’t be surprised to see stripped and customized tree trunks propped up outside of buildings and classrooms on campus during the snake invasion, which starts Monday, March 7.

Now, on with the bashing!

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Guiding the next generation

February 24, 2015 by
Aysen Malone, a freshman engineering student, mentors a member of one of Rolla High School's FIRST Tech Challenge robotics teams.

Aysen Malone, a freshman engineering student, mentors a member of one of Rolla High School’s FIRST Tech Challenge robotics teams. Photo by Sam O’Keefe

Freshman engineering student and Rolla High School alumna Aysen Malone knows that a strong mentor can leave a lasting impression on a person. Inspired by her first mentor, she returns to Rolla High School twice a week to help support its robotics teams.

The teams compete in the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), a nationwide robotics competition involving teams of up to 10 students between the ages of 14 and 18 in grades 9-12. Each team designs, builds and programs a robot for a tournament-style competition.

Malone is a three-year veteran of the robotics competition, having joined her sophomore year at Rolla High School.

During Malone’s first year, the Rolla team won the Inspire Award, given to the team that the judges feel embodies the “challenge” of FTC to involve young minds. That award qualified the team for the FTC world championships. Once Malone experienced the fierce competition at a worldwide level, she was hooked on improving the team’s robot.

But she wasn’t always as enthusiastic about the group. Malone credits one of the team’s advisors with getting her fully involved in the competition.

“When I first joined the team, I was shy and kind of intimidated by talking with the other members,” recalls Malone. “But then Philip Allen, one of the team’s mentors, walked up to me and asked me all about what I was interested in and helped introduce me to the team. He was a close friend to everyone on the team and was always willing to go the extra mile to help the students. He is also the main reason I chose to go to Missouri S&T.”

 

During Malone’s first semester at S&T, Allen, a 1994 mechanical engineering graduate of S&T, died in an automobile accident on Oct. 10, 2014. The shock of losing a beloved mentor to the team was difficult for everyone, including Malone.

In Allen’s memory, she continues his legacy of mentoring young minds interested in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Despite her busy schedule at S&T, where she has a job and is president of the Turkish Student Alliance, Malone insists on visiting the teams as often as she can.

“All the Rolla High School robotics teams like competition,” says Malone. “There isn’t a huge rivalry between the three, but everyone wants to be the best they can be. There is a legacy to continue, but all the teams know they have to earn their way with results.”

She also says she respects all the mentors and advisors who help the teams.

“All of the volunteers work so hard and freely give up their time to help the students, no matter if they have other obligations,” she says. “I will always be grateful for the footsteps that Phil left for me to follow.”

All three Rolla High School teams have qualified for the state championships, which will be held at the Gale Bullman Building on campus Saturday, March 7.

More about the upcoming competition can be found here.

By Peter Ehrhard

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CACAARR celebrates 30th anniversary

February 17, 2015 by
2015_CACAARR_discover

George Holmes (left), a senior in mechanical engineering, and Marquia Lewis (right), a junior in computer science, student representatives on the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on African American Recruitment and Retention (CACAARR), talk with Shenethia Manuel, vice chancellor of human resources, equity and inclusion at Missouri S&T and the chancellor’s liaison to the committee, about the success of CACAARR. Photo by Sam O’Keefe

Earlier this month, we sat down with Shenethia Manuel, vice chancellor of human resources, equity and inclusion at Missouri S&T, to talk about the growth, success and future of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on African American Recruitment and Retention (CACAARR) as the committee celebrates its 30th anniversary. Manuel serves on the committee as the chancellor’s liaison.

S&T: CACAARR is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Why was this group formed?

Manuel: This committee was formed when members of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and their key advisors met with the chancellor at the time to express concerns about recruitment and retention programs for African American students at the university.

S&T: Why is it important to have a committee like this?

Manuel: In general, African American students at predominantly white universities have had lower retention rates. When you walk around campus and can’t find others who look like you, who have shared backgrounds, it can be very isolating. It’s important for our university community to do what we can to make our campus a welcoming environment for all individuals.

S&T: What about recruitment, the other “r” in CACAARR?

Manuel: Recruitment and retention go hand in hand. As you increase the number of African American students on campus, retention becomes easier because the culture of the university itself is changing. We’ve been able to make great strides in the number of African American students over the years by stepping up our recruiting in African American communities and establishing articulation or transfer agreements with colleges and universities that have historically attracted African Americans.

