MIZZOU magazine Spring 2022 College of Engineering edition

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mizzou.com | Spring 2022

Portrait of a Daredevil Marie Hansen leapt to Life magazine as a researcher and soon became the magazine’s third-ever female photographer.

She covered everything from politics to new roles for women, including Adeline Gray, an early female parachutist.

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COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

SPECIAL SECTION PAGE 65

FIRST LOOK

M U S PAC E P L A N N I N G & M A N AG E M E N T B U I L D I N G A N D I N F R A ST RU CT U R E A RC H I V E S

THE DOME NOT TAKEN This year marks the centennial of the naming of Mizzou’s most iconic building. Jesse Hall was known as New Academic Hall until 1922, when MU renamed it for Richard H. Jesse, the eighth president of the university, shortly after his death. Starting in 1891, Jesse spent 14 years transforming what had been a traditional university into one leaning hard into the modern age. Mizzou’s Building and Infrastructure Archives department keeps this drawing from 1921, exhibit A of a move then afoot to crop the building’s resplendent nine-story dome.

Fortunately, the rendering by architectural firm Jamieson and Spearl of St. Louis was never realized, and the original pinnacle, beloved by generations of alumni, remains Mizzou’s symbolic center.

SPRING 2022

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MIZZOU

FROM THE PRESIDENT

®

Editorial and Advertising Mizzou Alumni Association 123 Reynolds Alumni Center 704 Conley Avenue Columbia, MO 65211 phone: 573-882-6611 mizzou@missouri.edu executive editor Ashley Burden managing editor Dale Smith art director Blake Dinsdale class notes editor Jennifer Manning editor emerita Karen Worley advertising Scott Dahl: 573-882-2374 Mizzou Alumni Association 123 Reynolds Alumni Center Columbia, MO 65211 phone: 573-882-6611, fax: 573-882-5145 executive director, publisher Todd A. McCubbin, M Ed ’95 Opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the official position of the University of Missouri or the Mizzou Alumni Association. ©2022

ANNIKA MILLER

MizzouForward Investing in Student Excellence Last November, we launched MizzouForward, a $1.5 billion investment that will supercharge our research and education missions over the next 10 years. It’s the most ambitious initiative in MU’s history, and it will strengthen every part of campus, cementing our role as a hub for transformative research.

We’re thrilled to announce the next phase of this effort: nearly $4 million in awards to fund 51 projects supporting student success. These innovative projects ensure our Tigers are ready to lead the way and tackle the grand challenges facing society.

With these investments, we’re improving classroom IT resources, upgrading laboratories and investing in new software that enhances student experiences. We’re also helping students prepare for what’s to come with financial aid workshops that put them on a solid footing in college and beyond.

MizzouForward’s commitment to student success also means providing our student and faculty researchers with the advanced tools they need to develop monumental solutions. For example, the School of Medicine and the College of Engineering are developing 3D-printed organ models that resemble human tissue. These models can

be used to teach surgical techniques in a controlled, low-risk environment.

These critical investments will not only change the lives of students but also bring a collective benefit to Missourians. A recent economic impact report showed that MU offers a $5 billion return for the Missouri economy, proving that support for Mizzou is a smart investment in the future of our state.

As Missouri’s only public, land-grant university in the Association of American Universities, we’ve always been at the forefront of doing more good for more people. In the months ahead, we look forward to showing how this initiative will benefit our students and Missourians.

As alumni, you know firsthand MU’s incredible impact. MizzouForward is helping enhance the things that have always made our community special while creating even more opportunities to make a difference. Investing in our students is a key way we’re promoting the continued excellence of Mizzou and the well-being of all Missourians.

Statements of Purpose The Mizzou Alumni Association proudly supports the best interests and traditions of Missouri’s flagship university and its alumni worldwide.

Lifelong relationships are the foundation of our support.

These relationships are enhanced through advocacy, communication and volunteerism.

MIZZOU magazine reports credible and engaging news about the University of Missouri community to a global audience.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Sabrina McDonnell, MBA ’15 • President-elect Jeff Vogel, BS Acc ’90 • Immediate Past President Robin Wenneker, BS BA ’91 • Treasurer John Gamble, BS ’00 • Secretary Todd McCubbin, M Ed ’95 • Diversity and Inclusion Committee Chair Joe Valenciano, BA ’95 • Directors Cristin Blunt, BS Ed ’02; Renita Duncan, BS Acc, M Acc ’08; Pete Ferretti, BA ’93; Matt Jenne, BS CiE ’97, MBA ’15; Chuck Kaiser, BA, BJ ’93; Derek Kessen, BS BA ’05; Emily Kueker, BS ’02; Christine Mathews, BS BA ’10, MBA ’17; Mindy Mazur, BA ’99; Craig Moeller, BS ’93; Ellie Preslar, BS BE ’04; Martin Rucker, BS ’07; Mark Russell, BJ ’84; Jim Simmons, BS ’93, MD ’98; Dawn Smith-Popielski, BA ’96; David Townsend, JD ’00; Janet Wheatley, BS HE ’77 • Student Representative Rachel Henderson MIZZOU magazine Spring 2022, Volume 110, Number 3 Published triannually by the Mizzou Alumni Association

MUN Y. CHOI, PHD President, University of Missouri

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Departments

MORE MIZZOU ONLINE

1 First Look

Would it still be Jesse Hall if it had a diminutive dome? Back in the 1920s, architects drew up a very different pinnacle.

6 Around the Columns

CONTRIBUTORS Tony Rehagen, BA, BJ ’01, has written for GQ, The Columbia Journalism Review and Next Wave: America’s New Generation of Great Literary Journalists. He profiles one of the first female staff photographers at Life magazine. Page 32.

Stephen Ornes, MS ’03, author of Math Art: Truth, Beauty, and Equations, is a science writer whose work has appeared in Discover and New Scientist. He introduces MizzouForward, a $1.5 billion research and student-success initiative. Page 16.

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mizzou.com | Spring 2022

Portrait of a Daredevil Marie Hansen leapt to Life magazine as a researcher and soon became the magazine’s third-ever female photographer.

She covered everything from politics to new roles for women, including Adeline Gray, an early female parachutist.

Page 32

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4/12/22 11:17 AM

Sara Bondioli, BA, BJ ’05, is an editor for HuffPost and previously served as assistant managing editor at Roll Call. She profiles a pair of crusading lawyer alumni. Page 30

Mara Reinstein, BJ ’98, is a New York City-based journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Parade. She profiles Mizzou alumni on Pages 26, 27, 53 and 64.

50 Mizzou

Meet a sculptor, a pair of Mizzou advocates and a beer named Legalese.

51 Class Notes

Alumni dish on their latest anniversaries, jobs, weddings and babies.

64

Semper Mizzou

As a member of the WWII Cadet Nurse Corps, Edith Harrington, BSN ’46, cared for soldiers returning from the front.

About the cover During World War II, journalism alumna Marie Hansen became the third female photographer at Life magazine. Hansen’s cover photo, taken in 1942, captures Adeline Gray, who is thought to have been the only U.S. female parachutist before 1940. Gray earned a parachuting license at age 19 and joined a stunt parachuting team appearing in barnstorming shows. See Page 32 for a profile of Hansen.

MIZZOUMAGAZINE

facebook.com/mizzou twitter.com/mizzou instagram.com/mizzou

Council for Advancement & Support of Education (CASE) Awards 2021: Gold, Feature Writing (“Who Was I in College?,” Winter 2020); 2020: Bronze, Feature Writing (“Forever Young,” Spring 2019); 2019: Bronze, General Interest Magazine Society for Publication Designers (SPD) Awards 2021 merit awards “Eli’s Calling,” Fall 2020 “A Third Act,” Spring 2020

R E S E A R C H E R S : M I Z Z O U V I S U A L P R O D U C T I O N S ; G AT E S : M I Z Z O U AT H L E T I C S

MizzouForward videos: University of Missouri President Mun Choi brings viewers up to speed on accomplishments and aspirations during his recent State of the University speech.

Watch at tinyurl.com/MIZstate.

Music names its choral rehearsal space after Sheryl Crow, BS Ed ’84; the School of Law turns 150; and Dennis Gates becomes Tiger basketball’s new coach.

Features

16 Flash-forward

A new $1.5 billion, 10-year program is set to usher in a focus on research to accelerate Mizzou to the forefront of innovation. story by stephen ornes, ms ’03

20 Fire Starters

Each in their own way, these alumni and faculty start things, make things, shake things up. They are catalysts on a grand scale.

32 A Life in Focus

During the 1940s, photographer Marie Hansen rose to become only the third female photographer in the history of Life magazine. story by tony rehagen, ba, bj ’01

40 M I Z Z O U AT H L E T I C S

Postgame

For any student, college is the beginning of a career, and that also goes for student-athletes. These MU Athletics Hall of Famers all went on to do great work — on the field and off. story by tony rehagen, ba, bj ’01

What ever happened to Mizzou’s best student-athletes, such as soccer scoring machine Nikki Thole, BS ’01? Some went on to play pro and enter the ranks of coaching and scouting. At least one joined the CIA. We tracked down nine members of the MU Athletics Hall of Fame. See Page 40.

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AROUND THE COLUMNS

Take-Homes for 2022 Enrollment is on the rise This year marks four straight years of enrollment growth, despite the coronavirus pandemic.

32, 500 32,000 31,500 31,000 30,500 30,000 29,500 2018

2019

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Alumni succeed In Mizzou’s most recent career outcomes survey, 95% of alumni who graduated with a bachelor’s degree reported a successful career outcome within six months of graduation — the highest rate among SEC universities. Such outcomes include employment, continuing education, and military or volunteer service.

Next big move

Mizzou is shaping its future through a strategic focus that targets funding. A 10-year, $1.5 billion initiative called MizzouForward invests in research, infrastructure and students.

Supporting faculty and staff To help support and retain talented faculty and staff, campus leaders are implementing performance-based salary increases with a $500 million investment over 10 years.

Expanding research infrastructure The new Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health building is a big step — but just a first step — in plans to boost campus research capacity. For instance, a new Children’s Hospital is scheduled to open in 2024. Also on the horizon are a new veterinary diagnostic lab, infectious disease lab, influenza center, radioisotope center and improvements to the MU Research Reactor.

Research is on the move With $388 million in total research expenditures, Mizzou moved up 22 spots to No. 67 among the nation’s leading research universities.

Student success MizzouForward is set to fuel the success of undergraduate and graduate students. As a start, 51 projects across 10 academic units, MU Extension and libraries were funded recently.

These will: • Invest in state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories and instruments • Increase hands-on learning experiences • Educate career-ready students

Top value According to U.S. News and World Report data, Mizzou is the No. 1 best value among public national universities in neighboring states.

On other fronts, the new Honors College curriculum is built around STEM, humanities and social sciences, and campus will add academic advisers to help guide students through their college careers.

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MIZZOUMAGAZINE

PAU L M O S S I N E

University of Missouri President Mun Choi gave his first State of the University Address on March 15. Check out the highlights.

BLAKE DINSDALE

BANG FOR THE BUCK As Missouri’s largest and most comprehensive university, Mizzou’s impact extends far beyond its CoMo campus. According to a new economic impact report, the university generated $5 billion for the state’s economy in fiscal year 2021, supported nearly 50,000 jobs and contributed $281.8 million in state and local taxes.

“The University of Missouri contributes to the overall vitality of our state by educating tomorrow’s workforce, conducting innovative research and providing outreach to the citizens of Missouri by sharing our knowledge base,” says MU President Mun Choi. “With a 25-to-1 return on investment for Missouri taxpayers, an investment in MU is an investment in our state.”

The study was conducted by Tripp Umbach, which analyzed the economic value generated by MU’s research, operations, service and expenditures statewide. The firm looked at MU Extension, academic medicine, research, athletics and alumni.*

NextGen Precision Health building and the launch of MizzouForward, a 10-year, $1.5 billion investment to support the university’s research and education missions.

Reaching out MU Extension, which works with citizens in all of the state’s 114 counties and the city of St. Louis, exerted a $117.6 million economic impact. Through MU Extension, more than 2.5 million Missourians connect annually with the university’s knowledge base and resources to manage local issues and improve their quality of life. Every dollar invested in MU Extension returns $13 of public value.

Speaking of alumni Of each graduating class, roughly 64% remain in Missouri, and now more than 153,000 alumni populate the Show-Me State.

Their in-state spending produces an estimated economic impact of $26.8 billion, separate from the university’s $5 billion impact.

Research engine The impact of MU’s research enterprise totaled nearly a billion dollars ($988.8 million). Research supported more than 6,800 jobs and generated $55.2 million in state and local taxes.

Recent highlights include the grand opening of the Roy Blunt

Medicine The university’s academic medicine sector generated a $2.1 billion impact, including 21,789 jobs statewide. Academic medicine comprises MU Health Care — mid-Missouri’s largest health system — the College of Veterinary Medicine, Sinclair School of Nursing and School of Health Professions.

Sporting chance Mizzou’s Tigers across 20 sports are a nationally recognized, Division I athletic franchise that generated $319.1 million in economic impact while supporting 3,591 jobs and contributing $15.9 million in state and local taxes.

*Primary data for the study were collected from the UM System, including capital expenditures, operational expenditures, employee figures, payroll and benefits, taxes paid to local and state governments, visitation numbers for campus events, student figures, and proportions of students who live on and off campus to accurately measure their spending in the local area. Values in the report are generated by direct, indirect and induced operational spending; capital spending; payroll; visitor spending; and student spending throughout Missouri.

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AROUND THE COLUMNS Twitter Buzz About

#Mizzou

@MizzouWrestling FOR THE FIRST TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY, MISSOURI HAS ITS CHAMPION AT 165 POUNDS.

@BioNexusKC @MizzouResearch at @mumedicine has discovered that immunotherapy drops are an easier and cheaper treatment for patients suffering from #allergies.

IN SOUTHWEST MISSOURI

While growing vegetables and herbs in their community garden, immigrants, refugees and longtime locals of Noel, Missouri, also cultivate understanding. The gardeners, sharing work and conversation, are overcoming communication obstacles and cultural differences with the help of an area nonprofit and MU Extension.

Noel, a town of 1,800 tucked into Missouri’s southwest corner, counts immigrants and refugees from 17 countries among its inhabitants. Most came in hopes of finding work at a local chicken processing plant or to be near relatives and neighbors who had already emigrated. Regardless of personal histories — some fled wars in Somalia and others eluded gangs in Central America — they now share the task of establishing a new life in McDonald County.

The nonprofit Refugee and Immigrant Services and Education (RAISE) started the community garden two years ago after running the idea by 8

MIZZOUMAGAZINE

Extension Specialist Jennifer Lutes, who recruited extension colleagues in horticulture and nutrition. “RAISE had this great idea, and they needed help moving it forward,” Lutes says. The extension team, which still consults with the group, taught the budding horticulturalists gardening techniques suitable to the area’s climate and soils and developed recipes, blending the garden’s produce with the cuisines of various homelands.

As the garden continues developing, so does the social network and cultural competency of the gardeners. RAISE garden coordinator Destiny Akannam promotes the tasty benefits of growing food along with the advantages of socializing while weeding or hoeing. “People tend to stick with their group, which is OK, but we want them to get to know others outside their group and to learn to rely on each other for support,” she says. RAISE also helps connect immigrants and refugees in southwest Missouri to health and social services.

@RepSamGraves Glad UM System President Mun Choi could stop by to talk about how we can work together to expand telehealth services, advance critical defense and agriculture research, and protect communities along the Missouri River from future flooding.

Proud to be a graduate of Mizzou! @MizzouSoftball RECORD: BROKEN @kimberly_wert is the new Mizzou all-time home run leader!

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI EXTENSION

PLANTING SEEDS OF UNDERSTANDING

@Missouri_Online @Mizzou’s bachelor’s programs are No. 26, graduate education is No. 4 on “Best for Veterans” and more in the 2022 @usnews Best Online Programs.

Briefly • MU College of Education and Human Development researchers won $12 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Education.

Professor Emeritus James Laffey ($8 million) will scale up a video game that helps middle schoolers learn science. Professor Betsy ​​ Baker ($4 million) will use speech recognition software to improve literacy among second graders.

COLUMBIA HANGS OUT A WELCOME SIGN

A new public art installation has transformed the corner of East Broadway and North Providence Road, now dubbed Gateway Plaza, and connected it to Flat Branch Park. The stainless steel sculpture commemorates Columbia’s bicentennial and does double duty as a stylish welcome sign. Visitors who stop for an up-close look at the 8-foot globe that represents the O in Columbia will spot several references to Mizzou — including an MU logo — as well as a smattering of words and images the public submitted to describe CoMo. These include 11 significant dates from Columbia’s past.

Sheryl Crow Hall – Built on a Rock Foundation

With an MU music education degree in her hand and hit songs in her head, Sheryl Crow, BS Ed ’84, sang and strummed her way to the top of the charts. Known around the world for records such as “All I Wanna Do” and “Every Day Is a Winding Road,” she is locally famous for her generosity to Mizzou. In 2015, she boosted the fundraising campaign for the new Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield Music Center by performing a benefit concert. To recognize her support, the music center’s choral performance and rehearsal space has been named Sheryl Crow Hall. A plaque with her photo and accomplishments hangs in the doorway.

1. Mizzou’s first Homecoming 2. The year the first degree-granting journalism school in the world was established at MU. 3. Sanborn Field was established on the MU campus. A soil sample from the research site contained a bacterium that, when cultured, led to the development of chlortetracycline, a first-generation antibiotic.

S I G N : N OT L E Y H AW K I N S ; C R O W : L G PAT T E R S O N

CoMo pop quiz: The year 1911 is etched near the top of the globe. What is the significance of that date?

What’s the significance of 1908?

What happened in 1888 that led to the development of an important antibiotic? Answers below.

•Three faculty members and one alumna were recently named 2021 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a distinction given to members who’ve made significant contributions. Lee-Ann H. Allen is a professor and chair of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology and the George Trimble Endowed Chair for Excellence in Medicine in the School of Medicine. Susan Renoe is an assistant professor of strategic communication in the School of Journalism and the associate vice chancellor for strategic initiatives in the Office of Research and Economic Development. Cheryl S. Rosenfeld is a professor of biomedical sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Ruthmae Sears, PhD ’12, is an associate professor of mathematics education at the University of South Florida.

