As 2024 comes to a close, we’re looking back and reflecting on some of the biggest news at S&T throughout the year.
All S&T students can access the Innovation Lab to collaborate on projects, study or relax. This photo was taken on Feb. 14, 2024, two days after the facility opened. Michael Pierce/Missouri S&T
Innovation Lab opens
Missouri S&T’s Innovation Lab opened its doors to students on Feb. 12. The 50,000-square-foot facility is designed for students to come together, collaborate and create.
The building sets the stage for increasing experiential learning at S&T with more than 32,000 square feet of programmable spaces to support creativity and community building. The Innovation Lab features active learning classrooms, labs designed to encourage and support cross-disciplinary work, the university’s Student Success Center, Makers Studio, spaces for collaboration and group and individual study, the Innovation Forum, a studio equipped for digital content creation, and a coffee shop named Miner Brew.
Students, faculty and staff cheer as the Missouri S&T Satellite Research Team’s Multi-Mode Mission satellite, M³, launches into space aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket on March 4, 2024. Michael Pierce/Missouri S&T
Students watch satellite they built launch into space
On March 4, several members of the Missouri S&T Satellite Research Team were in California and watched in person as SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, which was carrying the team’s small, cube-shaped satellite, lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base as part of the Transporter-10 mission. Even more members of the team, along with other S&T students, faculty and staff excited about the mission, attended S&T’s launch party in Toomey Hall and let out loud cheers as the rocket successfully took off into space.
The first graduate of S&T’s Kummer Innovation and Entrepreneurship Doctoral Fellowship program, Dr. Ademola Adesokan wears a Kummer Doctoral Achievement Award medal to signify completing a Ph.D.
within four years. (He earned it in 2.5 years.) Michael Pierce/Missouri S&T
First Ph.D. conferred to Kummer I&E Fellow
Dr. Ademola Adesokan earned a Ph.D. in computer science on Dec. 13, 2024, making him the first graduate of S&T’s Kummer Innovation and Entrepreneurship Doctoral Fellowship program. Adesokan started in Fall 2022. In two and a half years, he published eight papers. He participated in the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps, or I-Corps, conducting over 100 customer discovery interviews during a six-week period. As part of his research, he created the DisFact program, an automation system to fact-check disaster claims, which was presented at the WISE 2024 conference in Qatar.
Gary Havener outside of the Havener Center. B.A. Rupert/Missouri S&T
Alumnus contributes $25 million to new Havener Arrival Complex
S&T announced in September that Gary Havener, a Texas entrepreneur and alumnus, made a historic gift of $25 million to Missouri S&T in support of the university’s new Havener Arrival Complex, a transformation of the entrance to the 154-year-old campus. The project, a major component of S&T’s Campus Master Plan, connects the university’s entry point off Interstate 44 to campus and directs visitors through a grand entrance plaza currently anchored by two flagship facilities, the Innovation Lab and the Welcome Center.
An athlete displays her championship ring in October, following the Miner Softball Team’s victory in the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship. Michael Pierce/Missouri S&T
Competing against the best
The Miner Softball Team brought home S&T’s first conference title in the sport, student Henry Born became the first S&T cross country runner to make it to nationals since 2003, our National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) chapter was named NSBE Medium Chapter of the Year and the Mars Rover Design Team claimed 4th place globally.
High school students from Saudi Arabia pose with S&T Chancellor Mo Dehghani during their visit for a summer camp in July. From left: Tahani Ahmed, Abdulaziz Alharbi, Dehghani, Hammad Aldossary and Hadwa Alruhaili. Kaitlin Brothers/Missouri S&T
STEM Center overcomes Crowdstrike outage for summer campers
In July, a group of four high school students from Saudi Arabia had a difficult journey getting to the Missouri S&T campus to attend the Exploring Materials in Your World Camp. During this time, flights were delayed or canceled due to the Crowdstrike outage that affected approximately 8.5 million Windows devices worldwide.
While the students were forced to miss most of the actual camp, S&T employees with the Kummer Center for STEM Education ensured the international students still had a fun and educational time while at Missouri S&T.
Construction on S&T’s Welcome Center, shown in July 2024, is expected to be finished next summer. Michael Pierce/Missouri S&T
Pardon our progress
Construction was a common site on campus throughout 2024. In January, the university’s subsurface parking garage opened. Leaders broke ground in April for a major expansion and renovation of the Engineering Research Laboratory, which was renamed the Applied Research Center. A new pedestrian underpass was installed under Highway 63 during the spring, providing a safer and more pleasant crossing than the former tunnel. Community members signed a structural beam at a ceremony in October for the Welcome Center, with construction expected to be finished on the building in summer 2025. Construction continues on the Missouri Protoplex, set to open in fall 2025.