S&T: So, it’s been 30 years. Why is it still important to have a committee like this?

Manuel: Because we still have a long way to go! Our goal is for the demographics of this campus to mirror that of our state and nation. Plus, it’s vitally important to focus on diversity and to welcome and support African Americans and other underrepresented minority groups and women, because it’s of the utmost importance to our corporate partners. They expect that we will have diverse students and graduates — diverse in terms of gender, race and ethnicity, where they’re from, what they studied, and so on.

S&T: What is Missouri S&T doing to change those trends?

Manuel: We’re doing lots of things, from adopting diversity and inclusion as a core, shared value of this university to encouraging African American alumni to come back and mentor students today. Over the years, the committee has also provided scholarships for African American students.

S&T: Of the 17 members of the advisory committee, the vast majority — 14 — are alumni. What motivates them to remain engaged with their alma mater?

Manuel: I think it is a love of the institution and the students, and a recognition of the opportunities that opened up to them as a result of the education they received here. It’s a way to give back and pay it forward.

By Liz McCune

See a full list of Black History Month events at Missouri S&T.

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Alumni couple says you’re ‘mine’

February 10, 2015 by
S&T alumni Genevieve (DuBois) Bodnar and Greg Sutton exchange vows in the Experimental Mine on Dec. 20, 2014.

S&T alumni Genevieve (DuBois) Bodnar and Greg Sutton exchange vows in the Experimental Mine on Dec. 20, 2014. Contributed photo

Hard hats? Check. Overalls? Check. Steel-toed boots? Check.

Marriage license? Checkmate.

In an unusual twist on the fairy tale wedding, Missouri S&T alumni Genevieve (DuBois) Bodnar and Greg Sutton were married underground at S&T’s Experimental Mine on Dec. 20, 2014. Wearing hard hats, overalls and steel-toed boots, the couple tied the knot before hard-hat-wearing friends and family.

Bodnar and Sutton first met at a Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration meeting in St. Louis about eight years ago. They’ve both participated in and judged the International Intercollegiate Mining Competition, which is considered by some to be the Olympics of mining, with seven events that demonstrate techniques used by old time miners.

“We just came up with the crazy idea we wanted to be married in the student mine,” says Bodnar, who earned bachelor’s degrees in metallurgical engineering and mining engineering from S&T in 1998 and 2001, respectively. Bodnar also helped start the Haunted Mine that’s become a Rolla Halloween staple.

The wedding took place about 100 feet inside the mine from the adit – the horizontal entrance to the experimental mine. Portable lights illuminated the ceremony.

“We decided to do it that way because of our great appreciation of mining,” says Sutton, a 1988 mining engineering graduate. Sutton helped teach a drilling and blasting lab and a surveying lab at the mine during his time on campus. He also worked at the experimental mine as a laborer.

Jimmie Taylor, the experimental mine supervisor who oversees all mining operations, including explosives storage inventory, has worked at S&T since 1992. He’s seen about all there is to see when it comes to the mine – until December.

“It’s the first I have heard of anyone getting married at the mine,” he says.

They capped the ceremony – literally – by setting off seven blasting caps with an old-time plunger detonator on a five-second delay. Dr. Paul Worsey, director of explosives engineering education and professor of mining engineering, and senior mine mechanic DeWayne Phelps set up the explosions, Taylor says.

Dr. Samuel Frimpong, chair of the mining and nuclear engineering department, gave permission for the wedding to take place – safely. No alcohol was served.

These days, Sutton runs G&G (Genevieve and Greg) Mining Solutions in Bunker, Missouri, where the two make their home. Genevieve works for the Doe Run lead mining company, which is where Greg worked from 1992 to 2014.

For the couple, mining is in the blood, and getting married in S&T’s experimental mine was the next logical step.

“It was a way to incorporate our passion for each other into our passion for the mining industry,” Sutton says.

Are you one half of a Miner couple in love? Share your story in the Comments section.

By Joe McCune

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Alpha Phi Alpha at S&T turns 50

January 28, 2015 by
Happy Phriday

Members of the Epsilon Psi chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha high five fellow S&T students as they enter the Havener Center on Friday, Jan. 23. Every Friday at lunchtime during the school year the fraternity brothers host such “Happy Phriday” events. Photo by Sam O’Keefe

Chartered in 1965 at the height of the civil rights movement, Missouri S&T’s oldest African-American fraternity encountered obstacles on the way to its 50th anniversary, especially in the early years.