• The University of Missouri Board of Curators has a new member: Todd P. Graves, BS Ag ’88, a lawyer in private practice in Kansas City, Missouri. Graves served previously as the United States attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

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AROUND THE COLUMNS

MIZZOU’S NATIONAL

Babies and Bisphenol A

Cheryl Rosenfeld’s adult niece, Sara, lives in managed care due to lateonset respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Sara’s mother experienced depression while pregnant, and doctors prescribed quaaludes, a common practice in the 1970s. Although Sara was born healthy, Rosenfeld, now a professor of biomedical sciences in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine, believes her current health problems stem from prenatal exposure to the now-outlawed drug. “That’s what got me interested in the concept of developmental origins of health and disease,” she says.

Now Rosenfeld and her colleagues have released a groundbreaking study that demonstrates the direct passing of bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical commonly used in plastic water bottles and food containers, from mother through the placenta to her unborn child. She believes BPA could harm fetal brain development and that changes in microRNA in the placenta might be an early biomarker for BPA exposure. “If we can understand the mechanism by which the placenta communicates with the brain, we could engineer ways to tailor brain development,” Rosenfeld says. “We could mitigate any deformities early on in gestation and thereby promote the longterm health of sons and daughters.”

No matter where Rosenfeld’s research leads her, she will always keep Sara in mind. “Had we known some of this back then,” she says, “maybe there would have been something that could’ve been done for her.”

— Tony Rehagen BA, BJ ’01 10 MIZZOUMAGAZINE

BOT TLES: SHUT TERSTOCK; REACTOR: MURR

LABORATORY

In 1962, MU officials set aside the former polo field just southwest of the football stadium as the home of the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR). The idea was to build a unique laboratory for the emerging nuclear age. But even the visionaries who built MURR couldn’t have imagined the impact the reactor continues to have across disciplines. To this day, MURR is still the most powerful reactor (10 megawatts) on any campus in the U.S. “Over the past 20 years, the facility has expanded,” says David Robertson, executive director of MURR. “Kudos to the people who designed this place just for nuclear science. They weren’t thinking about nuclear medicine.”

They weren’t thinking, for instance, about TheraSphere, a revolutionary new treatment for liver cancer, or about lutetium-177, a radioisotope that is a key ingredient in treatments for neuroendocrine tumors and prostate cancer, both of which are routinely produced at MURR. These are just two examples of how the reactor has been at the forefront of advancements in radiopharmacology. MURR has also seen increased use as a place to conduct material science, study plant metabolism and use archaeometry to analyze ancient materials.

Robertson doesn’t see academic and industrial interest in MURR waning anytime soon. When a European reactor shut down unexpectedly in early 2022, MURR worked quickly to help maintain the international supply of critical medical radioisotopes.

“For much of our history, we made boutique isotopes,” he says. “But over the past decade, we’ve gone from making the isotopes that a few people wanted to study to isotopes that everyone wants to use.” — Tony Rehagen BA, BJ ’01

STATUS CHECK

She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not …

I L LU S T R AT I O N S : B L A K E D I N S D A L E ; L AW : 1 9 1 4 S AV I TA R

Before getting back together with your ex, you might want to read Kale Monk’s new study about on-again, off-again relationships. The human development and family science assistant professor found that relationship cycling — a pattern of breakups and reconciliations — can harm the mental health of the people in these relationships, with depression and anxiety symptoms potentially lasting more than a year.

“This pattern of getting in and out of the same relationship could promote some feelings of disillusionment or disappointment where you think things are getting better and they’re not,” Monk says. Each cycle is associated with poor communication, less commitment and relationship satisfaction, and more intimate partner violence.

Yet the scenario is a common one: About 60% of individuals report having broken up and gotten back together with a partner, and it’s a popular narrative in movies and on TV. Although some couples get back together because they have lingering positive feelings, many are driven by more practical matters, such as shared property or finances. Monk says dedication, not obligation, should drive the decision to rekindle such relationships. — Kelsey Allen, BA, BJ ’10

What makes a popular kid popular? It’s not always about being nice, according to a researcher in MU’s College of Education and Human Development.

Nicole Brass and her University of Michigan collaborators surveyed more than 500 middle school students, half of whom had attended the same school from kindergarten through eighth grade and half of whom had transitioned to a larger middle school after attending elementary school elsewhere. Turns out the school context played a large role in whom students perceive as popular.

In the K–8 context, the most popular students were also well-liked. They worked hard in school and were helpful and kind. But students who transitioned to a new middle school reported that the most popular students often were meaner and more aggressive toward others.

“It’s a bigger context where you’re not necessarily going to know everybody, and sometimes aggression can be a useful way to get attention from a larger group of peers,” says Brass, a postdoctoral fellow. “That type of behavior would not necessarily be well-received among people you’ve known for a long time because they’d be like, ‘Why are you doing that?’ ” Brass says these findings, published in Developmental Psychology, can help teachers develop interventions to promote prosocial behavior and cultivate a positive classroom environment for students.

— Kelsey Allen, BA, BJ ’10

LAW SCHOOL TURNS 150 Some work in corner offices of corporate headquarters. Others in storefront digs across from small-town courthouses. And still others serve in state and federal government positions. Wherever their careers have taken them, MU School of Law alumni share a common bond: three years of rigorous study of case law, legal procedures and legal principles. They also share the memory of lifelong friendships forged in study groups, classes and student organizations. Since 1872, law school graduates have left Columbia to practice in all 50 states and 23 countries. On Sept. 9, alumni, faculty and students are invited to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the university’s Law Department, which became the School of Law in 1909. For more on the anniversary, call (573) 882-4374 or write stoermerr@umsystem.edu.

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AROUND THE COLUMNS

Starting at age 3, Jack Parker, BS ’21, a graduate student in economics, would accompany his dad to the driving range and ride with him in the cart during rounds of golf.

Before long, he was emulating his father’s swing with his own little clubs. Around the same time, he picked up a pencil and tried to match his older sister in creating the most realistic drawings.

Those two pursuits became Parker’s lifelong passions.

Golf was his competitive physical pursuit and art his relaxing mental release. In 2021, Parker saw his golf game take a giant step forward, in part, because his mind let his body take over on the course.

“I reached a threshold where I know the ropes, I’m confident in my ability and I just got out of my own way,” Parker says. “I stopped worrying about what my swing looked like or how I got around the golf course and just focused solely on posting a good number.”

Last summer, he won the Missouri Stroke Play Championship, one of the state’s premier amateur events. In the fall, he won his first college tournament at the Turning Stone Tiger Intercollegiate. That earned him the Missouri Golf Association Male Player of the Year award, which he received at halftime of a men’s basketball game at Mizzou Arena.

“It was like a full-circle moment to get that honor in front of my family and a Missouri crowd that I’m honored to represent,” Parker says. — Joe Walljasper, BJ ’92 THIS TIME, GATES SAYS YES As a high school basketball player in Chicago, Dennis Gates was recruited by legendary Missouri Coach Norm Stewart. Gates decided to attend Cal instead, but 24 years later, he said yes to the Tigers. On March 22, he was announced as Mizzou’s new men’s basketball coach. “My dream is to become a national champion,” Gates says. “My dream is to become a hall of fame coach. Mizzou has everything in place for me to accomplish those goals.” Gates, 42, established himself as one of the nation’s top young coaches by quickly reversing the fortunes of Cleveland State, which had posted four straight losing seasons before he took over in 2019. Gates led the Vikings to Horizon League regular-season titles in his second and third seasons while compiling an overall record of 50–40. He replaces Cuonzo Martin.

12 MIZZOUMAGAZINE

M I Z Z O U AT H L E T I C S ; I L LU S T R AT I O N : J A C K PA R K E R

JUST LIKE HE DREW IT UP

Scoreboard 6 — Number of Mizzou wrestlers who have won a national title after freshman Keegan O’Toole claimed the 165-pound division at the NCAA Championships.

O’Toole joins a group that includes three-time champion J’den Cox, two-time champ Ben Askren, Mark Ellis, Max Askren and Drake Houdashelt.

Pinkel Joins the Game’s Greats In December 2000, when Gary Pinkel was deciding whether to leave Toledo, Ohio, to become Missouri’s football coach, he wanted to make sure Athletic Director Mike Alden understood the scope of the challenge ahead. The Tigers had achieved just two winning seasons in the previous 17 years and had cycled through four head coaches in that span. Pinkel not only needed to upgrade the talent on the field, but he also had to change minds clouded with what he called the “here-we-go-again stuff.”

“I knew it was going to be difficult,” Pinkel says.

“That’s why, before I even signed the contract, I told Mike Alden: ‘There’s probably going to be a point where people will want to get rid of me. I’m going to need you to stick with me.’ ”

M I Z Z O U AT H L E T I C S

THE LONG RUN

Alden stuck with Pinkel after he posted losing records in three of his first four seasons, and then the fun started. Over the next 11 years, Pinkel’s teams qualified for nine bowl games. The 2007 and 2013 teams each won 12 games and finished with a top-five national ranking. He retired in 2015 as the winningest football coach in school history with a 118–73 record.

The College Football Hall of Fame took notice, announcing in January that Pinkel was part of the 2022 induction class.

“When I found out, I was emotional, elated, happy for everybody who was a part of it,” Pinkel says. “This is about all my players, my staff, the administration — everybody. This is a victory for all of them.” — Joe Walljasper, BJ ’92

Growing up in Utah, Lindsey Anderson realized she had a knack for distance running in middle school gym class when she pulled away from her classmates in the mile run. “I was always pretty competitive, especially trying to beat all the boys in those Presidential Fitness Tests,” says Anderson, who hasn’t stopped running since. She represented the USA in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2008 Olympics and then began her coaching career. After leading the College of Southern Idaho women’s cross-country team to the 2021 junior college national title, Anderson was named Mizzou’s cross-country coach.

Her approach includes joining her men’s and women’s teams on training runs. “Our conversations turn into coaching moments sometimes,” she says, “but a lot of times we’re just talking and enjoying the run.”

2 — New scoring records set by the Missouri gymnastics team during the 2022 season. The Tigers posted a program-best mark of 197.650 against Florida on Feb. 4 and then topped it with a score of 197.675 in a quadrangular meet against Lindenwood, Illinois, and Iowa State on March 12.

3 — Members of Mizzou’s track and field team who earned first-team All-America honors at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships. They are Georgi Nachev, fourth in the men’s triple jump (53 feet, 3 inches); Roberto Vilches, fifth in the men’s high jump (7-2½); and Arianna Fisher, seventh in the women’s triple jump (44-4¼).

11 — Consecutive conference titles won by the Mizzou wrestling team. Brian Smith’s Tigers won the Big 12 championship in 2012, won nine straight MidAmerican Conference titles and then claimed the 2022 Big 12 championship in their first year back in the league as a wrestling-only member.

1 — Football player who finished his college career at Missouri and went on to win Super Bowl LVI. Tight end Kendall Blanton and the Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20.

SPRING 2022 13

CENTER FOR S Y INNOVATION RENEWABLE FUEL REVELATIONS Explore the ever-advancing world of renewable fuel at the Center for Soy Innovation.  Hands-on biodiesel pump display  Inside look at biofuel heating  And many more innovations to explore!

The Center is here to share the latest and greatest from Missouri soybean growers with your family, class, or organization.

Schedule your tour or event, today! mosoy.org/innovation

“Our future depends on innovation and new uses for soy, on partnerships and fresh perspectives, and on opening our doors and our minds to new opportunities.”

- Gary Wheeler, Executive Director

Missouri

s

MOSOY.org | (573) 635-3819 734 S. Country Club Drive | Jefferson City, MO 65109 brought to you by Missouri soybean farmers and their checkoff

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Gary Wheeler Executive Director

Thanks to the support of generous Mizzou Traditions Fund donors, the Mizzou Alumni Association is the largest on-campus provider of scholarship funding, with more than $600,000 awarded annually in merit- and need-based scholarships.

I cannot express enough how grateful I am for your kindness in granting me this award and investing in my future. Because of your scholarship, I have been able to remain enrolled at one of the top journalism schools in the country, and that means so much because that is why I came all the way to Columbia from Atlanta in the first place!”

Rachel Henderson,

MAA True Tiger Scholarship Recipient

Support students like Rachel with a gift to the Mizzou Traditions Fund today.

To learn more or give today, please visit mizzou.com/traditionsfund.

SPRING 2022 15

FEATURE

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Flash-forward A sneak peek at an ambitious $1.5 billion, 10-year program intended to usher in a “culture shift” of research and accelerate Mizzou to the forefront of innovation. Story by Stephen Ornes, MS ’03 • Illustrations by Blake Dinsdale

R

esearchers are by turns curious and skeptical. And more than a little optimistic. Why else would they invest their lives and careers chasing new questions? “They are inclined to be impatient to see if something can be done, and inclined to think it can’t be done, until it’s proven otherwise,” observed British physicist and novelist C.P. Snow. Researchers’ essential optimism, he said, plays out in their relationship with the social condition writ large — including how scientific progress can help improve people’s lives.

Of course, optimism alone isn’t sufficient to push research forward, especially in the dizzying, high-tech pace of the 21st century. It also requires resources, curiosity, perseverance and a non-negligible amount of luck. And, of course, money: Through every stage, every hypothesis, setback and trial, the research enterprise depends on a steady infusion of funds from some mix of grants, companies and institutions.

The potential gains of research are colossal. Decades of investment and investigation into the inner workings of messenger RNA, for example, enabled researchers to develop the first COVID-19 vaccine in a matter of months rather than years. The risks of research are also formidable: Many promising findings never leave the lab, and some don’t pan out in the real world. In many areas, researchers have only just begun to articulate questions that will guide the next century of investigations.

What, then, is the best way for the university to realize its mission of putting research to work for the greater good? Enter MizzouForward. This past November, MU unveiled the 10-year, $1.5-billion effort, a major goal of which is to propel the university to the forefront of research, innovation and impact.

“This is an investment in the faculty, students and staff to achieve research excellence, student success and effective engagement,” University of Missouri President Mun Choi said during a November 2021 faculty meeting. (For more on MizzouForward’s support of students, see Page 3.)

The goal is to push research at MU to a higher level, Choi said. MizzouForward includes provisions for faculty such as instituting competitive pay raises, supporting startup initiatives and hiring at least 150 new researchers across a range of disciplines (in addition to replacing those who have retired or left in the past few years). The primary qualifications, Choi said, are expertise and the ability to attract significant external funding.

“We’re looking for top-notch faculty who are going to be able to drive our research mission,” says MU Senior Vice Provost Matthew Martens, PhD ’02.

The program will also invest in new buildings and technologies as well as extend support for student programs such as the Honors College, undergraduate research and the Missouri Scholars Academy, which brings talented high school juniors to campus every summer.

Choi sees the program as a roadmap for how the university can forge ahead after the bruising journey of the past few years, which have included budget cuts and — most obviously — the volatility and unpredictability brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The initiative will reach every community at Mizzou, Choi said, with much of the new hiring focused on three areas: NextGen Precision Health; New Frontiers in Science, Engineering and Technologies; and Innovations in Social Science, Humanities and the Arts. “The work that they do defines a university,” Choi said. Here’s a sneak peek at how MizzouForward will shape these areas over the next decade.

>>>>>

NEXTGEN: THE FUTURE OF PRECISION HEALTH This past October, 10 days before the announcement of MizzouForward, geneticist and physician Francis Collins traveled to Columbia for the official opening of the new state-of-the-art $221-million building that will host the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health institute. Collins is something of SPRING 2022 17

MIZZOUFORWARD

“We’re literally going to double the number of researchers we have on campus,” Martens says.

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a titan among geneticists: He oversaw the Human Genome Project — an ambitious undertaking to identify the roughly 23,000 genes in our DNA — and from 2007 until the end of 2021, he led the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

What he saw at NextGen was a vision of the future. “Any young scientists would just be salivating to see how your laboratories are set up,” he told the audience. “My gosh, your cryo-EM facility downstairs is like something that many people dream of, and you have it.” (Cryogenic electron microscopy, or cryo-EM, gives scientists a way to study the structures of molecules down almost to the level of individual atoms.)

Precision health is an approach to health care that goes beyond a one-size-fits-all approach, recognizing that no two individuals are the same. A person’s health depends critically on their genes, choices and environment, and in a precision health setting, a doctor can take these factors into consideration to provide guidance to promote good health, prevent disease and treat new diagnoses.

The field is in its infancy but has already shown promise: Primaquine is a drug used to treat or prevent malaria, but its prescribed dosage depends on a person’s genetic profile. Patients with a certain genetic condition and diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia, for example, can benefit from Gleevec, or imatinib, a drug that blocks the growth of cancer cells. At the same time, the complexity of the interactions between disease and the human genome poses big challenges to making the most of personalized medicine.

The tools and resources at NextGen could enable researchers to overcome that challenge. The facility includes cutting-edge technology (like high-powered MRIs and the facility that Collins mentioned) as well as labs, offices and dedicated space for clinical investigations. Its design represents a translational approach to medicine: How can researchers harness promising new findings to provide benefits to patients as quickly as possible? It’s the same approach used by the NIH headquarters in Washington, D.C. “You have research patients who are right around the corner from research laboratories,” Collins said.

Some of the first researchers to take up residence in the new building include a trio that will focus on how cardiovascular disease develops in people with Type 2 diabetes. Last year, Jaume Padilla, an expert in nutrition and exercise physiology; Camila Manrique-Acevedo, a physician and associate professor of medicine; and Luís Martinez-Lemus, an expert in medical pharmacology and physiology, received two grants from the NIH, for a total of $6 million, to study the link. Their work shows the kind of research that the university hopes to at-

tract with MizzouForward, says Thomas Spencer, Mizzou’s vice chancellor for research.

One of Mizzou’s strongest contributions in this area has been its research nuclear reactor — a facility that can supply the radioisotopes for cancer treatments targeting specific biomarkers in a patient. “That’s one of our best stories in terms of bench-to-bedside, making compounds used in cancer treatment drugs,” Spencer says. Researchers not only have to make the compounds; they also have to find safe and effective ways to incorporate them into cancer treatment. “This entire program will continue to discover new pharmaceutical approaches to treat cancer in a precision medicine way,” he says.

“NextGen is just the beginning,” Choi said.

MizzouForward will build on the facility’s foundation by attracting experts with brave new ideas — and the grant funding that such ideas can bring — to push precision health forward.

“We’ll be able to do things that we simply haven’t been able to do before,” Spencer says.

“We’ll be able to go into new areas that will be impactful in terms of biomedical research and leverage the capabilities we have within the system.”

>>>>>

THE FRONTIERS OF SCIENCE Scientists at Mizzou already play leading roles in a variety of fields. During the pandemic, researchers helped map the mutations associated with SARS-CoV-2 variants delta and omicron and worked on detecting the virus in wastewater. In January, three Mizzou researchers were named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest scientific society.