Bioplex building concept viewed from the north. Concept by Christner + ZFG. The current design for the Bioplex is still a conceptual phase and is subject to change as the project progresses.
Bioplex gets green light
The University of Missouri Board of Curators approved construction plans in November for a new research facility at S&T. The university’s largest capital project to date, the Bioplex will support advanced research and education in life sciences, biomedicine and biomedical engineering. It will be funded by private gifts. Construction will begin in October 2025 and is expected to be completed by June 2028.
Dr. Christi Luks is ready to lead the American Society for Engineering Education in 2025. Michael Pierce/Missouri S&T.
In the national spotlight
Missouri S&T’s name is shared nationally, thanks to the expertise and work of faculty. The following are a some examples.
One aspect of the MoExcels Workforce Initiative will include Missouri S&T incorporating new technologies and equipment into its undergraduate manufacturing curriculum. Michael Pierce/Missouri S&T.
Modernizing manufacturing in Missouri
Three Missouri higher education institutions are working together to modernize the state’s manufacturing industry and develop its workforce, with $9.1 million in Missouri’s fiscal year 2025 budget being awarded to support their efforts. S&T is leading project and collaborating with East Central College and St. Charles Community College as part of the Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development’s MoExcels Workforce Initiative.
This fall, S&T also hosted Manufacturing Day for professionals and legislators, and a Missouri Manufacturing Academy for students in grades 6-10.
Students from St. Patrick School in Rolla participate in activities during STEM Day on Nov. 8, 2024. They are shown in the facilities used for the Miners in the Making after school program, located in Centennial Hall. Michael Pierce/Missouri S&T
After school program debuts
Missouri S&T launched a free after-school program for three Phelps County school districts thanks in part to a grant totaling almost $2 million over the next several years.
The program, called Miners in the Making, opened for students in grades 6-12 from the Rolla, Newburg and Phelps County R-III school districts. S&T’s Kummer Center for STEM Education leads the program and plans to extend it to students in grades K-5 next year.
Dr. James D. Sterling, whose teaching and research interests include applied entrepreneurship and bioengineering, joined S&T in June as vice provost and founding dean of the Kummer College of Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development. Michael Pierce/Missouri S&T
New leaders take the reins
Missouri S&T welcomed the following individuals to leadership positions in 2024:
- Longtime faculty member Dr. Richard Brow, a Curators’ Distinguished Professor of materials science and engineering, was also named executive director of operations for the Kummer Institute for Student Success, Research and Economic Development
- Dr. Robin Gore, vice chancellor for student success
- Barry Robbins, chief information officer
- Dr. James D. Sterling, vice provost and founding dean of the Kummer College of Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development
A henna artist draws a design during the 15th annual Celebration of Nations on Sept. 21 in downtown Rolla. Michael Pierce/Missouri S&T
S&T hits milestones
In 2024, S&T hosted its 15th annual Celebration of Nations, celebrated 100 years of electrical engineering, welcomed 40 new faculty and brought in over $1 million in record licensing revenue.
Students work on research projects in the Kielhorn Laboratory Suite inside Bertelsmeyer Hall. Michael Pierce/Missouri S&T
New academic programs start
S&T launched new degree programs this fall, adding a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and Ph.D. programs in bioengineering and biological sciences.
Plans are underway to add a bachelor’s degree in semiconductor engineering, a master’s degree in economics and innovation (MEI) and a Ph.D. in applied psychology next year.
Computer science student Piper Jeffries speaks with recruiters at the Fall 2024 Career Fair on Sept. 24. S&T is consistently ranked high for career placement and return on investment. Michael Pierce/Missouri S&T
Rave reviews
Missouri S&T continues to get high marks for extraordinary value and career placement success. This year, the university ranked ninth in the nation for “Best Salaries,” and second for a public university in that category, according to the latest ranking from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and College Pulse. S&T student Cylan Burns was quoted for his perspective as an S&T student in the WSJ article, ““The Top U.S. Colleges That Make New Graduates Rich.”
Other rankings include:
- U.S. News & World Report: top public engineering school in Missouri and among nation’s top 50 public engineering schools
- Money Magazine: 4.5 stars (out of 5), on magazine’s lists of “Best Colleges 2024, “Best Public Colleges,” “Best Colleges in the Midwest” and Best Colleges with High Acceptance Rates”
- Princeton Review: third in nation for career placement and seventh in public universities for internships.