“There were some difficulties in getting the fraternity off the ground,” says Henry Brown, a 1968 civil engineering graduate of Missouri S&T and one of 18 founding members of the Epsilon Psi chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

There was pushback from the university when Howard Manning, a 1967 civil engineering graduate, and Louis Smith, a 1966 electrical engineering graduate, transfer students and Alpha Phi Alpha brothers from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, approached administrators with the idea of establishing a chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha in Rolla.

Administrators questioned the need for a new, historically black fraternity when there were already a handful of nationally recognized fraternities at the university, Brown says. “But it wasn’t a realistic possibility for us to walk up and join one of the fraternities already on campus,” he says.

The 18 founding members of the Epsilon Psi chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

The founding members of the Epsilon Psi chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha: Wayne C. Harvey, Henry Brown (first row), David B. Price, Wayne R. Davis (second row), Maurice W. Murray, John H. Jackson, Lloyd Sowell, Gregory Bester, Louis W. Smith, Walter G. Reed (third row), Howard Manning Jr., John D. Abrams Jr. (fourth row), Robert L. Coleman, Gerald Lyons (fifth row), Reginald L. Ollie, Daniel H. Flowers (sixth row), Theodore T. Marsh Jr., Paul L. Silvers Jr. (seventh row), and Eugene D. Jackson (eighth row). Not pictured: James E. Brown III. Contributed photo

Using the clout of Lawrence C. George, who had agreed to be the fraternity’s resident advisor, the students eventually convinced school administrators to approve the new fraternity. George, a respected Rolla chemist, was an alumnus of Alpha Phi Alpha’s Beta Pi chapter at Dillard University.

With a resident advisor, the fraternity was now in need of a house. Once again, the fraternity got pushback – this time from local real estate agents.

“You have to think about what Rolla was like in the ’60s – a small, Midwestern town,” says Brown, a native of St. Joseph, Missouri.

The fraternity spent the spring and part of that summer contacting local real estate agents for house tours. Brown says that fraternity members had no trouble scheduling tours by phone, but when they showed up in person, they were almost always turned away.

With traditional housing options exhausted, George once again stepped in to help. He had an acquaintance who owned a former car dealership that was willing to sell the property to the new fraternity. It wasn’t ideal, but the fraternity brothers worked every day that summer to rehab and convert the building into suitable housing.

George, who only stepped down as the fraternity’s advisor in 2013, passed away in March. “He was very influential on not just us, but the well-being of all black students in Rolla,” said Akil Hutchins, a senior in engineering management from St. Louis.

“He touched a lot of people’s lives,” added Lister Florence, 1995 civil engineering graduate and the fraternity’s current advisor. “He was a father figure in my life.”

Through a half century of service at S&T, Alpha Phi Alpha has been instrumental in forming a number of student and faculty organizations focused on diversity and inclusion, including the Association for Black Students, National Society of Black Engineers, the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on African American Recruitment and Retention, and Black Man’s Think Tank. The fraternity also helped bring the Minority Introduction to Technology and Engineering summer camp to campus and created a number of scholarships for minority students.

Members of the Epsilon Psi chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha hanging out at the 1969 Greek Week; two fraternity brothers enjoying the 61st “Best Ever” St. Pats; the fraternity’s original house, as pictured in 1965. Contributed photos by Henry Brown

Members of the Epsilon Psi chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha hanging out at the 1969 Greek Week (clockwise from left); two fraternity brothers enjoying the 61st “Best Ever” St. Pats; the fraternity’s original house, as pictured in 1965. Contributed photos by Henry Brown

With Alpha Phi Alpha’s continuing involvement in diverse service projects and organizations on campus, the fraternity promises to be a voice for minority students for the foreseeable future.

Florence says he certainly owes a great deal to the fraternity.

“I don’t think I would have become the man I am today without Alpha Phi Alpha,” Florence says. “They did a really good job, not just with the fraternity members, but everyone, of reaching out to African-Americans, Hispanics and students of other nationalities. The door’s were always open,” he says. “They understood what you were going through. They understood what it was like to be singled out.”

Nowadays, you may recognize an Alpha Phi Alpha brother as someone you emphatically high-fived last Friday at the entrance to the Havener Center, but the brothers of the Epsilon Psi Chapter do so much more than brighten your “Phriday.”