Other researchers have made advances in developing new, smart materials; advancing security for devices; and understanding the quantum behavior of molecules. Within animal science — a particularly strong area at Mizzou — researchers have been developing pigs as models for precision health investigations. (Randy Prather and Kevin Wells, in animal sciences, created the pigs that have been recently used for organ transplants in humans. See story on Page 22.)

Spencer says MizzouForward can build on these assets, in part, by bringing them together.

“Typically in academics, everybody does their own thing, and it’s kind of a silo effect,” he says.

But silos stymie efficiency: A researcher may end up duplicating previous work or may not know that an idea has already been shown not to work.

Silos also discourage the sharing of data or new findings, slowing the progress of science. Spencer

sees in MizzouForward a way to move beyond the traditional approach. “We can encourage collaboration,” he says, “and we can hire from a lot of different areas and broadly across the university to strengthen our existing programs.”

MizzouForward aims to attract researchers whose work bridges disciplines. The university has already made several new hires as part of the initiative, and new candidates are being interviewed on a regular basis. It is considering new STEM researchers in fields ranging from artificial intelligence to life sciences to advanced materials to earth sciences.

“We have these pockets of excellence all over the institution, and this is an opportunity to build on them,” Martens says.

>>>>>

A BOOST FOR THE SOCIAL SCIENCES, ARTS AND HUMANITIES Social sciences at the University of Missouri tend to tackle some of society’s biggest societal problems — at scales large and small. During the pandemic,

for example, one MU research group examined how the sudden switch to virtual learning affected different communities. They found that Black families had less access to digital resources including Wi-Fi, and that lack of access negatively affected how those students learned. Research like this can help identify community disparities and inform solutions.

Another MU group used the pandemic response to study the effects of telehealth on pediatric care.

Big questions about societal problems drive research in fields ranging from economics, education and psychology to social justice and equity. MizzouForward’s hiring initiatives — as in the case of the life sciences — will focus on bringing these fields together and helping them find a way forward, Martens says. He points to recent studies

by MU faculty as evidence of existing strengths in these areas but also sees potential for growth and new transdisciplinary opportunities.

MizzouForward is recruiting researchers, Martens says, based on their ability to propose and find funding for forward-looking, collaborative projects. “That’s going to benefit not only the research enterprise but also student success,” he says. “It’s a holistic program.”

Choi sees this moment as an opportunity to expand and look forward, much like the rapid growth on campus following the 1892 fire that burned down Academic Hall — a time when MU emerged as a modern university. And an investment in faculty, students and infrastructure is motivated, ultimately, on the optimism and curiosity that the research enterprise exemplifies.

It’s a moment of evolution and decision in higher education when the university is declaring what it’s going to be about for decades to come. M

Big questions about societal problems drive research in fields ranging from economics, education and psychology to social justice and equity.

SPRING 2022 19

MIZZOU MAGAZINE SPRING 2022

F I R E S T A R T E R S P.

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Each in their own way, the alumni and faculty on the following pages start things, make things, shake things up.

They are catalysts on a grand scale.

SPRING 2022 21

HAVE A HEART

Research that began two decades ago in a Mizzou lab is allowing leaps forward in organ transplants.

Story by David LaGesse, BJ ’79

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N AT H A N PA R K E R

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cientists recently dazzled the world by successfully transplanting pig organs into humans, initially a kidney last year and then remarkably a heart early this year. Marylandbased surgeons used a porcine heart to extend the life of a patient who otherwise faced certain death. The surgery has raised hopes that the 100,000 Americans awaiting organ transplants might find a steady supply from pigs.

First, though, somebody had to make it possible to grow that special pig. That’s where Mizzou’s Randy Prather comes in, or rather came in more than 20 years ago. An animal sciences professor, Prather worked with MU colleagues and a Boston-area researcher in the early 2000s to grow and clone the first “knockout pigs,” so-called because researchers delete a portion of a pig’s DNA to alter its development.

One of their pigs was a 2001 breakthrough that would enable xenotransplantation, or moving an organ from one species to another. “It’s a foundational gene modification that will be needed for pretty much all xenotransplantation,” says Prather, who also directs MU’s National Swine Resource and Research Center.

In that landmark knockout pig, the MU team showed how to delete a gene that produces a type of sugar. Bacteria produce the same sugar, priming human immune systems to attack within minutes whatever brings it into a body. That caused a body’s defenses to quickly reject organs from other species, which doctors call hyperacute rejection.

Xenotransplants seemed impossible if researchers couldn’t get past hyperacute rejection.

“It was like a brick wall that nobody could see through,” Prather says. “When that wall came down, they could begin to see the other problems they needed to address.”

In the years since, researchers at MU and elsewhere developed gene changes for other issues in interspecific transplants. The pig that donated its heart for the Baltimore surgery had 10 genetic modifications, including that sugar knockout developed at Mizzou. The patient lived two months with the transplant.

And where scientists once saw organs from nonhuman primates, such as baboons and chimpanzees, as the most promising for saving humans, MU’s work helped demonstrate that pigs are a better source. For one: “Primates are difficult and expensive to raise. Pigs are much easier,” says Kevin Wells, another animal sciences researcher who works alongside Prather at Mizzou. Pigs

“ It’s taken a long time.

Now we’re seeing real progress.”

also have bodily systems that function surprisingly similar to humans with organs about the same size.

Wells’ and Prather’s years of success with the swine research center helped Mizzou win an $8.6 million federal grant to open the Swine Somatic Cell Genome Editing Center, directed by Wells, that uses genetics to cure human disease.

The Prather and Wells labs, meanwhile, helped develop genetically modified swine that aid research on a variety of human ailments, including cystic fibrosis and cancer. Other modifications help protect pigs from their own diseases. One guards against a virus that kills thousands of the animals every day.

When it comes to food, the 2001 sugar-knockout modification also enabled a company to produce pork that won’t trigger a red-meat allergy in people.

The allergy to that sugar typically develops after tick bites.

But through the decades, it was the promise of transplanting pig organs that Prather often highlighted. The recent news suggests we’re entering what he calls a new era of human health. “It’s taken a long time,” Prather says. “Now we’re seeing real progress.”

SPRING 2022 23

NOW STREAMING

Two Tiger filmmakers — a professor and an alumna — merge cinema and social commentary in their new feature-length films. Story by Margaret Engel, BJ ’73

Christian Rozier 24 MIZZOUMAGAZINE

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COURTESTY CHRISTIAN ROZIER

Young Apaches aily life on a Native American reservation is a mystery to most outsiders. When Christian Rozier, an assistant professor in MU’s School of Visual Studies, became a visiting artist at the San Carlos Reservation southeast of Globe, Arizona, in 2010, the society he discovered there altered the trajectory of his filmmaking.

Over 11 years, he helped Apache citizens build cinematic skills, and together they created his first full-length feature film, Apache Leap. It opens a true-life window into the rewarding and frustrating lives of Apache teens, their parents and elders.

Rozier’s story of young Apaches with achievements and unrealized dreams emphasizes the strength of community ties. As he unspools the story of a restless young woman returning to the reservation, viewers see how life choices are thwarted by basics — nonexistent transportation, lack of jobs, poor internet and little money. It’s a film that also celebrates tribal members’ talents, like a young man’s long-distance running or an elder’s deep knowledge of history and nature. Families triumph despite barriers most Americans never face. Apache Leap takes an unhurried look at the despair and inertia stemming from alcohol use, car trouble and difficulties living off the reservation. Yet it is a deeply optimistic portrayal of the strength of human connections.

The result is a film of near-documentary precision in its depiction of reservation life. Rozier enlisted mostly nonprofessional actors and crew, as only three of the reservation’s 15,000 tribal members had ever been on a film set before. “The actors were both confident and insecure, with zero experience,” Rozier says. “They put so much of their lives on the screen. It was profoundly moving.”

Instead of parachuting on and off of the reservation, he trained young adults from the San Carlos community in filmmaking, leaving his equipment behind as part of the reservation’s Media Arts Exchange that had brought him to San Carlos a decade earlier.

“My development as a storyteller was fundamentally transformed,” Rozier says of working with Apache citizens. “After 10 years of directing music videos and television, I was more inspired by working in the 115-degree heat in that summer experience in San Carlos.”

The film had an emotional premiere in the movie theater in Globe, the only one in 80 miles, which was where the cast and crew saw films growing up. “The actors saw themselves on the screen where they’ve watched Hollywood’s biggest movies,” Rozier says.

Apache Leap has since screened at film festivals in Portland, Oregon, and Montreal and at the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco, which is in its 46th year.

“We want to find a great home on a streaming platform,” Rozier says of the film’s future. He also is raising money for the Native Arts Film Academy he’s helping to build on the reservation, to create jobs and upward mobility in the entertainment industry.

Apache Leap took a decade of instruction and planning and three weeks to film but has had lifelong effects on Rozier. “I saw what radical inclusivity could achieve, both in front and behind of the camera. It shows in the quiet moments. It was a true community production.”

More: apacheleapfilm.com

Labor of Love

Back in 2015, actor and director Paula Rhodes first had the idea to film a dystopian drama during her actual pregnancy, linking the uncertainty of childbirth with the uneasiness of our current world. The LA-based artist couldn’t know that a pandemic, protests and raging fires in the intervening years would provide real-life empty grocery shelves and burned-out storefronts needed for her directorial debut, Delicate State.

The journalism graduate and her actor husband, Charlie Bodin, are the film’s leads and entire production crew. Seeing the couple share personal footage of her pregnancy makes the scripted terror that follows particularly real and persuasive.

“The mortality you feel in pregnancy fits with the extreme stresses of today,” Rhodes says.

“Civil war should never be an option. I aim to humanize what that threat would look like and to keep my film a docu-fiction.”

Her film won the Audience Choice Award at Dances With Films, a Los Angeles film festival, and was presented at the St. Louis International Film Fest.

It was shown at the Santa Fe Film Festival and is available on iTunes and Amazon.

More: tinyurl.com/DelicateStateFilm SPRING 2022 25

30 UNDER 30 Forbes magazine highlights a pair of innovative young Tigers.

Story by Mara Reinstein, BJ ’98

lot of people say they’re making the world a greener place. Corey Staller, BS, BS ChE ’14, put his words into action. As a senior engineer at the Chicagobased Celadyne Technologies, he’s helped develop hydrogen fuel cells that emit water vapor instead of carbon dioxide. He hopes the new cells can replace heavy diesel engines in trucks, cars and boats and decarbonize the environment in the process.

Staller’s creative ingenuity and leadership led to funding from Shell Ventures and Celadyne’s selection as a Breakthrough Energy Fellows company. But being honored as one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in the energy sector was a special personal honor.

“When I heard the news, I spent the day calling people who had impacted me along the way,” he says.

That list begins with a high school physics teacher who sparked his love of curiosity and science. Staller learned how to harness his knowledge at Mizzou, where he double majored in chemical engineering and economics. “I learned how to take insurmountable problems and break them down into little bites that I could handle,” he says. He started working at Celadyne in the summer of 2020, shortly after earning a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin.

Staller is just getting started. He envisions a future in which anyone can drive to a (hydrogen) gas station and power up using the technology. In fact, Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are already on the road. “It would cut down on smog and pollution,” he says, “and be a big quality-of-life improvement for everyone.”

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C O U RT E SY C O R E Y S TA L L E R

Putting on the Gas

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C O U RT E SY S A M I T E L L AT I N

An Entrepreneur Digs In he seeds were planted at various Mizzou dining halls, where biological engineering student Sami Tellatin would collect food waste and take the bags straight to the Bradford Farm for composting. “It was my first foray into agriculture,” she says. “I’ve been hooked ever since.”

Now Tellatin, BS BE ’15, is watching her work grow on a much grander (and less pungent) scale. The entrepreneur and environmental engineer — named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in the finance category — is a co-founder of FarmRaise, a startup enterprise that helps farmers nationwide apply for private and public funding and grants. Comparing the program to TurboTax, she says, “We’re a one-stop shop that eliminates all the hassle and confusion.”

Tellatin gained firsthand knowledge of the industry while studying for an MBA and Master of Science at Stanford University. She and classmate (and future co-founder) Jayce Hafner were pursuing strategies to help farmers adopt soil-health practices but soon learned about the financial roadblocks. “We talked with more than 100 farmers who asked us to help make funding easier to find,” Tellatin says. “They would have to Google and pull up multiple tabs, do the research, and fill out all this paperwork.” With FarmRaise, what used to take more than three hours whittles down to just 15 minutes. Any funding farmers unlock supports improved soil-health practices, a transition into organic foods and various energy-efficiency projects.

The stats are impressive. Since its official launch in March

2020, FarmRaise has amassed more than 10,000 account members. Farmers have applied for $8 million in funding with a 60% success rate in landing money, twice the rate of going solo. Beyond the numbers, she’s happiest hearing her clients’ success stories. “Farmers are the most honest, grittiest and funniest people. It’s so fulfilling to provide value to them.”

SPRING 2022 27

CARP CRAZY

Long considered a trash fish, invasive carp are hammering watery ecosystems.

And now they are on the verge of disrupting a multibillion-dollar fishing industry. Yet, beneath the half-moon scales, Asian carp pack some of the best aquatic protein going. Is there a way to upcycle our way out of the problem?

By Jack Wax, BS Ed ’73, HES ’76, MA ’87

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COURTESY MARK MORGAN

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ark Morgan has spawned a new approach to two seemingly unrelated problems — too many invasive Asian carp in the Mississippi River basin and too little protein in the bellies of undernourished people throughout the world. “I had this idea, and I still can’t get rid of it,” says the associate professor of natural resources.

The concept sounds simple. If he could find a way to harvest the unwanted and destructive fish and get them to people in developing countries, he’d be doing his part both for the environment and for global hunger. That’s easier said than done, and Morgan has spent a decade linking commercial fishers, other researchers, manufacturers and nonprofit service groups.

In 2018, Morgan spearheaded a proof-of-concept project in which he transported several hundred pounds of processed carp from Midwest rivers to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where people need protein. “About one-half of the pregnant women in Haiti suffer from anemia,” says Idalbert Joseph, CEO of Glory House Services in Kansas City, a relief organization supporting Haitians in the U.S. and Haiti. Morgan accompanied Idalbert to Haiti, helping to set up the pilot project that tested the acceptance of Asian carp as a food source among Haitians.

With the assistance of Andrew Clarke, associate professor in the food science program at MU, Morgan pioneered a process to smoke, salt and vacuum pack Asian carp. The fish could then be transported and stored without refrigeration. In Haiti, Asian carp passed both the storage and taste test. “Haitians who tasted the carp loved it,” Idalbert says.

Despite the project’s success, Morgan knew he hadn’t found the sweet spot. “This method of preservation was not scalable

because it was too intensive — thawing, salting and smoking the fish in such a short time,” he says. “That’s when I came up with the idea of powdering the carp.” Pulverizing it also mashes any stray bones into a nutritious mix, needing no refrigeration.

Asian carp are a healthier source of protein than most fish.

Because they eat only plankton and microscopic-sized animals, carp have lower levels of heavy metal contaminants. And they are high in micro and macronutrients, including iron, calcium, potassium and omega-3 fatty acids. “Asian carp contain all nine essential amino acids. It’s like a superfood. Ironically, it comes from a fish that most people consider to be the most useless, worthless of all,” Morgan says.

Asian carp’s reputation as a low-status fish is due, in part, to its high ranking among menacing invasive species. They entered Midwestern waters in the 1970s during a misguided attempt at using them to control algae and weeds in large ponds. They hog food that native species, such as bass, bluegill and catfish, would normally consume. They are incredibly fecund, spawning massive quantities of eggs two or three times a year. And now they are threatening to get into the Great Lakes. “If that happens, they can disrupt commercial and recreational fishing industries worth $6 billion or $7 billion a year,” Morgan says.

With so much at stake, environmental groups and government agencies are searching for ways to prevent Asian carp from further damaging the environment. Morgan doesn’t have the answer, but he has an answer, one that mobilizes public support. While applying for grants, Morgan inspires others to get involved by donating to his project through Mizzou Give Direct. “People want to help,” he says. “I get emails and telephone calls from complete strangers who donate money or hold fundraisers. It’s an idea that people care about.”

SPRING 2022 29

CRUSADING LAWYERS Stephen F. Hanlon is reforming the public defense system. Sarah Burns is securing money for relief programs in communities hit by the opioid epidemic.

Story by Sara Bondioli, BA, BJ ’05

any public defenders are assigned three to five times as many cases as they can reasonably handle. As a result, they have to pick and choose. They often devote the majority of their time to the most serious cases in their portfolio, such as homicides, leaving little time to investigate the cases of those accused of misdemeanors and lesser charges.

It’s a problem Stephen F. Hanlon, JD ’66, calls “an enormous failure of the whole profession,” and he has made it his mission to establish enforceable caseload limits for public defenders so they can provide an adequate defense for all their clients.

Hanlon, who previously ran the nation’s largest private practice pro bono department at Holland & Knight for 23 years, has researched reasonable caseload limits in eight states, and others have done similar work in nine other states. For example, public defenders in Missouri spend, on average, 2.3 hours working on a misdemeanor case. However, a 2014 study he led found they need to spend an average of 11.7 hours to provide reasonably effective counsel for their clients.

Now, Hanlon is helping to develop new nationwide caseload standards — reasonable expectations about how many hours, on average, defenders should work on each type of case they handle so each defendant gets adequate representation in court. He has assembled an impressive team to help him do that: RAND, the National Center for State Courts and the American Bar Association.

Hanlon has worked with members of Congress on the Equal Defense Act, which may have a hearing in a House Judiciary subcommittee this year. The bill calls for additional funds for public defenders, coupled with tracking their caseloads. Hanlon hopes the legislation will be amended to include the new National Caseload Standards as well as sentencing reform for higher-risk cases and decriminalization for low-risk misdemeanors, to help manage the number and severity of cases public defenders handle.

In Missouri, Hanlon’s research was used in a case that led the state to hire 53 additional public defenders last year to help whittle down its waitlist of defendants.

Hanlon knows widespread and lasting changes in the public defense system won’t happen overnight. But he is hopeful that, in five to 10 years, his work will result in public defenders being able to fully investigate each of their cases and provide a competent defense to all their clients.

If it doesn’t change, he says, the next generation of lawyers will still be mired in that dysfunction. “That’s really what motivates me. We cannot leave this behind. We have to change it.”

30 MIZZOUMAGAZINE

COURTESY STEPHEN HANLON

Going on Offense for the Defense

COURTESY SARAH BURNS

Taking Down Opioid Distributors arah Burns didn’t plan to be a lawyer. She was an undergrad biochemistry major at Mizzou. She knew she didn’t want to go to medical school like many of her classmates planned to, but she also didn’t want to go straight into the workforce. So, she took the LSAT. “It turned out to be a really good impulse decision,” says Burns, who graduated from MU in 2001 and later from the University of Tulsa College of Law. “And it worked out well to have the biochemistry degree and work in law.”

Now, she’s using her skills to represent county and municipal governments in hundreds of cases against opioid manufacturers, distributors and retail pharmacies.

Burns, who’s part of the opioid litigation team at Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC, a national law firm, was part of a historic win against the opioid supply chain last year: the first opioid case decided by a state jury. Jurors found a drug manufacturer and distributor liable for fueling the opioid epidemic in the community of her client, Suffolk County, and New York state as a whole.

“It’s important for a jury to sit and make the decisions in these cases because the opioid epidemic affects the communities where jurors live and work,” says the St. Louis resident, who also helped her client secure more than $1.7 billion in settlements with several other opioid defendants involved in the trial. State and local governments will use the funds they win through settlements and litigation for community outreach and education, treatment programs, and provider education to ad-

dress the problems created by the opioid crisis.

“It’s been a hard lesson to learn how much this has affected our society and culture. And it was satisfying to put the evidence before a jury and then have them hold the defendants accountable for their decision to put profits over people,” Burns says of the case and the opioid epidemic, which has resulted in more than half a million overdose deaths since 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Thousands of opioid cases are still pending in federal and state courts, and a $26 billion national settlement is in the works with Johnson & Johnson and the three pharmaceutical distributors, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health.

“We know it’s a long fight,” Burns says. “We’re in it for the long haul.” M

SPRING 2022 31

FEATURE

A

LIFE

IN FOCUS Marie Hansen

During the 1940s, photographer Marie Hansen rose to become only the third female photographer in the history of Life magazine. story by tony rehagen, ba, bj ’01

32 MIZZOUMAGAZINE

MIZZOUMAGAZINE SPRING 2022

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SPRING 2022 33

Jan Wesley remembers growing up in a quiet town in southern Pennsylvania with the distinct feeling that her mother had lived a secret, separate life.

The mom Wesley knew was a prototypical 1950s housewife, the woman in charge of cooking and child-rearing and driving the family car to pick up Wesley’s father from the local newspaper when his reporting work was done. But, packed away in dusty cartons were magazines, portfolios and news clippings from another world — words written about and pictures taken by an intrepid wartime photographer who had packed her camera around the globe, a celebrity and artist who shared little more than a name and a vague resemblance with Wesley’s mother, Marie Hansen.

“There was a tremendous distance,” Wesley says. “It was a complete separation between this calm, domestic life and her work because it was all just in books. I never got more curious, never got further under the surface of what she did because I couldn’t see it or touch it or feel it. It wasn’t alive to me.”

But Hansen had seen and experienced more by age 29 than any Midwest girl born in 1918 had any reason to expect. She had studied journalism at the University of Missouri and parlayed her skills as a reporter into a career in the burgeoning field of photojournalism. She had been only the third female staff photographer hired by Life magazine, a publication renowned for its breathtaking photography, at the height of its popularity.

She captured images of U.S. presidents and movie stars and ordinary Americans on the home front during World War II. She had worked in Europe, Asia and South America and had been ahead of the times in covering early civil rights, the Cold War and even feminism. “She was a true pioneer 34 MIZZOUMAGAZINE

of photojournalism,” says Rita Reed, professor emerita of photojournalism at the School of Journalism. “You can see as her work progressed that she was learning how to tell stories through multiple pictures, controlling things less and taking a more documentary approach. She was growing in that way.”

Then, abruptly, it all ended. The men came home from war and reclaimed their jobs and expected the women to return to the status quo, too. Hansen was left like so many women of postwar America: unwelcome in the wider professional world they had only begun to explore and yet too independent ever to fit comfortably back in the Barbie doll box they tried to put her in. And Wesley suspects it was her mother’s inability to reconcile these two lives that ultimately took the heaviest of tolls later in her life.

When Hansen first came to Mizzou in the late 1930s, the J-School had no photojournalism sequence.

Instead, students who were interested in taking pictures toted cameras along with them on reporting assignments — they simply did it on their own. It was an initiative that Hansen took with her to her first job as a reporter at the Louisville (Kentucky) Courier-Journal in 1939. Within a year, she had been promoted to editor of the paper’s photo-heavy rotogravure insert. “When she got to the newspaper, she asked to be a photographer,” Reed says. “She persuaded them. That shows a determination and an interest in photography as a field that called to her, and she pursued it.”

Hansen pursued her passion for photojournalism to New York, where, in 1941, Life hired her as a researcher, one of many women working in the background of the publishing industry. But just as she did in Columbia and Louisville, Hansen pushed for a job as staff photographer, a request the editors granted a year later. The timing was not a coincidence. “She became a staff photographer in 1942 when men were being called up to fight in World War II,” says Alissa Schapiro, co-author of One of Hansen’s early photo essays for Life documented the new Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps. This striking shot of trainees in gas masks became an icon of war efforts on the home front.

P R E V I O US PAG E S : G J O N M I L I / T H E L I F E P I CT U R E C O L L ECT I O N /S H U T T E R STO C K ; M A R I E H A N S E N / T H E L I F E P I CT U R E C O L L ECT I O N /S H U T T E R STO C K

PROFILE

SPRING 2022 35

Wartime rationing of wool put an end to extravagant zoot suits.

36 MIZZOUMAGAZINE

Life Magazine and the Power of Photography, who has studied Hansen and her fellow female photographers. “Women had access to male-dominated jobs.

And this positioned her as an extraordinary female photographer in a male-dominated industry.”

Her assignments ran the gamut from hard news to entertainment and fashion to deeper cultural essays. She had photos that accompanied stories about the flooding of the Missouri River and the Truman Committee investigation of frivolous

government spending. She produced a spread on how wartime wool rationing led to the outlawing of zoot suits, shots of actress Ava Gardner modeling a chiffon negligee on the set of one of her films and a portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower. She was one of the first women to join the White House News Photographers Association and was one of only 11 photographers — and the only woman — able to keep up with Harry Truman on his famously brisk 2-mile morning walks. One of her

MARIE HANSEN/ THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/SHUT TERSTOCK

FEATURE

11918193g Corn Husking Competition, USA Musicians playing instruments at corn husking competition during World War II, United States, 1942.

11917953d Street Car, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Students riding in a streetcar with war bonds advertisement, Atlanta, Georgia, 1943.

MARIE HANSEN/ THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/SHUT TERSTOCK

12046249a Dwight D. Eisenhower Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower sitting at a desk.

first contributions was an essay on the new Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), which included a picture of uniformed trainees seated on rows of bleachers, each wearing a gas mask — a haunting image that became an iconic depiction of war efforts on the home front.

In 1944, Hansen married David Wesley Nussbaum, a reporter for Life, but she kept Hansen as her professional name. Even though she was at the apex of the industry contributing award-winning photography, even though she was invited back to MU to judge the prestigious Pictures of the Year contest, Hansen was constantly reminded that she was a woman in a man’s world.

For instance, in the front of the issue of Life containing her WAAC package, the editors ran a behind-the-scenes photo of Hansen at work, looking into the viewfinder of a camera on a tripod. In the background is a male Army officer leaning over to get a look at Hansen. The caption reads: “Pretty, 24-yearold Marie Hansen, one of the newest members of LIFE’s photographic staff, makes her first big splurge this week with the essay on the WAACs … .”

Circa World War II photos, clockwise from top left: Students in Atlanta ride a streetcar blazoned with ads for war bonds. Musicians entertain all comers at a corn husking competition. President Harry Truman poses during a Christmas trip in Kansas City, Missouri. Children gather at artillery during a Back the Attack war bond rally in Washington, D.C.

SPRING 2022 37

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“It’s the way a lot of these photographers were contextualized,” Schapiro says. “It’s an interesting push and pull that gets into the relationship between her photos of these women within its larger social dynamic of gender: Women are still pretty and do feminine jobs for the war effort.

They are helping out, but it’s not making them masculine, and it’s temporary.”

For Hansen, it was temporary. In 1947, the war over and the men back home, she left her staff position at Life, when David, who had also quit the magazine, received a grant from Holiday magazine to freelance all over the world. Together, they did stories on Picasso, Hitler’s yacht, the king of Spain

and street life in Paris. They traveled the globe for a year until Hansen became pregnant with Wesley. When they returned to New York, they decided to leave the city to raise their family. By 1950, the year Wesley was born, the family was in York, Pennsylvania, where David worked as a newspaper reporter. Hansen shot some photographs and edited copy for some companies, worked with the local League of Women Voters, volunteered at polling places on Election Day, all while keeping house, tending her prized flower garden of roses and azaleas, and rearing their daughter.

Wesley says that her mother never worked as a photographer again. Eventually, she sold her

MARIE HANSEN/ THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/SHUT TERSTOCK

A crowd basks at the beach fronting Coney Island amusement park.

M A R I E H A N S E N / T H E L I F E P I C T U R E C O L L E C T I O N / S H U T T E R S TO C K ; H A N S E N P O RT R A I T: P E T E R S TA C K P O L E / T H E L I F E P I C T U R E C O L L E C T I O N / S H U T T E R S TO C K

equipment to help with living expenses. “What was she going to do?” Wesley says. “Get a photo studio and take pictures of kids for school?”

Hansen rarely spoke of those wartime and postwar adventures — that was a pastime reserved for Wesley’s father, who is the one who kept and stored all of Hansen’s clippings and mementos from her professional life. Occasionally, he’d tell house guests stories about Hansen’s work, which, Wesley remembers, made her mother smile.

But as the years went on, happiness was something that Hansen struggled to find and hold on to. Instead, she became clinically depressed and turned to alcohol, a worsening habit that greatly frustrated her husband. “There was a lot of arguing,” Wesley says. “I’d be the peacekeeper. I was the adult child of the alcoholic, taking care of her until I left for college.” Things got so bad that Wesley remembers living in dread of the phone call that would inform her of her mother’s death. It came in 1969 when Hansen died by suicide at age 51.

Today, Wesley is proud of her mother’s legacy.

She thinks it’s important to remember Hansen’s contributions to photojournalism in those early years of the discipline. But, of course, it’s also vital to remember her struggles as a woman in a man’s world. “It’s hard going through those materials again and not have the stab be a little more powerful than the joy. But it is.” M

Baseball players compete for a ball tossed up by President Harry Truman.

The photographer becomes the subject.

Marie Hansen prepares for a screen test at MGM Studios.

SPRING 2022 39

FEATURE

For any student, college is just the beginning of their careers, and it’s no different for student-athletes, even the superstars. No matter when or what they played while at Mizzou, these MU Athletics Hall of Famers all went on to greatness — on the field and off. Story by Tony Rehagen, BA, BJ ’01

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MOLLY (KREKLOW) TAYLOR Volleyball

M I Z Z O U AT H L E T I C S

Class of 2013, Inducted 2019

t’s common enough for world-class athletes to have family ties to their sport, but Molly Taylor’s roots in volleyball run much deeper than usual. Taylor, BS HES ’13, is in her fifth year as assistant coach at Mizzou, where her husband, Josh, has been head coach since 2019. The two were hired by Taylor’s uncle and aunt, Wayne and Susan Kreklow, the legendary coaches who brought Taylor to Mizzou as a prized recruit in 2010.

Taylor’s relationship with the game began with her mother, a former Division I athlete, who was head coach of the high school team where Taylor grew up in Delano, Minnesota. “I was in second grade, playing with my siblings in the gym or hitting the ball with the high schoolers,” Taylor says. “Growing up, my friends were playing with dolls and tea parties, but I just wanted to play volleyball. I never got sick of it. It’s the sport that I learned to love from my parents.”

If there were any notions of nepotism when Taylor arrived at Mizzou to play for her aunt and uncle, she quickly spiked them into the hardwood, winning AVCA Central Region Freshman of the Year. By the time she graduated, Taylor was one of the top players in the program’s history, a two-time All-SEC first-team setter, AllAmerican and the face of the first team in conference history to go undefeated during the regular season.

After graduation, Taylor realized her childhood dream of making the U.S. women’s national team, where she first met her future husband, then a member of the men’s national team. The two then went on to play professionally in Europe and Asia before the pull of family brought them back to Columbia for good. Josh took over as head coach when the Kreklows retired in 2019, and Molly continued as assistant coach. In November 2021, the two gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Oakley.

SPRING 2022 41

TIGER LEGENDS

MELVIN BOOKER Men’s Basketball Class of 1995, Inducted 1999

oday, Melvin Booker is about as close as anyone can come to being a professional father. In addition to his day job as an NBA talent agent, he is also the representative, trainer and biggest fan of his son, NBA superstar Devin Booker. While it might sound like a cushy gig, Booker’s current position is the result of many sacrifices he’s made since leaving Mizzou.

Go back to 1997, three years after MU, when Booker, Bus ’95, was playing for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. He had played little more than 25 minutes in 16 games that year for Golden State, his third team in two years, and his career was at a crossroads. He could continue chasing the goal of being an NBA regular who had started in Columbia, where he was the fifth-highest scorer in school history, Big Eight Player of the Year and first-team AllAmerican. Or he could leave for more money playing in Europe. Devin had been born the previous year, and with a family to support, Booker decided to pack up and move abroad.

Fast-forward to 2008, when, after successful stints playing in Italy, Turkey and Russia, Booker was back in Milan. Meanwhile, Devin was nearing high school, and it was apparent to everyone that his skills on the court were beyond those of other kids his age. That’s when Booker decided to retire from playing; move back to his hometown of Moss Point, Mississippi; accept a coaching position at his high school alma mater; and bring Devin with him. “I had a two-year deal on the table back in Italy,” Melvin says. “But I could see my son’s own passion for the game. It was time to get back to him and be a father and a coach and help him develop.”

After one year at Kentucky, Devin was drafted to the NBA, where he is a two-time All-Star for the Phoenix Suns. Booker retired from coaching to be Devin’s advocate, trainer and shooting partner whenever the son called.

Now, Booker has decided to become an agent and use his experience helping his son navigate his career to help others. “I’m mentoring kids and guiding families to make decisions that are best for them,” Booker says. “I feel like that’s what I was put on this earth to do.”

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NIKKI THOLE Soccer Class of 2001, Inducted 2006

lmost all student-athletes enter college with dreams of going pro and having a long, successful playing career, and Nikki Thole came closer to realizing that fantasy than most. But Thole, a second-team All-American and holder of virtually every scoring record in Mizzou women’s soccer history, now thinks it took her nearly 20 years to find her true calling: homeschool teacher to her son.

When Thole, BS ’01, arrived at MU, the women’s soccer team was only in its second year of existence. She emerged as the face of the program, earning All-Big-12 honors in each of her four seasons here. At the time, there were few opportunities for women to play soccer professionally, so Thole jumped at the chance to play ball first semiprofessionally in Colorado and then for a pro team in England. She returned to the U.S. to try out for an upstart women’s professional soccer league, but she didn’t make the cut. “I decided it was time to get a big girl job,” Thole says.

Using her degree in parks and tourism, Thole took a position with St. Louis County parks and then the city of Des Peres, where she fell in love with her co-workers and the job of running sports leagues, camps, swim lessons, and group exercise classes for adults and especially kids.

She worked her way up in the role for 16 years until COVID-19 hit in the spring of 2020. She wanted to keep her son home but worried that virtual learning wasn’t the best fit, so she started homeschooling him. When she saw how well he did — and how much she enjoyed teaching — she decided to continue. “We still do PE 40% of the time,” says Thole, jokingly. “And we play soccer, outside and in the basement, on our breaks.”

BILL TOBIN Football

M I Z Z O U AT H L E T I C S

Class of 1963, Inducted 1997 ill Tobin has been evaluating NFL talent for more than half a century. He has scouted dozens of professional footballers and helped draft Hall of Famers Walter Payton and Marshall Faulk. And he chuckles at the notion that the use of analytics is some revolutionary new thing in sports. Tobin, BS Ed ’63, M Ed ’67, says he and his fellow scouts always used statistical data to predict performance — they just also factored in the eye test as it compared with their personal experience in having played the game. “Now we have all these fancy words for it; now we use computers,” says Tobin, currently in talent development for the Cincinnati Bengals. “But I don’t think they compare to the mind.”

During his three years as a Tiger halfback and kicker, Tobin certainly made an impression on his coach, fellow MU Athletics Hall of Famer Dan Devine.

After Tobin finished his pro career in the NFL and Canada and a brief stint as Mizzou assistant, Devine hired his former player as a scout for the Green Bay Packers in 1971. Thus began a long career in scouting and assessing talent for the Packers, Bears and Colts, where he rose to general manager. After a year in Detroit, Tobin settled into a front-office position with the Bengals, where he offers his insight on players to another boss with whom he has a personal relationship — his son, Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin.

At age 81, Tobin still enjoys his job but is spending more time in the stands watching his grandchildren play football and basketball. “That’s my true joy and relaxation right now,” he says. “I think sports is a very important part of a young person’s life.”

SPRING 2022 43

TIGER LEGENDS

Inducted 1999

he life of a college athlete is all about repeatedly training, studying, practicing and preparing so that you’ll be ready for whatever you might encounter on game day. Kris Schmidt, BSW ’88, MSW ’91, found that this approach applied directly to her career after Mizzou softball — except her “game day” was when she was assigned to protect the lives of some of the most powerful people on Earth.

After setting school records for hits, batting, average and putouts; making three All-Big-Eight teams; and being named an All-American, Schmidt played semipro ball, coached at Mizzou and played for the U.S. national team. Eventually, she decided to represent her country in another way, as a member of the U.S. Secret Service. “The mission is what it sounds like,” Schmidt says. “You are there to ensure the health, safety and se-

PHIL BRADLEY Baseball and Football Class of 1982, Inducted 1990

44 MIZZOUMAGAZINE

curity of the protected. You constantly train, plan and prepare for game day, which is every time you are with the protectee, whether that be at the White House or traveling across the country or the world. It’s a coordinated team effort, working with your fellow agents, uniformed division officers, the military, and local and state law enforcement.”

Over 23 years, Schmidt protected presidents, vice presidents and foreign dignitaries from Tony Blair to Nelson Mandela.

She’s worked all over the world and above it aboard Air Force One and Marine One. Throughout her career, she thought she was prepared for anything — except for what she felt during her first midnight shift at the White House. “I was standing at the top of the grand staircase right outside the private residence,” says Schmidt, who retired from the Secret Service in September 2017.