 

Every February, the fraternity sponsors a National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in conjunction with Black History Month. Members also organize outreach events in conjunction with their national organization, such as A Voteless People is a Hopeless People and Go-To-High School, Go-To-College. And they host Missouri’s longest-running collegiate dance competition, Dance XXXPLOSION. The 2015 event will be held at the ARK in Waynesville, Missouri, this April.

The fraternity will also be hosting a week long 50th anniversary celebration centered around the chapter’s charter day on April 27. The celebration will begin in earnest with a welcome reception on Thursday, April 23 at 6 p.m., and will feature a golf tournament, bowling tournament, flag football game, BBQ, and roast and dance. More details will be posted to the fraternity’s website as the event nears.

By Greg Katski

Filed Under: Alumni, Campus, Features, People, Students Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Meeting a 20/20 challenge

January 6, 2015 by
Sandy Simmons-Gamble

Sandy Simmons-Gamble, fiscal assistant in the international affairs office, with one of her Borzoi dogs. Simmons-Gamble donated $30,000 to S&T to establish the Milton L. Simmons Endowed Scholarship in Ceramic Engineering in honor of her late father. Photo by Sam O’Keefe

When Milton L. Simmons, 1949 ceramic engineering graduate, died in 2005, his daughter knew she wanted to do something special to honor his memory.

“My father loved this university,” says Sandy Simmons-Gamble, fiscal assistant in the international affairs office at Missouri S&T. “He always had so many stories about his time at Rolla and about the education he got — what it meant to him. He loved his time here and truly appreciated his education.”

Gamble was an administrative assistant in the development office in early 2013 when the University of Missouri System announced the 20/20 Challenge.

Through the 20/20 Challenge, the UM System would give Missouri S&T $400,000 in state funds to create 20 need-based scholarships, but S&T had to raise matching funds in private donations.

Gamble accepted that challenge and donated $30,000 to establish the Milton L. Simmons Endowed Scholarship in Ceramic Engineering. The state matched $20,000, bringing the total endowment to $50,000. Like all of the scholarships established through the 20/20 Challenge, Gamble’s scholarship will be awarded to a student who qualifies for the federal Pell Grant program, which provides tuition assistance to undergraduates from economically disadvantaged families.

The Milton L. Simmons scholarship will go to a Missouri S&T student in ceramic engineering.

“My father worked at Ferro Corp. in Cleveland, Ohio, his entire career,” Gamble says. “He started as a ceramic engineer, traveling to places like Japan and South America with my mother. After a few years, Ferro sent him to law school and he became the company’s patent attorney.

“I always thought that when I was able to, this would be something to honor him,” Gamble says. “He was a brilliant man. Growing up here, I’ve always had high opinions of this school. Missouri S&T has produced some really impressive people who have gone on to do some amazing things. I thought this would be a good way to honor my father and at the same time, help a future leader.”

Gamble raises Borzoi, dogs that used to be known as Russian Wolfhounds, on a farm outside Rolla. She shows her own dogs and is approved by the American Kennel Club to judge four breeds in Conformation Dog Shows, as well as all breeds in Lure Coursing.

For more information about giving opportunities, visit giving.mst.edu.

By Mary Helen Stoltz

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Carrying the torch

November 6, 2014 by
Carrying the torch

Engineering management graduate Bob Zdvorak with his sons David, (right) a senior, and Chris, (left) a freshman — both second-generation Miner soccer players. Photo by Sam O’Keefe

Once a wing defender in the early days of Miner soccer, Bob Zdvorak is back in the Missouri S&T soccer complex – this time in the stands cheering on his sons, who are the first second-generation players in the history of the program. [Read more…]

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The turf is always greener

September 17, 2014 by
The grass is always greener

Missouri S&T students and alumni partnered to cover Jackling Field at Allgood-Bailey Stadium with synthetic turf.

Last fall, the intramural field near Missouri S&T’s Gale Bullman Multi-Purpose Building was torn up to make way for the campus’s geothermal energy project. Rather than reseed the field, Missouri S&T students voted to use $1.8 million in activity fees to cover the intramural field – and Jackling Field in Allgood-Bailey Stadium – with artificial turf. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Alumni, Features, Students Tagged With: , , , , ,

Film for thought

September 2, 2014 by
Max Tohline

Max Tohline uses movies to inspire students to “come up with questions that have never been asked.”

Max Tohline came to Missouri S&T from Madeira, Ohio, in 2002 with a plan to study aerospace engineering. But it was an elective course in film that caused his true passion to take flight. [Read more…]

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