“Looking at the presidential portraits in the historic building, thinking about how amazing it was to be there, standing in history — it was really cool. Then I told myself, ‘OK, OK. Back to reality. Time to focus on the job.’ ” he key to advocating for yourself and your fellow players is having a realistic idea of your value. That might be why Phil Bradley is a natural fit with the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), where he has been a special assistant for 22 years.

Bradley, BS BA ’82, first came to Mizzou on a football scholarship and proved his worth by quarterbacking the Tigers to three straight bowl games and himself to three Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year honors. Ask any fan from that time, and they’d probably only remember him from his work on the football field. But Bradley’s ambition was always to play Major League Baseball. “What limited my hopes of professional football was my size,” Bradley says. “In the 1980s, the quarterback position was the 6-foot-4, 240-pound stereotype. Back then, it was all about big, strong-armed quarterbacks.

Now, it’s more about athleticism and creativity. In 2021, I could’ve checked the boxes that would’ve allowed me to play.”

Bradley passed up a chance to play football in Canada to enter the MLB draft. He was selected as the first pick of

the third round by the Seattle Mariners, where he would eventually become an All-Star outfielder. He spent seven years between four MLB teams, including the Baltimore Orioles, which suddenly traded him to Chicago after Bradley publicly rejected a contract offer as “a humiliation.” He spent the following year in Japan before returning to play briefly in the minors. In 1994, he retired to coach college baseball at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, where he also taught sports history. Five years later, Bradley was contacted by the current executive director of the MLB player’s union. “The MLBPA is mostly lawyers who don’t understand the nuances of being a player,” Bradley says. “They needed someone to thread the needle — someone who understood what the players needed. I could do that.”

Bradley has settled into the role of international rep. He travels the world — from the Tokyo Dome to Cuba to the Olympics in Australia and the Field of Dreams in Iowa — to make sure that the fields and facilities are suited to the players’ health, comfort and safety standards, looking out for what’s best for them, just as he did for himself.

M I Z Z O U AT H L E T I C S

KRIS SCHMIDT Softball, Classes of 1988 and 1991,

BEN ASKREN Wrestling

M I Z Z O U AT H L E T I C S

Class of 2007, Inducted 2011

here is perhaps no greater gap between the college and pro levels of a sport than there is in wrestling. Amateur wrestlers compete and improvise on the mats, while professional wrestlers entertain in predetermined matches in the ring. Some grapplers make that jump, but most, like Ben Askren, transition to other combat sports, like mixed martial arts. And few have done it as effectively as Ben Askren, BA ’07.

Following one of the most dominant careers in Mizzou history, in which the four-time All-American went a combined 87–0 in his junior and senior years, winning the NCAA titles in 2006 and 2007, Askren wrestled in the Beijing Olympics and brief-

ly coached at MU before jumping into the MMA octagon. Askren won his first 17 matches and grabbed the Bellator Welterweight Championship and the ONE Welterweight title. “From a technical standpoint, wrestling and MMA are different,” Askren says. “But from a mental and training perspective, they’re almost the exact same thing.”

When he felt he ran out of challengers in 2017, Askren retired and devoted himself to the wrestling schools he and his brother had started in 2011 in their home state of Wisconsin. He came back briefly in 2019 to fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and recently even tried his fist at boxing YouTube personality Jake Paul. But he says that, in addition to cohosting some wrestling podcasts, he is now dedicated to passing on his knowledge of amateur grappling and freestyle wrestling. “I think coaching is great,” Askren says. “You get kids to believe in themselves.

That’s a powerful thing to watch and see happen.”

SPRING 2022 45

TIGER LEGENDS

RICK MCGUIRE Track and Field Head Coach Inducted 2015

NATASHA -BROWN KAISER Track and Field Class of 1990, Inducted 1994

t’s rare enough for the paths of two Hall of Famers to cross. So, what are the odds of a pair of inductees crediting each other with the entire trajectory of their legendary careers?

Today, Rick McGuire is an icon, not only synonymous with Mizzou track and field but also an international leader in the field of sport psychology who still lectures and runs workshops on positive coaching. But in 1984, he was a fledgling coach and recruiting staff of one trying to sell would-be student-athletes on an MU program that didn’t even have a real track. “We had a ring of crushed red dog shale around the football field,” McGuire recalls. “In the 1950s, that was the standard; but in the 1980s, everyone had synthetic tracks — except for the University of Missouri. I was recruiting kids who were picking between Missouri and Stanford or Princeton or Duke and having to find a way to show them a reason to choose Missouri. That’s where Natasha came in.”

At the time, Natasha Kaiser-Brown, BA ’90, was one of the most highly sought-after high school sprinters in the country. She had her choice of colleges to attend. While all the other coaches who came to visit her and her family in Des Moines, Iowa, sat on their couch and talked about nothing but track, McGuire tried to sell them on all that MU offered. “He and my parents talked for hours about the university and what my experience would look like as a student,” Kaiser-Brown says. “My mother was a teacher. When she heard that, she was intrigued.”

So was Kaiser-Brown. She says she chose MU mainly because of McGuire, and together, the two made history.

46 MIZZOUMAGAZINE

Kaiser-Brown went on to win five individual conference titles, NCAA AllAmerican honors six times and Big Eight Female Athlete of the Year in 1989. She still owns the school indoor record in the 400-meter dash. She went on to win silver in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics (where McGuire was on the U.S. national team’s coaching staff) and gold in the 1993 World Championships.

Meanwhile, McGuire made KaiserBrown part of the foundation of his burgeoning program. In addition to showcasing the school to recruits, he could now point to Kaiser-Brown as an example of what was possible for studentathletes at Mizzou, both on the track and off. Over the next three decades, he brought in some of the most decorated athletes and teams in any sport in school history, turning MU track and field into a nationally recognized program.

McGuire also kept in close touch with his former athletes, including Kaiser-Brown. And in 2000, he was able to repay all Kaiser-Brown had done for his coaching career by jumpstarting hers. At the time, she was one of McGuire’s assistants at Mizzou, and the two were driving to Iowa for the funeral of a friend, the former women’s track coach at Drake University. On the trip, McGuire urged his protégé to apply for the now-open position at her hometown school. She did, and so began a 16-year career as head coach of the women’s and eventually men’s track program at Drake.

The two careers again intersected in 2016, when McGuire urged KaiserBrown and her husband, fellow track star and coach Brian Brown, MPA ’95, PhD ’05, to come back to Mizzou, where McGuire had been his doctoral adviser. She is now in her sixth year as associate head coach to the Tiger track and field team, and she says she models much of her approach on that of her mentor. “Anybody can write workouts and stand there with a stopwatch,” Kaiser-Brown says. “But can you coach the person? It takes time. A lot of coaches don’t have the time. It’s easier to yell at them and intimidate them into getting what you want. That’s abusive — and temporary.” M SPRING 2022 47

“Mizzou is where my heart is. If I can help finance a student’s education, I’m going to do it.” — Julaine Kiehn Julaine Kiehn retired as Director of Campus Dining Services in 2018. When her colleagues surprised her with the creation of the Julaine R. Kiehn Dining Services Scholarship Fund, she was thrilled — and committed to supporting the endowment as well.

By making a qualified charitable distribution, or QCD, directly from her IRA, Julaine was able to maximize her donation while reducing her taxable income.

For more information about giving to Mizzou through the Charitable IRA Rollover, please contact: 48 MIZZOUMAGAZINE

1-800-970-9977 | 573-882-0272 | giftplanning@missouri.edu

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SPRING 2022 49

MIZZOU ALUMNI NEWS

If you’re looking for Dave Griggs, Arts ’65, or Sen. Dan Hegeman, BS Ag ’85, start in the halls of the state capitol, where the citizen and the legislator, respectively, are regularly seen advocating for higher education in Missouri. For their efforts, the Tigers won 2022 Henry S. Geyer Awards for Public Service to Higher Education, awarded annually by the Mizzou Alumni Association.

Dave Griggs has been strengthening the town-and-gown relationship in Columbia since he opened a Color World store on Business Loop 70 in 1975. As a former member of the Boone County Commission and chair of Regional Economic Development Inc., Griggs saw the integral role Mizzou plays in the success of the regional and statewide economy. His leadership helped secure partnerships with multiple businesses, including IBM and ABC Laboratories, providing students with potential employment and internship opportunities.

Today, Griggs serves as chair of the University of Missouri Flagship Council’s political action committee, talking to elected officials on both sides of the aisle about issues important to the university.

One of those legislators, Hegeman, has served in Missouri for nearly two decades and also has a deep appreciation for the relationship between the university and Missourians. Part owner of a six-generation family-owned farm, Hegeman experienced the university’s land-grant mission firsthand and went on to serve as president of the Andrew County University of Missouri Extension Council. Now as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Hegeman works toward providing critical resources for public higher education and capital improvement projects, including a $15 million core funding increase for Mizzou, $10 million for the NextGen Precision Health facility and $15 million for a new veterinary medicine building.

The Mizzou Alumni Association honored Dave Griggs, Arts ’65, left, and Sen. Dan Hegeman, BS Ag ’85, with Geyer Awards for distinguished service to MU.

50 MIZZOUMAGAZINE

SCOT T SCHAEFER

Relationship Capitol

Class Notes 1940

HSabra Tull Meyer, BA ’49, MA ’79, MFA ’82, of Columbia, Mo., was elected to the Boone County Historical Society’s Hall of Fame.

1960

Cannon Harvey, BA ’62, of Denver is president and chief operating officer at Anschutz Investment Co. HBarbara Kussow, BS Ed ’68, M Ed ’69, of Columbus, Ohio, wrote Portrait of Anne (Marie Sheets Publishing, 2021).

1970

HMichael Lee Fisher, BS BA ’70, of Napa, Calif., is on the board of trustees for the Land Trust of Napa County.

Kenneth Gregory, BS Ed ’74, of Florissant, Mo., is the St. Louis County police chief.

Memories of Mizzou

MICHAEL CALI

I often remind our team that every Mizzou grad has a story. One of the pleasures of working at the alumni association is listening to these stories.

Each one is a strand in the tapestry that is the Mizzou experience.

We are excited about the upcoming release of Tiger Tales, an oral history book we began compiling last year. More than 14,000 alumni participated in the project, and we recorded north of 10,000 life memories of campus, Columbia and beyond. We learned about favorite professors, cherished traditions, career successes and countless stories of seemingly insignificant campus experiences that turned out to be life- or career-altering.

For instance, Phil Hoffman, BA ’55, called Mizzou a wonderful journey and the place he met his wife, a happy refrain. Pam Bailey, HP ’83, told us that Mizzou changed her life’s trajectory, saying, “It gave me the tools and the ability to make different choices.” And I’ll never forget the story of Juanita Baker Price, BJ ’44, whom an editor rousted from bed at 4:30 a.m. to cover the D-Day invasion.

To the thousands of alumni who have shared stories with me through years, I say thank you. I look forward to hearing many, many more!

TODD MCCUBBIN, M ED ’95 executive director, Mizzou Alumni Association Email: mccubbint@missouri.edu Twitter: @MizzouTodd

H M I Z ZO U A LUMNI A SSO CIATIO N ANNUAL MEM BER | HH

L IF E M EM BER

Gayla Maier, BSN ’77, of Columbia, Mo., retired after 43 years as a nurse.

HRobert M. Kick, BS ’78, of Springfield, Mo., was a student in the late Tom Freeman’s Principles of Geology class at Mizzou, leading to a 40-year career in the field.

1980

Clifford Wayne Froehlich, BJ ’82, of Collinsville, Ill., retired after nearly 19 years with Cinema St. Louis.

Mark Rucker, BS IE ’83, of Golden, Colo., wrote Over Coffee With the Mouse (Houndstooth Press, 2021).

HDon Miller, BS Ed ’84, of Franklin, Texas, is the head coach of the Texas Class AAA Division II Football State Champions, the Franklin Lions.

Curt Nelson, BS ME ’84, of Albuquerque, N.M., retired after 31 years at Sandia National Laboratories.

James Czajkowski, DVM ’85, of El Dorado Hills, Calif., wrote Amazonia (Harper, 2022) under his pen name, James Rollins.

HD. Paul Rittman, BA ’85, of Flemington, N.J., is chief executive officer of Helsinn Therapeutics.

1990

HHLaura Alfeldt, BS BA ’90, of St. Louis is senior vice president of communications and public relations at First Community Credit Union.

June E. Pitchford, M Acc ’90, of Columbia, Mo., retired after 30 years as the Boone County auditor.

Christopher Roberts, BS ChE ’90, of Auburn, Ala., is the 21st president of Auburn University.

HRussell Smith, BS Ag ’91, MD ’95, of Jacksonville, Fla., is section chief of head and neck surgerical oncology at Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center.

HJody Carlson, BS CiE ’92, of Cosby, Mo., directs operations for northwest Missouri at Missouri American Water.

HHErin Scott Gardner, BA ’92, of St. Louis is 2022 president of the St. Louis Metropolitan Medical Society.

HCorey Herron, BS BA ’92, JD ’96, of Rock Port, Mo., is circuit judge for the 4th Judicial Circuit of Missouri.

HRebecca Holt, BJ ’93, of Burlington, Vt., is executive director of Vermont Story Lab. SPRING 2022 51

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Ancestral Expression

Spencer Evans was perfectly content with a paintbrush in his hand and a vision in his head. Then around five years ago, he was assigned to sculpt a bust of two characters holding their breath. An abstract interest took shape. “Sculpting allowed me to take my expression off the wall,” he says. Evans, BFA ’09, is now a premier figurative sculptor and assistant professor at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. His works have been on display at the Dallas Museum of Art and the Houston Museum of African American Culture. His research led to a mural project in Khartoum, Sudan. Asked about his proudest accomplishment, Evans raves about leading workshops and lectures in Nigeria and Sudan. Indeed, the Houston native — a self-proclaimed visual thinker since the age of 3 — explains that a 2017 trip to Nigeria to explore his ancestry greatly influenced his artistic style. “I went to Nigeria thinking I would find different cultures and customs,” he says. “But to my surprise, there were so many similarities. It got me thinking about the connectivity of Black Americans to our communities and all the tribes and nations.” Taking in the local sculptures and monuments transformed him as well: “They were alive, and they were my people. One of them looked like my uncle. Another looked like my mom. Seeing this kind of active expression gave me a new challenge.”

Aside from teaching (“Mentoring is just as important to me as making art.”), Evans keeps his hands busy by putting the finishing touches on a sculpture of G.W. Jackson, the principal of the first all-Black high school in Corsicana, Texas. It will be the first statue of a Black person in the city’s history. “It means something that children will grow up and see it,” he says. “I’m really proud of that.” — Mara Reinstein, BJ ’98

Sculptor Spencer Evans, BFA ’09, assistant professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, has shown his work at the Dallas Museum of Art and the Houston Museum of African American Culture.

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SPRING 2022 53

MIZZOU ALUMNI NEWS

BROTHERS IN BEER While Matt Hess attended Mizzou, he’d unwind after class with a cold one at Flat Branch Pub & Brewing. Turns out he was tapping into his future.

After graduating, Hess, MBA ’08, took a corporate engineering job in Denver but changed gears to open River North Brewery in 2012. The microbrewery has since acquired a second Denver location and an unlikely ally. Brewers often battle with lawyers over trademarks, but a Mizzou connection inspired Hess and local beer attorney Mike Drumm, BS BA ’01, to collaborate.

The Tigers met in 2013 when Drumm arrived at River North with a Shakespeare’s pizza and those iconic plastic cups.

“Matt is the nicest guy in the beer industry,” says Drumm, who has steeped himself in the legalities of the city’s exploding craft beer in-

HScot Barker, BA ’93, MA ’94, of Burlington, Vt., is chief innovation officer for the city of Burlington.

HBrian Mahaffey, MD ’93, of St. Charles, Mo., is medical director for Logan University.

HHJames Brown, BS BA ’95, of Shawnee Mission, Kan., is division vice president of the physician services group at HCA Midwest Health.

HHScott Redler, BS ’95, of Wichita, Kan., is chief experience officer of Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers.

HHAmy Henderson, JD ’98, of Fulton, Mo., is president of the Boone County Historical Society.

HJennifer Mast Rukstad, BS Ed ’98, M Ed ’03, Ed Sp ’08, EdD ’12, of Columbia, Mo., is executive director of the Missouri State High School Activities Association.

Iyabo Morrison, M Ed ’99, of Washington, D.C., is a 2022 U.S. Department of 54 MIZZOUMAGAZINE

Veterans Affairs Congressional Fellow.

2000

Susan Combs, BS ’01, published Pancakes for Roger: A Mentorship Guide for Slaying Dragons (Lioncrest Publishing, 2022).

Vernon C. Mitchell Jr., BA ’01, MA ’04, of St. Louis is chief equity and inclusion officer for the city of St. Louis.

Timothy Morgan, BS CiE ’03, of Atlanta is Georgia office leader at HNTB. HJane Di Leo, BA, BJ ’05, MA ’06, of Minneapolis is vice president of communications of the Americas for Medtronic.

HHWill Palaszczuk, BJ ’09, of Charlotte, N.C., is the play-by-play announcer for Charlotte Football Club on WFNZ Sports Radio.

Aja Williams, BJ ’09, of Belleville, Ill., is vice president and chief content officer of Nine PBS.

2010

Emily LeRoy, BS ’12, of

dustry. In 2017, they made Legalese, an imperial stout aged in peppercorns, its label bearing a tiny message: “Always read the fine print.”

Unjust Enrichment, a brandy-barrel imperial stout, is a recent collaboration, advising “Life’s not fair.” Drumm came up with the name, and together they settled on aging the beer in a brandy barrel. Ten percent of overall sales goes to Metro Volunteer Lawyers for pro bono legal counsel.

“Unjust Enrichment is a fancy-sounding legal term, which just means one person getting something good at another person’s expense,” says the beer barrister. His job, he jokes, is overseeing the lawful transfer of flavor from barrel to brew. “If you can’t have fun in your work, what are you doing?” — Nancy Yang, MA ’83 Hermann, Mo., is a senior policy advisor at Missouri Farm Bureau.

96. She was an associate professor of library and information science.

HHCassidy Urie, BS Ed ’12, M Ed ’13, of Columbia, Mo., received a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

Deaths

Tony Vindell, DVM ’17, of Harlingen, Texas, received the inaugural Dr. Tom Moseley Pinnacle Award from the Humane Society of Harlingen.

William Mallory, BS Ag ’46, of Paris, Mo., Jan. 10, 2022, at 101. He served in the U.S. Army.

Kendall Blanton, BS ’18, of Los Angeles won Super Bowl LVI with the Los Angeles Rams.

2020

Shannon Midyett, MS ’22, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., is director of the Poplar Bluff Municipal Library.

Faculty Deaths

Benjamin Honeycutt of Columbia, Mo., Feb. 16, 2022, at 83. He taught romance languages for 30 years and was an associate professor emeritus of French.

HEmma McKinin, BA ’48, MA ’50, MA ’69, of Columbia, Mo., Dec. 9, 2021, at

HHBetty Rademaker, BS Ed ’43, of Washington, Mo., Jan. 16, 2022, at 100.

She was a member of Chi Omega.

HClarence Diedriech, BS PA ’49, of Lake Ozark, Mo., March 13, 2022, at 96. He served in the U.S. Army.

HHVan Robinson, BJ ’49, of Kansas City, Mo., Jan. 17, 2022, at 95. He was a member of Phi Delta Theta and served in the U.S. Navy and Army.

HHoward Rowland, BJ ’50, of Waite Park, Minn., Jan. 14, 2022, at 92. He served in the U.S. Army.

HHClifford Borgelt, BS Ag ’51, of Fulton, Mo., Jan. 4, 2022, at 92.

HHVirginia Sinclair, BS Ed ’51, of Columbia, Mo., March 7, 2022 at 92. She

taught at Columbia Public Schools for 28 years.

HHJames Elmer Gaebler, BS BA ’52, of Webster Groves, Mo., Feb. 2, 2022, at 92.

HWilliam Farris, BA ’52, JD ’56, of Los Angeles Nov. 7, 2021, at 92. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps.

William T. Higdon, BS Ag ’52, MS ’53, PhD ’57, of Grand Forks, N.D., Nov. 18, 2021, at 90.

HHJohn Perry, BS Ag ’53, DVM ’59, of Kansas City, Mo., Jan. 10, 2022, at 93. He was a member of Farmhouse and served in the U.S. Army.

HHCarl Dewitt Gum Jr., BA ’54, JD ’60, of Raymore, Mo., Feb. 14, 2022, at 89. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi. HHJoy Ann Wachtell, BS Ed ’54, of Pleasantville, N.Y., Jan. 11, 2022, at 90.

HWilliam P. Browne Jr., BJ ’56, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., Feb. 1, 2022, at 62.

He was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho.

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THE MIZZOU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION WELCOMES 2021’S NEW LIFE MEMBERS Julie Abeln Ife Adekunle Laura Alfeldt Julie Alford, M.D. Xandra Alpiser Clay Anderson, M.D. David Anderson, Ph.D. Michelle Collins Anderson William Anderson Andrea Andrews Eric Andrews Benjamin Anthony Jane Armer, Ph.D., RN Elizabeth Arthur, D.V.M. David Austin Elizabeth DeBold Austin James Baer Eric Banks Charles Banta, Jr. Sarah Barfield Graff Edgar Barnett, MPA Dr. Richard Barohn Benjamin Barresi Charles Bayoud Judith Haverfield Beaupre John Brendan Bechtold Alexis Becker Jamie Becker Gregory Beckmann Renee Belknap Elizabeth Benson Catherine Burton Berry Delores Deckard Bertuso, MSRN Stephen Bienhoff, Ph.D. Clay Bierk Nancy Schelker Bishop Kendal Bittick Connie Messinger Blakley Adam Blome Ryan Bock, D.V.M. Deborah Bolnick Annie Bonderer Jacob Bowen Beth Bradley James Brady Kimberly Brady Kara Braudis, M.D. Matthew Bret Frank Bridgewater Herbert Britt, Ph.D. Karl Brockfeld Preston Brondyke 56 MIZZOUMAGAZINE

Kevin Broshek Barbara Akin Broughton Susan Brown Matsumoto Valerie Brownfield Robert Brundage Christy Bruns, D.V.M. Evan Buchanan Ashley Burden Courtney Buscher Miranda Carls Chloe Carmen John Carnahan III Frederick Carroz III Laura Carroz Mary Carter Dr. Shirley Staples Carter Alicia Casserly J. Ryan Casserly Delain Cavanah Randall Cavanah Jennifer Chism Lucile Church John Clark The Honorable Robert Clayton II Nigelle Cochran Curt Coffman, D.V.M. Alisha Cole C. Ryan Cole Gregory Cole Paul Cole, Jr. Dan Colgan, Ed.D. Justin Colley Darla Combs Keith Coolidge Brody Cooper Thomas Cooper Linda Cooperstock, MPH Heather Cottrell Hunter Coutts Mindy Coyle Timothy Coyle Jeff Cramer Liz Cramton Zac Crane Christopher Crawford Dr. Melissa Crawley Alex Crow Ava Curry Zakary Dahlheimer The Honorable Jay Daugherty Clint Davenport

Craig David Kellen David George Davis Michael Davis, Ph.D. Carrie Dempsey Corey Dempsey Angie Descollines Carolyn DeVine Ludmila Dickeson Robert Dickeson, Ph.D. Martin Dickey Denise Dietrich Jackie Dillsaver Joe Dillsaver, Ph.D. Logan Dimon Erturk Ismet Dincel Harika Sahinbas Dincel Albert Dinsdale, Jr. Dr. Mary Lea Dohrmann Kathren Douglas LtCol Richard William Douglas, USAF Shannon Douglas Gloria Dowdy Thomas Dresser, M.D., Ph.D. Carter Dunkin Catherine Dunkin Chandler Dye John Eaton Chris Ebbesmeyer Justin Eddy Thomas Joseph Edelblute Jane Moore Edwards John Ruben Edwards Lori Eggert, Ph.D. Noah Englander Jordan Epstein Charles Eversman Denise Falco Isabella Farrell Joseph Farris Joseph Faulkner, Jr. Tracy Feller Andrea Feltmann Fred Feltmann, Jr. Lathon Ferguson Sara Ferril Emily Fiore Dr. Amy-Jo Fischer Bradley Fischer Professor David Fischer E. A. Fischer Kelsey Fischer

Jonathan Fish Elizabeth Fleming Dean Flora Holly Flora L. Joe Forrester, Ph.D. Rebecca Forsyth Austin Fotheringham Joy Fountain Dakota Fox Helen Frederick Lawrence Frierson, Sr., USAF Marcy Melnik Fry Richard Fry, Ph.D. John Fuller, Ph.D. Jessica Furst Johnson Valery Gallagher Thomas Gammon R. Scott Gardner, Jr. Ellen Garner Kelly Garner Megan Gauthier, D.O. James Gay Dale Gerecke Emmalyn Gerhardt Dr. Natalie Gerhart Marla Germann Valentine Germann Alyssa Soendker Gifford Gene Conward Gillespie III Teresa Gillespie Jill Glavan Reid Glenn Graham Gold Gabrielle Goldin Gregg Goodman Julie Goodman Andrew Grabau Ashli Grabau Audrey Gray Tony Green Dr. Madison Green Janelle Gregory Sara Greife Davis Gurley Mariah Hadfield Miranda Hadfield Nancy Haldiman Robert Hallam Linda Gagel Hamburg Noah Hamlett Kyle Hansen Preston Hardin Derrek Hardy

Pamela Jean Harlan Albert Harris Connor Harris Joshlyn Leora Harris Kathleen Harris Scott Harrison Madeline Harrod Hunter Hart Jessica Hartmann Nicole Hartmann Alexander Harvey Rancy Hastings Sandy Hastings David Haustein, M.D. Sandra Haustein James Hayes Alison Hays, D.P.T. Slater Heet Diana Henderson Jacob Henderson Lillian Henderson R. A. Henderson, Jr., D.V.M. Blake Hendrix Dennis Henks Machelle Henks Michele Hibbs Aliyha Hill Spencer Hockman James Hoffmeister Sheila Kearns Hoffmeister Kathryn Hoflander Brian Hofstetter Gina Hofstetter Claire Holen Angela Holt, D.V.M. Jennifer Horton John Horton Adam Houk Alexander Howell Nikki Howell Raymond Hu, M.D. Arthur Sterling Hubacher Wayne Huckshold Ryan Huffman Gregory Humphreys James Hurt Patricia Hurt J. Kent Hutton Kathryn Hwang Sara Hyde Allyson Ihms Kathy Patterson Inkley Misty Jackson Rebecca Jacobs-Pollez, Ph.D. Jennifer Jaegers Caton Jeffries Christopher Jensen Jacob Jesse Alicia Jett, CCP, SPHR Brian Jett Ashley Johnson Gina Johnson Kevin Dyer Johnson Nicholas Johnson Kennedy Johnson-Fue Bailey Johnston Lauren Jones Darrell Jordan, Jr. Thomas Kayser

Peter Keiser Norman Kelley Dianne Kelly Kevin Kelly Matthew Kelly Joshua Kerlin Sherri Kerstetter Lisa Kickbusch Zackary Kightlinger Anna-Marie Kimberling David King Jonathan Daniel Kingsley Reginald Kinsey Alan Kinzel Dale Kirlin Jacqueline Kirlin Dylan Kist Lisa Klempert Michael Klingler, D.V.M. Steven Kloeppel Alex Klumb Sharon Knehans Cade Knipp Elizabeth Knisley Larry Kent Knisley Cade Koehly Morgan Kopitsky Scott Kramer Jessica Kreitzberg Scott Kreitzberg Dustin Kroll Lois Krueger Steven Krueger Deborah McKnight Ladd David LaGesse Kalyn Laire Jonathan Lambert Kayla Lambert Meghan Lambert Jacquelyn Langston Chyrel Keran Lanos-Sneed Larry Lasley Mary Elizabeth Lasley Peggy Latare, M.D. Bobby Lawrence Sadie Lea Laura Leber Kammeyer Michelle Lencioni Abby Lewis Karen Schutte Linck Grace Link Richard Long John Longlett Shirley Longlett Cara Longshore, D.V.M. Kellyn Lopez Justin Loquercio Stan Loughery Joseph Lowe III Sue Davis Lowe Carrie Lucas Ashley Luehrman Carson Lujin William Lynch Emily Magruder Donna Malinowski James Malinowski Jillian Manners John Manning

Renard “Bernie” Marable Larry Marshall Brittany Martin Emily Maruszak Jana Maulhardt Brent Mayabb, D.V.M. Beth McCauley Kathleen McClintic Norris McClintic Eric McClure P. Kathleen McCoy, Ph.D. Dean McCullar Bryce McDaniel Colin McDaniel Deborah McDonald Sarah McElroy, M.D. Reid McEowen Carrie McGettigan Randall McGinnis Jared McGriff-Culver Kylie McKay Joey McKean Tyler McKee Patrick McKelvey Tina McKenna Charles Robert McLaren Bailey McMillen David Mendelson Michael Mendez Annika Meyer Brian Meyers Jeanne Korman Meyers John Meystrik Tanya Miceli Deanna Emery Milburn Mark Milburn Edward Miller, M.D. Keely Miller Zachary Miller, D.V.M. Braydon Minear Andrew Mitchell Lynn Mitchell, M.D. Shelby Mitchell Lance Moll Abigail Montgomery Bethany Montgomery Sarabeth Stevens Moore Matthew Moran Jeremy Morris Gloria Morrissey Lewis Morrissey David Mosby Leanne Tippett Mosby Jo Moss William Mountz, Ph.D. Matthew Mouw, Ph.D. Ashley Moyer Charles Moylan, M.D. Connor Moylan Melinda Parker Moylan Shelby Moylan Gregory Mueller Linda Mueller David Mumm Patric Munson Mitch Murch Molly Murch Darrell Napton, Ph.D. Marta Nascimento Oliveira

Serena Nash Norman Martin Nelson Sierra Nelson Gregory Neukirch Barbara Newby Michael Nichols, Ph.D. Brian Nickerson Maddie Noonan Donna Norman, CPA Jeremy O’Connell Justin O’Connell Joseph O’Daniel Kathleen O’Daniel Sean Odneal Whitney Odneal Dianne Oelger Kevin Oliver, DO Krystal Oswald Dr. Brian Oyler Stacey Paine Nancy Palazzolo Karen Palmer Robert Pancoast John Pappas Prathithi Parasuram Dylan Parham Samuel Paris Jackson Parisey Robert Parks II Renee Paperner Parvis Laurie Paternoster Jennifer Peacock John Peacock, D.V.M. Susan Pearlman, Ph.D. Robert Wicker Perlis Bradley Peters Leah Avila Peters Lindsey Morlan Peters Katelyn Petersen Jesse Peterson Tyler Peterson Debbie Pfaff Brandon Pilas Nicholas Pistolis Owen Pistolis Andrew Pogue Kate Adams Polomsky Dominic Popielski Donna Porter W. Jean Powers Jenice Prather-Kinsey, Ph.D., CPA Darin Preis Stacey Preis, Ph.D. Sean Pridgeon, DNP, RN, CNL, EBP(CH) Pamela Helle Probert Ted Probert George Duane Probst Simon Pursifull Taylor Purvis Michael Quearry Bryan Quick Christa Quinn Lauren Ramsey Abdolreza Rastkar Megan Rau, M.D. Suryanshi Rawat Andy Rawlings SPRING 2022 57

Tracy Gordon Rawlings Amy Redmond Timothy Redmond Lucy Reis James Reynolds, Jr. Dr. John Rhea Chandler Rhoades Darcy Rhoads Judy Richmond Thomas Richmond Richard Riddell James Rigby Shari Riley, JD, MHA Erin Riney Chad Roberts Emma Rodenberg Steven Rodenberg COL Frank Allen Rodman Lisa Rodman Mary Rogers Gordon Ashley Rolf Christine Roller Scott Roller Mary Rook Randy Rook Richard Rosen Karen Rae Ross Sandy Ruckh Michael Russell Tim Ryan Brian Salerno Jennifer Salerno Nina Showalter Sappington W. Brent Sappington Carlos Sardina Dr. Rebecca Savoie Chalana Scales-Ferguson Dinah Cox Scearce Bradley Schad Michael Schieffer Sarah Schieffer Andrew Schlager Margaret Schmidt Brianne Schneider, D.V.M. Lisa Schoolcraft Eugene Schweig Robert Schweissguth Madison Scott Jack Scoville Jacob Search Alec Searcy Patrick Searcy Charles Seibel Joseph Severino Steve Severino

Daniel Seyer Diane LaFiore Seyer Mary Glenski Shalley Kenny Shapiro David Sharpe Lora Jeanne Shaw Robert Shaw, Jr., Ph.D. Col James Sheahan Barrie Sher Denise Shockey Steve Shockey Rebecca Shyu Kenneth Siemens Sarah Siemens Mariah Simoneaux Lucy Simpson LeeAnn Sharp Sinclair, Ph.D. Akhouri Sinha, Ph.D. Eric Slaughter Amie Case Slott Catherine Smith Donald Smith Kristen Asel Smith Liam Smith Matthew Smith Nancy Erwin Smith Stephanie Smith Coffman Emma Smoczynski Sloane Snyder Mary Beth Soffer Nicholas Sonntag Caitlyn Specketer Victoria Specketer Karon Reinboth Speckman, Ph.D. Kathryn Spinker Deborah Haines Starke Patrick Starke Collin Stecher Dane Steinhauer Dr. Emma Stetzenmeyer Jane Stewart Susan Stith Samuel Stoll Martha Jo Strickler Abigail Struttmann Brian Stuhlman Thomas Suntrup Elizabeth Swaim Marc Taylor Richard Taylor Teresa Coleman Teeman Walter Thies Ann Ellen Thomas Tommy Thomas III

Whitney Thomas Matthew Tilley Herbert Phillip Timpe Marissa Todd William Todd Christopher Torbit Mindy Torbit Evan Tranen David Trautman, Ph.D. Eric True Barbara Ann Tuckett David Tunnell Michael Turner Shelly Turner Traci Turner Hadleigh Tyler E. Loeta Tyree, Ph.D. Thomas Unger Cassidy Urie Anne Uthoff Dr. William Uthoff William Van Eaton Matthew Vance Chad Vanlandingham Jack Vanlandingham Jennifer Vanlandingham Richard Vest Sarah Viall Christa Vizner Emily Vogel Rachel Volmert Victor Vu James A. L. Walker Sarah Walsh Billie Jo Wanink Mark Edward Ward Victoria Washburn Sharon Wastell Blake Watson Spencer Watson Dylan Weber Nicholas Wegman, Ph.D. Stephen Wehrmann, D.V.M. Charles Weil, Jr. Aldan Weinberg Marla Weinstein

Aaron Weiser Justin Weisgarber Denise Welch Mitchell Welch Louis White Amy Whitener Jeffrey Whitford Teresa Whitlow Daniel Wilcox Lauren Wilcox Sydnie Wilcutt Jana Sue Wilhelm John Wilhelm, M.D. Nancy Mae Wilkerson Julie Williams, Ph.D. Nate Williams Nicholas Williams Raymond Williams Stacy Williams Dr. Barbara Williamson Handy Williamson, Ph.D. Rob Wilson Derek Wintemberg Dr. Jenna Wintemberg Corinne Wipke W. Todd Wipke, Ph.D. Dr. Connie Wissbaum Scott Woelfel Patsy Woods Eleanor Wright Paul Wunnenberg Alice Yu Nathan Zeller Victoria Zeyen Zoe Ziesmer

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MIZZOU ALUMNI NEWS HHCurtis Boyd Creach, BS BA ’56, of Nixa, Mo., Dec. 16, 2021, at 88.

HClifford Goetz, JD ’56, of Ballwin, Mo., Dec. 17, 2021, at 91. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps.

HHJack Knuth, BS ME ’56, of Overland Park, Kan., Feb. 12, 2022, at 93.

He was a member of Phi Kappa Psi and served in the U.S. Army.

HHJoseph Malan, BS BA ’56, of Midland, Mich., Jan. 16, 2022, at 87. He worked as a CPA for over 50 years.

HHClifford Welsch Jr., BS Ag ’56, MS ’62, PhD ’65, of East Lansing, Mich., Feb. 3, 2022, at 86.

Robert “Bob” Whitfield Jr., BJ ’56, of Chicago Oct. 1, 2021, at 87. He was a member of Phi Delta Theta.

HHR. Alan King, BS Ag ’57, of Columbia, Mo., Feb. 11, 2022, at 86. He was a member of Farmhouse and worked for the U.S. Department of Agri-

culture for 34 years.

HHAnn Haase, BS Ed ’58, MS ’68, of Hot Springs Village, Ark., Dec. 18, 2021, at 85.

HGerald Miner, BS CiE ’58, of Macon, Mo., Dec. 6, 2021, at 91. He served in the U.S. Navy.

HHJerry Baker Anderson, BS BA ’59, of Columbia, Mo., Feb. 8, 2022, at 87.

HHThomas Barrow, BS Ag ’59, M Ed ’68, of Ballwin, Mo., Jan. 25, 2022, at 84. He served in the U.S. Army.

HHNorman Runge, BSF ’60, of Irmo, S.C., Jan. 5, 2022, at 88. He served in the U.S. Navy.

HEmmett Brauer Jr., BS Ag ’62, of Shelbina, Mo., Jan. 3, 2022, at 82. He served in the U.S. Army.

HHWilliam Miller, BA ’62, MD ’66, of St. Louis Nov. 9, 2021, at 80.

HJames Grantham, BA ’63, JD ’69, of Camden-

ton, Mo., Dec. 14, 2021, at 83. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps.

HGeorge R. Huggins, MD ’63, of Baltimore Dec. 20, 2021, at 84. He served in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps and was a professor emeritus at Johns Hopkins University.

HRobert “Bob” Bohl, BS Ag ’64, of Hermann, Mo., Jan. 19, 2022, at 80.

HHEarl Gene Komerl, BS Ag ’64, MS ’68, PhD ’72, of Fort Collins, Colo., Feb. 4, 2022, at 78.

HRonnie Coleman, BS Ed ’67, of Jefferson City, Mo., Dec. 24, 2021, at 76.

HHBarbara McDonald, BS Ag ’68, of Columbia, Mo., Feb. 1, 2022, at 75.

HHMargery Neely, M Ed ’68, PhD ’71, of Manhattan, Kan., Dec. 25, 2021, at 87.

HHThomas Heddinghaus, BA ’69, MS ’72, PhD ’78, of Crofton, Md., Feb. 28, 2022, at 77. He served in the U.S. Army.

HHBob Ravenstein, BS EE ’69, of Chelmsford, Mass., Nov. 29, 2021, at 77.

He owned and operated Bomara Associates for 40 years.

HPeter Cortelyou, BS BA ’70, of Leawood, Kan., Feb. 11, 2022, at 75. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi. HHA. Susan Leddick, BS Ed ’70, of Eden Prairie, Minn., Dec. 22, 2021, at 73.

HGustaf Forsberg, MA ’72, PhD ’75, of Altadena, Calif., Sept. 30, 2021, at 74.

HHWilliam Springer, BA ’72, of Naples, Fla., Feb. 9, 2022, at 70.

HDarrell Jochum, M Ed ’73, of St. Joseph, Mo., Jan. 19, 2022, at 78.

HMichael Jiloty, BJ ’74, of Ormond Beach, Fla., Dec. 25, 2021, at 69. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta.

HJames O. Preston, EdD ’75, of Columbia, Mo., Jan. 16, 2022, at 85. He served

All in a Day’s Work

During one very busy day every March, alumni, friends, faculty and staff cram as much giving as possible into a 24-hour frame. That’s Mizzou Giving Day. Here’s the 2022 episode by the numbers:

Total gifts

2,652 Total giving

$4,044,771 Top three units for giving College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources: $1,935,384 College of Engineering: $571, 745 Intercollegiate Athletics: $223,450 Top three units for participation Mizzou Alumni Association: 497 School of Journalism: 482 Intercollegiate Athletics: 188

The majestic trees lining Francis Quadrangle are reaching the end of their lifespan.

Replacing them will be a difficult task — but not an impossible one.

Make a gift today to support the Legacy Oaks project, and ensure our campus remains beautiful for decades to come.

SCAN TO GIVE

MIZZOUGIVEDIRECT.MISSOURI.EDU/SUPPORT-LEGACYOAKS | 573-882-4240

H M I Z ZO U A LUMNI A SSO CIATIO N ANNUAL MEM BER | HH

L IF E M EM BER

SPRING 2022 59

geico.com/alum/mizzou | 1-800-368-2734 | Local Agent Flowers are blooming. Your savings could too with a special Mizzou alumni discount from GEICO! See how much more you could save on insurance.

Some discounts, coverages, payment plans, and features are not available in all states, in all GEICO companies, or in all situations. GEICO contracts with various membership entities and other organizations, but these entities do not underwrite the offered insurance products. Discount amount varies in some states. One group discount applicable per policy. Coverage is individual. In New York a premium reduction may be available. GEICO may not be involved in a formal relationship with each organization; however, you still may qualify for a special discount based on your membership, employment or affiliation with those organizations. GEICO is a registered service mark of Government Employees Insurance Company, Washington, DC 20076; a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary. GEICO Gecko® image © 1999–2022. © 2022 GEICO 21_653920108

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MIZZOU ALUMNI NEWS

A DV E RT ISI NG I N DE X

American Advisors Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 602-625-9498 Bank of America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 800-932-2775 Brookdale Senior Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 brookdale.com Champion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 champion.com Geico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 geico.com/MyDiscount Les Bourgeois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 missouriwine.com Missouri Soybeans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 MOSOY.org Mizzou Advancement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48, 61 giving.missouri.edu Mizzou Alumni Association . . . . . . 15, 52, 53, 56-58, 62 mizzou.com Mizzou MBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-4 business.missouri.edu Mizzou Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 themizzoustore.com MU Botanic Garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 gardens.missouri.edu MU College of Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-3 engineering.missouri.edu MU Health Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 muhealth.org To advertise in MIZZOU, call MAA at 573-882-6611

in the U.S. Army.

HJerry Webber, BS AE ’77, of Kahoka, Mo., Jan. 5, 2022, at 66.

HHPaul Strohm, BS CiE ’78, of Kansas City, Kan., Jan. 20, 2022, at 65.

Weddings

HBrooke Smith, BSN ’21, and Dan Zeleny of Gretna, Neb., June 26, 2021.

Births

HChristopher Hemeyer, BJ ’99, and Jessie Hemeyer of Lillington, N.C., announce the

birth of Parker and Whitaker Hemeyer Aug. 17, 2021.

Bryce Osman, BJ ’99, and Sara Osman, of Columbia, Mo., announce the birth of Jane Lorelei and Maelyn Pearl Jan. 2, 2022.

DEGREE DESIGNATIONS 101* Bachelor’s degrees: BS Acc, accounting BS Ag, agriculture BA, arts BS BA, business administration BS Ed, education BFA, fine arts BS FW, fisheries and wildlife BGS, general studies BHS, health sciences BS HE, home economics BS HES, human environmental sciences BJ, journalism BS Med, medicine BSN, nursing BS, science BSW, social work

Bachelor’s degrees in engineering: BS ChE, chemical BS CiE, civil BS CoE, computer BS EE, electrical BS IE, industrial BS ME, mechanical Master’s degrees: M Acc, accounting MS Ag Ed, agricultural education MA, arts M Ed, education MS, science MSW, social work MPA, public affairs

Doctoral degrees: PhD, doctorate EdD, education JD, law MD, medicine DVM, veterinary medicine Did not graduate: Arts, arts and science Bus, business Educ, education Engr, engineering Journ, journalism *For a more detailed list of current degrees, visit catalog.missouri.edu/ degreesanddegreeprograms.

The Rally Mizzou fund awards scholarships to upperclassmen who need financial assistance to pay their tuition bills. Often, these students need less than $2,000 to stay enrolled and keep progressing toward graduation.

Learn more and make your gift today by visiting giving.missouri.edu/rallymizzou.

Thank you so much for supporting me and my college career through the Rally Mizzou Scholarship. This scholarship has done a lot more than just take care of what was on my student balance; it has supported my career path to make sure that I am as successful as I can be. Thank you deeply.

Joel Rodriguez | Music and Theatre Performance major

H M I Z ZO U A LUMNI A SSO CIATIO N ANNUAL MEM BER | HH

L IF E M EM BER

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MIZZOU ALUMNI NEWS

GEAR UP, TIGER FANS! Time to refresh your Tiger Tees this spring with Champion at Sam’s Club.

Short Sleeve Soft-blend Tee

Short Sleeve Tri-blend Tee

Pop Color Lifestyle Tee

Wentzville | Jefferson City | Columbia

YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE AWAITS! Experience the world alongside the camaraderie of fellow Tigers. From the majestic fjords of Norway to the remarkable species of the Galapagos Islands, our Touring Tigers trips are designed to expand your horizons and further your education.

Our team has been working alongside our tour partners to ensure our trips prioritize personal safety, while still maintaining the elevated travel experience you expect.

Learn more about Touring Tigers and book your next adventure today: MIZZOU.COM/TRAVEL

62 MIZZOUMAGAZINE

Pop Color Lifestyle Tee

BECAUSE OUR KIDS DESERVE THE BEST Opening in 2024, our brand-new Children’s Hospital will help us reimagine the way we deliver care to create the best environment for kids and their families. Show your support and make a difference for the kids in our community by donating today. Your support will help us transform the future of pediatric care in mid-Missouri — now and for generations to come.

Donate now at mizzou.us/MUChildrensHospital

SPRING 2022 63

SEMPER MIZZOU

Recalling the WW II Cadet Nurse Corps

“I’m not used to all this commotion about me. I take care of people, and that’s it.”

Well, that may very well be — but when you’ve served your country as a nurse cadet in World War II and have lived to be 98 years of age (and counting), you deserve to be celebrated. For Harrington, that meant a well-earned selection as Missouri’s 2021 Bicentennial Inaugural Parade grand marshal. Wearing her authentic cadet cap and waving from a World War II-era military Jeep through Jefferson City last September, “I couldn’t believe the huge crowd,” she says, adding, “I heard that the governor [Mike Parson] said I was a feisty little lady.”

The Atlanta, Missouri, native represents a small yet vital slice of American history. While studying nursing at Mizzou in 1943, she joined the United States Cadet Nurse Corps as part of a wartime federal program that trained nurses. (Fun fact: Cadets were the youngest and largest group of uniformed women.) She still vividly recalls caring for wounded U.S. Army and Navy officers and sergeants at Winter General Hospital in Topeka, Kansas. “They were just returning from battle and liked us quite a bit because we cadets were closer to their age 64 MIZZOUMAGAZINE

Edith Harrington, BSN ’46, served in the United States Nurse Cadet Corps, above, during her student days. Above left, at 98, she presided as grand marshal of Missouri’s 2021 Bicentennial Inaugural Parade.

and a lot more attentive than the nurses,” she says. “We would ask them about their ‘who, what, where, when and why,’ and they’d open up to us because we listened. We had the time to talk to them.”

After the war, she married her high school sweetheart, Ward, and they were wed for 63 years. So, to what does this mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother attribute her good health? Harrington doesn’t hesitate: “I don’t brood about my problems, and I don’t sit in a rocking chair. If you sit in a rocking chair, it will get you.” — Mara Reinstein, BJ ’98

PA R A D E : K RC G 1 3 ; H A R R I N GTO N : C O U RT E SY E D I T H H A R R I N GTO N

— Edith Harrington

MIZZOU C O L L E G E

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150 YEARS

A Proud Tradition, Engineering the Future

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COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING NEWS

Celebrating a Sesquicentennial Mizzou Engineers began the tradition of E-Week stunts in 1906 when St. Patrick arrived on campus via airship. Stunts continued through the decades, with engineers building massive structures on Francis Quadrangle, including a rocket in the 1950s, above.

Ever since the days when steam engines powered industry, Tiger engineers have stoked the nation’s economy and made lives better by putting science to work.

Today, hundreds of College of Engineering alumni hold CEO positions worldwide, making it one of the largest producers of CEOs in the country. “The college has been quietly but successfully developing industry leaders and transformative innovations for 150 years,” says Noah Manring, the college’s dean and Ketcham Professor.

Manring had served in various leadership and teaching roles at the college for more than two decades when he was appointed dean in April 2021.

He is at work on his third book — Opportunity, Genius and Entrepreneurship: A History of Modern Engineering. The working title, like his plan for the college itself*, draws inspiration from the past and energy from a vision of what’s possible.

The pace of change keeps increasing, yet the college maintains its reputation for leadership in research and education. In its labs, a range of research includes the development of new energetic materi-

66 MIZZOUMAGAZINE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

als, medical tests and genomic sequencing techniques that make precision treatments possible. And in its classrooms, students get a top education exploring fields as diverse as geospatial intelligence, robotics and cybersecurity. “Our students engage with the world when they study with us, and they have abundant opportunities to develop and hone leadership skills,” Manring says. Aspiring engineers can participate in more than 50 student organizations while they grow professionally and personally by collaborating with students and professors across disciplines.

Manring takes pride in all things engineering.

“People take technology for granted and don’t understand how indebted they are to the engineers who build roadways, purify the water we drink, make air travel possible and who have given us the cell phone and other products that have changed our world.” Tiger engineers have a proud place in this pantheon, he says: Versed in theory, rehearsed in research and primed to lead, they have always taken their places in a future they help design. *Read the dean’s strategic plan at engineering.missouri.edu/about/strategic-plan.

MU COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING FILE PHOTO

Mizzou Engineering: A Proud Tradition, Engineering the Future

A CAMPUSWIDE 3D PRINTING LAB The practice of 3D printing has made huge leaps in the past decade, both in terms of what these printers can reproduce and in the accessibility of this technology to the masses. The same is true for the College of Engineering’s 3D Printing Research & Experiences Lab, which is now open to students, faculty and researchers across campus to gain experience with these state-of-the-art tools.

In fall 2021, all MU students were given the option to take an elective course on 3D printing in the lab, which was formerly known as the Rapid Prototyping Education and Application Network.

Students are also encouraged to access the lab and work with its faculty on capstone and class projects. Outside of class, the Mizzou 3D Printing Club, a student-run extracurricular organization that develops projects from inception to implementation, is renewing efforts to recruit members from all disciplines, departments and degree programs. “We want to act as a pipeline for getting students into that lab with some fantastic industrial machines that you can’t find anywhere other than a university or a business,” says Chadwick Bettale, student president of the club. “And as engineers, it’s also nice for us to have that diversity and different viewpoints.”

BLAKE DINSDALE

Making Smartphones Warier When you’re on your computer, cybersecurity is never far from mind. There are passwords, biometric scans and multifactor authentication. But when it comes to smart devices, including everything from our phones to app-controlled home thermostats, we take security for granted. That’s why the National Security Agency recently issued a two-year $500,000 grant to the College of Engineering to develop an add-on security feature for smart devices that learns from past cyberattacks to better respond to attacks in the future. “All of these devices connect to a gateway before they connect to the cloud,” says Prasad Calyam, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science. “We want to know if we can update software on that gateway that can help us understand the threat landscape and create effective defenses.” Right now, the way we do things is pretty static. What makes the MU solution unique is that it seeks out new threats before they affect the devices. “This is an active defense, not antivirus or a firewall, which are passive,” Calyam says. “Our gateway software actively monitors the behavior of the device and adapts the defense based on the threat landscape.”

The College of Engineering’s 3D Printing Research & Experiences Lab invites students, faculty and researchers from across Mizzou’s campus to work with these state-of-the-art tools.

ART GOES VR Fang Wang, associate teaching professor in the Information Technology Program, focuses on helping students explore the burgeoning fields of virtual reality and augmented reality.

Last spring, she led students in working with the State Historical Society of Missouri and the MU Museum of Art and Archaeology to put together an interactive virtual reality (VR) art exhibit of 98 paintings, many not previously on display.

“Without this digital technology, these works are just hidden in some dark room,” Wang says. “This isn’t just some highres scan. This is an immersive experience — almost like visiting a real museum.”

The interactive museum debuted at the Together for ’21 Fest celebrating Missouri’s 200th year of statehood last year. Visitors were able to put on VR goggles and explore the collection within a virtual gallery.

“This was a great project to allow students to put their skills to use in a real-world application where people could download and consume the content,” Wang says.

Next, Wang will help students work in extended reality, including photogrammetry and motion-capture capabilities, as director of the Collaborative Research Environments for Extended Reality Lab.

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COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING NEWS

NEW TECH IN THE NICU

When Trevontae' Haughton first got the opportunity to work with Spot, the robotic quadruped developed by Boston Dynamics, the doglike robot had already done everything from detecting gas leaks to searching for missing persons to performing tricks for audiences. But Haughton, a junior in the Information Technology Program, noticed something about Spot that graduate students, faculty and professional developers hadn’t: It didn’t come with user-friendly instructions. “The manual was like a Harry Potter book — pretty hefty,” says Haughton, who first worked with Spot as part of the Missouri Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation. The program links STEM students from underrepresented populations with undergraduate research opportunities. “To help people get acclimated, I made a few documents about how to power him on, turn him off and replace the batteries.”

Haughton is now working with the Ameren Callaway Plant nuclear facility to train Spot for autonomous inspections, potentially entering hazardous environments where humans cannot go. Haughton says it’s just the start of a future for him in robotics. “I want to work with more advanced robotics, maybe even build a robot of my own,” he says. “The possibilities are endless.”

68 MIZZOUMAGAZINE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

SHUT TERSTOCK

MU Undergrad Teaches Robot New Tricks

When it’s a matter of life or death, of course, you want to be as exacting as possible. But many NICU nurses caring for premature babies, for whom too much or too little oxygen can cause brain damage and other fatal or life-altering conditions, must manually turn a knob, watch a blood-oxygen monitor and literally try to dial in the correct amount of air for each child. But now Roger Fales, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and collaborators have designed a device that uses a microcontroller to do the same job with precision, automatically. Fales compares the effect to that of cruise control in a car, allowing the driver to maintain the same speed no matter the terrain.

His innovation is currently in clinical trials at MU Health Care and in Florida.

SHUT TERSTOCK; COURESY MARJORIE SKUBIC

Jost Award Will Help Power NextGen

Enthusiasm is high for NextGen Precision Health and its interdisciplinary approach to advancing health care. And the College of Engineering is more than pulling its weight in that collaborative effort. In December, MU announced a $2 million gift from alumnus Jerry Jost to establish the Jerry L. Jost Endowed Chair in Chemical Engineering, a post that will enable Mizzou to recruit and retain a talented researcher to join NextGen and assist professors in the chemical engineering department. Jost, BS ChE ’70, is founder and president of Jost Chemical, which makes purity specialty chemicals, such as salts for food. He is a longtime supporter of the college and is a member of the Chemical Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni and has served for more than a decade on the Chemical Engineering Industrial Advisory Board.

Jost said in a release announcing his gift that the endowed chair would give the chemical engineering department “an opportunity to hire another faculty member that can play a key role in the NextGen research effort.”

FUTURE-PROOFING SUPPLY CHAINS

The pandemic has changed our outlook on everything from health care to education to the workplace.

A Mizzou engineering team took the opportunity to model ways of making the supply chain more resilient. “Industries have dealt with individual disasters, like a tsunami in Southeast Asia or a factory fire in Europe,” says Ron McGarvey, associate professor of industrial engineering and public affairs. “But a worldwide disruption like COVID-19 is unprecedented.”

The team’s proposed model, published in the International Journal of Production Research, tries to

build in responsiveness by looking at 10 potential pandemic scenarios of varying scale and scope. They lay out suggestions for manufacturers at various points on the supply chain, including setting up sourcing agreements with suppliers in multiple geographic locations, adding facilities and building up redundancy in inventory. “One of the biggest changes in the supply chain over the past 30 years is a reduction in inventory,” McGarvey says. “Companies don’t want capital tied up in inventory. But you lose something when you lose that inventory — you lose flexibility.”

Engineering Eldercare For Marjorie Skubic, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, developing health monitoring devices is deeply personal work. Her elderly parents lived in South Dakota, and Skubic was the closest of her siblings, charged with periodically checking in from 600 miles away.

So, for her mother’s 93rd birthday, she installed a home monitoring system. Skubic’s systems help older adults live independently by picking up signals — sometimes hints as subtle as a change in gait or sleep patterns — that might indicate something is wrong.

Those signals are relayed to health care providers to ensure clinicians can spot and treat problems early.

Skubic has seven patents, and her inventions are used commercially in senior living facilities all over the U.S., with plans for international installations. For her career accomplishments, she was recently named a Curators Distinguished Professor, MU’s highest honor for faculty. But she can trace much of her inspiration to two of her earliest research subjects — her parents.

“I was trying to figure out how to help them stay in their own home, and they agreed to be research participants,” Skubic says. “I understand on a personal level the impact that this work can make because I saw it myself.”

Top, Skubic enjoying the company of her parents. At right, transducers under a mattress and their associated electronics.

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FEATURE

Sesquicente The public perception and definition of engineering in the U.S. have changed dramatically over 150 years.

So, too, has the MU College of Engineering.

70 MIZZOUMAGAZINE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

HISTORY

In many ways, the history

PHOTOS COURTESY MU COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

nnial

of the University of Missouri College of Engineering mirrors the past 150 years of the United States. Just looking at a list of the school’s departments and when they were introduced tells the story of burgeoning industrialized America.

Start with military engineering, which was already in existence when the college was officially incorporated in 1871, less than a decade after the Civil War. The college then evolved to include electrical (1885), mechanical (1891), chemical (1903), nuclear (1964), aerospace (1967), computer (1982) and environmental engineering (1998). In that time, the college, like the country, had grown in size, stature and influence among its peers. It’s now seen as one of the most prestigious and rigorous programs on campus.

But just like the U.S., Mizzou’s College of Engineering had much humbler beginnings. And as any true engineer would certainly appreciate, the college sprung from the most practical purpose — to survey, map and assess land. In 1849, as the federal government, its white citizens and many immigrants rapidly accelerated their conquest of the continent, a 10-year-old MU offered the first formal engineering course west of the Mississippi River. The class in civil engineering was entitled Surveying, Leveling and Topography. At the time, what was considered “civil engineering” was comprised mostly of land surveying and topographical drawing. In his book Engineering at the University of Missouri 1850–1940, Mizzou Professor Wendell P. Weinbach wrote: “Students specializing in engineering were required to take courses in Physiology and Anatomy, Logic and Rhetoric, Intellectual Philosophy and Christian Evidence, Moral Science and Political Grammar, in addition to Latin, French and German.”

In fact, in 1860, the board of curators deemed engineering so much a trade that it fell outside the purview of a classical liberal arts education.

The university omitted the School of Engineering from its catalog of academic departments altogether and reclassified the few remaining civil engineering classes as “Mechanical Philosophy.”

But just two years later, the Civil War was already giving the country a greater appreciation for the applied sciences, particularly agriculture, engineering and military tactics. Congress passed the Morrill LandGrant College Act of 1862, which set aside government lands to create colleges that “benefit the agricultural and mechanical arts.” Part of the legislation provided the university with an Army officer to teach civil and military engineering. In 1868, with the war over and classes resumed, the university’s board of curators established a department, curriculum and degree for civil engineering. The board then approved the College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts in 1870, a department of which was the School of Engineering, incorporated in time to welcome students for the 1871 school year.

In 1877, the School of Engineering officially separated from the College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, and Thomas J. Lowry was appointed dean, essentially creating the College of Engineering. Soon electrical engineering would emerge as part of the curriculum, one of the first such programs in the country, and none other than Thomas Edison himself donated an electrical dynamo to the university, which it used to make Academic Hall, then MU’s main building, the first electrically lit building in Columbia. The wiring was done by Mizzou SPRING 2022 71

HISTORY

MU WAS FIRST TO TURN ENGINEERING GREEN

72 MIZZOUMAGAZINE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Mizzou Engineers in 1996 prepare to test a car they designed and fabricated. Mizzou Racing - Society of Automotive Engineers remains active today.

engineering students — a fact the college boasted less about after the legendary 1892 fire, caused by the wiring, burned all but the structure’s stone columns to the ground. “The fire was a blessing in disguise,” writes Weinbach, perhaps somewhat wishfully. “It stirred up public interest in the University … with the funds collected from insurance, given by the state and generously subscribed by the people of Boone County, there were built six new buildings, including the present Engineering Building.”

What is now Lafferre Hall opened right next to those iconic Columns the year after the fire. But the building was much smaller than it is today. At the turn of the 20th century, enrollment in the college was only 130 students. They sometimes wielded an outsized influence, like in 1903, when a group of pupils discovered that St. Patrick was an engineer and decided to cut class in March to celebrate, unwittingly inventing Engineers’ Week (See sidebar).

But as with the rest of the university, the 1900s were a time of rapid growth for engineering, both as a school of study and for the college itself. By 1910, enrollment had spiked to 411, and apart from a brief setback when the school decided to expand from a traditional four-year program to an intensive five-year program (an experiment that saw enrollment halved and was thus abandoned after just four years), the College of Engineering thrived in the American century.

In 1964, the college joined the nuclear age with the establishment of the nuclear engineering department. A year later, the MU Research Reactor opened on 85 acres southwest of campus, providing a place for the demonstration and study of nuclear mechanics. To this day, the reactor is the setting for research and discoveries for everything from dating ancient archaeological finds to developing radiopharmaceuticals. Just as it was in the beginning, the college has worked to expand and evolve to reflect the definition of engineering at the time, bringing computer science over from the College of Arts & Science in 1995, adding biological engineering to the

MU COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING FILE PHOTOS

One day during mid-March of 1903, university President Richard Henry Jesse heard a ruckus outside the administration building. He emerged to find a group of engineering seniors gathering when they should have been in class. Jesse learned that the reason was to celebrate their latest discovery: St. Patrick, as it turns out, had been an engineer.

Legend has it that during excavation of the Engineering Annex Building, students unearthed a so-called “Blarney Stone” inscribed with an ancient message that translated very loosely to “St. Patrick was an engineer.” Further, the students took the famous tale of St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland as proof of his engineering know-how.

Considering the silliness, Jesse ordered the students to disperse. They responded by congregating again the following year. “They decided that all engineers should celebrate; both juniors and seniors in all departments cut class,” says Steven Borgelt, associate professor emeritus in biomedical, biological and chemical engineering. “The administration and faculty were very upset.”

Nevertheless, the tradition continued. The first St. Patrick’s Day parade was in 1905, followed by enduring rituals like the Great Kowtow, kissing the Blarney Stone, the “Missouri Engineers Song” and the “appearance” of the patron saint to knight the seniors. Along the way, the event grew from a day to a weekend to an entire week, and it spread to engineering schools across the globe. Today, Mizzou has added a couple new traditions. These include a Green Tea ceremony and lighting the dome of Jesse Hall — named for the man who tried to quash the holiday before it began — a bright St. Patty’s green.

MU Shamrock Brings More Than Just Good Luck

MU COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING FILE PHOTOS

Members of the Mizzou Engineers Club gather in front of the Engineering East building in 1969.

Today, the college has more than 50 student organizations.

agricultural engineering focus in 1997, including environmental engineering as part of the civil discipline in 1998, and initiating information technology and biomedical engineering (the first ever at a public university) in 2005 and 2018, respectively.

Today, the College of Engineering enrolls more than 3,000 students, studying 26 individual degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. But the college’s mission to reflect the state of the industry extends beyond the curriculum. The administrators and faculty know it’s also im-

portant that the student body reflects the population — something the college continues to address through their inclusion, diversity and equity (IDE) efforts. The college recently formed an IDE Alumni Advisory Council comprised of 10 distinguished alumni who are committed to supporting this mission and moving Mizzou Engineering into a future representative of the changing world (See sidebar on Page 74).

Since the beginning, the college has been conducting research to innovate a new future for everyone. What started

Every March since 1903, MU engineering students have commemorated their “discovery” that St. Patrick was an engineer (see Engineers’ Week sidebar) by painting the campus green. But in 1921, the college installed something that could celebrate their patron saint year-round — and in perpetuity. That first shamrock medallion, a mosaic of painted green and white ceramic tiles, was installed in the sidewalk north of Lafferre Hall. Around it sprung Shamrock Plaza, a place that also featured a brass plaque memorializing the fallen of World War I. There, students could gather, relax and reflect between labs and classes. Over the years, traffic over the medallion increased to the point where members of the Engineers’ Week steering committee tired of repainting it. In spring 2020, thanks to donations from current and former students, the mosaic was replaced by a replica of more durable cut concrete to match the painstakingly restored look of the surrounding buildings.

Although the college intended the shamrock to stand for St. Patrick, the seal developed a reputation among students that is more fitting for a Valentine’s Day heart, says Steven Borgelt, associate professor emeritus in biomedical, biological and chemical engineering. “The rumor was that if you walked across the shamrock, you would fall in love with an engineer.”

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HISTORY

CQI for IDE

Mizzou engineering introduces its new Inclusivity, Diversity and Equity Alumni Advisory Council, which will advise college faculty and staff regarding programmatic IDE initiatives. The group will serve as a resource for retreats, gatherings and open forums while also helping raise funds to support IDE initiatives.

Ward Chambers, BS EE ’67 Cardiologist and Professor of Public Health, University of Nebraska Kevin Johnson, BS ME ’87 Vice President, Gillette Craig Lalumandier, BS EE, BS CE ’89 Group Vice President in Charter Communications (Spectrum) Information Technology Sharon Langenbeck, BS ME ’74, MS ’76, PhD ’79 President of Zonta International, retired from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Andre Logan, BS IE ’01 Director of Strategic Initiatives, University of MissouriKansas City.

Michael E. Melton, BS EE ’81, JD ’84 President and CEO, MEM Enterprises Group

Sheri Smithey, BS Ag ’89, MS ’90, PhD ’93 Senior Vice President, Nestle Purina Global R&D Network Evelyn Watson, EE ’04 Director of Continuous Improvement, Perdue Farms Michael Watson, BS INFOTC ’06 Configuration Systems Analyst Principle, Ceridian

Mizzou Engineers have always learned by doing, be it in circuitry or space simulation. In 2021, students conducted research in a zero-gravity environment.

with the dynamo and electric lighting has become more agile supply chains in a post-pandemic world, robots that solve problems across industries, sensors and devices that save lives, virtual reality that immerses users in educational and entertaining experiences, and roads made from plastic water bottles that lead to a more sustainable world.

Mizzou engineers are creating a safer, healthier and greener future — from distinguished alumni like Jerry Jost, BS ChE ’70; Jim Fitterling, BS ME ’83; and

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Today, the College of Engineering enrolls more than 3,000 students, studying 26 individual degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Thompson Lin, MS EE ’90, PhD ’93, who have given back to the college through their time and resources to Corey Staller, BS ECON, BS ChE ’14, and Sami Tellatin, BS BE ’15, who were named to Forbes 30 Under 30 for their achievements in chemical engineering and Ronell Jones and Lauren Clay who graduated in December with degrees in chemical engineering and industrial engineering, respectively. They represent the future of Mizzou engineering, born from a long tradition of excellence. M

MU COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING FILE PHOTOS

Adriana S. Ocampo, BS IE ’96 Senior Manager of Portfolio Management and Strategy, Boeing Global Technical Operations

OUT FRONT

From students to entrepreneurs, women engineers shine.

Engineering, both as an industry and as a field of study, remains dominated by men. The MU College of Engineering, however, has made strides in inclusion since graduating the first female in 1907 and hiring its first female dean in 2015. Today, there are many women Tiger engineers, both on campus and off, helping to close the national gap. Here are three.

< Rebecca Shyu

A senior studying computer science, Shyu has distinguished herself. After receiving a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship to fund her research, Shyu has worked with the Missouri Cancer Registry and the Missouri Telehealth Network to improve health care access in rural Missouri. She has presented her research in Washington, D.C. Shyu has also made efforts to recruit female alumni and industry leaders to visit campus. “It’s important to show women in engineering,” Shyu says. “Having a community and support system is important.”

Jean Knuth

Knuth, BS ChE ’98, is now vice president of R&D at Procter & Gamble. Knuth says that she felt sheltered by female and male professors alike at MU, where she was encouraged and allowed to grow and reach her full potential. But now that she’s in the private sector, where gender bias is still strong, she wants to be there for current MU students. “I’ve benefited from going to Mizzou and from those people there who have invested in me,” Knuth says. “I now see that I need to give back with more than just money but also my time. And not just giving it lip service.

I want to know that I’m helping someone.”

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Peggy Cherng

After earning a master’s degree from MU in computer science in 1971 and then continuing for a doctorate in electrical engineering in 1974, Peggy Cherng, along with husband Andrew Cherng, MS ’72, founded Panda Express in 1983. Cherng is the wealthiest self-made woman in the country born outside of the U.S. She and her husband have donated $5 million to the University of Missouri.

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76 MIZZOUMAGAZINE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

RESEARCH

PLASTIC FANTASTIC How plastic can be recycled to make the roads of tomorrow

BLAKE DINSDALE, SHUT TERSTOCK

I

t’s easy to take asphalt pavement for granted.

Perhaps that’s because it’s almost everywhere: Of the more than 3 million miles of paved roads in the United States — a little more than 12 trips to the moon and back — about 94% are paved with blacktop. It covers more than three-quarters of interstates; the rest are surfaced with concrete. Despite its omnipresence, though, asphalt pavement remains nearly invisible, disappearing neatly into the noisy background of daily life until it cracks, crumbles or must be replaced, at which times it becomes a commuter’s bane.

Not all pavement is created equal, and the right recipe can mean the difference between a roadway that can weather the weather for decades and one that starts cracking after a few months. Bill Buttlar, who joined the University of Missouri in 2016, knows this better than probably anyone else.

He’s a civil and environmental engineer who has been fine-tuning pavement recipes for decades.

He approaches roadways like a molecular gastronomist approaches food, searching for just the right ingredients, combined in just the right way.

His research focuses on sustainable asphalt — materials that are stable, economical and easy to come by — and he helms the International Journal of Road Materials and Pavement Designs. Over the decades, he’s explored how adding different recycled materials to asphalt can change the pavement. He started by adding old asphalt roads into new asphalt. “Old asphalt is quite a bit stiffer; it’s been out there baking in the sun,” he says. “It wasn’t easy. It was economically advantageous, but we had to work to balance out the recipe.”

Since then, he’s experimented with adding other recycled materials ranging from roofing shingles to rubber tires to, perhaps surprisingly,

swine manure. (Spoiler alert: Shingles and tires are promising. Swine manure, not so much.)

Most recently, though, Buttlar has been testing what happens to asphalt when he adds recycled plastics from single-use packaging to the mix. “I’ve always had an interest in recycling and sustainable infrastructure,” he says. The benefits could be both economic and environmental, especially considering that the U.S. annually generates 42 million metric tons of plastic waste, which can require hundreds of years to decompose. Studies suggest that including plastic can add years to the life of pavement and reduce the yearly risk of potholes and ruts. Buttlar’s studies suggest that a 50% increase in the life of a resurfacing layer is quite possible when compared to non-polymer-modified pavement. Plastic also would help reduce the amount of the most expensive ingredient in conventional pavement recipes, which is the asphalt binder. The idea is catching on around the world: India already has more than 60,000 miles of plastic-enhanced pavement.

Real-world testing in Missouri began in earnest last August, with the help of the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), on a 4-mile stretch of Stadium Boulevard in Columbia. “They were interested in a real-world test project since our lab work was going extremely well, and they wanted to be one of the first DOTs to be involved,” Buttlar says.

“The great thing about this research project is that they’re moving the theory in the design of the mix to the actual roadway, where the mixture is exposed to weather and traffic,” says David Ahlvers, a state design engineer with MoDOT. If this test road can withstand the extremes of mid-Missouri weather, then it just may be the harbinger of roadways to come — not just in Columbia but likely across the state and beyond.

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RESEARCH

Buttlar estimates that the project diverted about 2.7 million plastic bags from landfills.

GETTING TO PLASTIC

The project began a few years ago when Jim Fitterling stopped by Buttlar’s lab in Columbia. The two shared a number of interests: Fitterling studied mechanical engineering at MU and joined Dow directly after graduation, in 1983. He became chief executive officer of the company in 2018 and was elected chairman in 2020. “After a nice exchange, we agreed to start on a collaboration,” Buttlar says.

Dow was looking for ways to support innovative new technologies that would augment plastic recycling efforts around the world, and “Bill is the expert in asphalt paving,” Fitterling says.

After the meeting, Dow offered funding for the lab experiments needed to get the plastic asphalt project off the ground. (Or, perhaps more appropriately, on the ground.) Fitterling says that the company also brought its expertise in scaling up new technologies from the bench to the market.

With only two main ingredients, asphalt pavement is simple. First is the rocky aggregate — combinations of sand, stone or gravel that make up about 95% of the material. Aggregate is the skeleton of the road; it supplies stability. It also varies by application: A heavy-use interstate requires a different, sturdier mix than a lightly trafficked county backroad.

The aggregate is held together by a material called a binder — which is the more finicky ingredient. The usual binder is asphalt, the thick, gooey, aromatic, tarlike liquid left behind after petroleum is refined to make gasoline. It also occurs naturally, and ancient tablets discovered in the Middle East suggest that the use of asphalt dates at least to the time of King Nebuchadnezzar, about 2,800 years ago. In the United States, the first road paved with asphalt was in Newark, New Jersey, in 1870. Edmund DeSmedt, a Belgian chemist who led that project, later paved Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. “The asphalt that comes from good old Mother Nature after refining crude petroleum can’t quite hold up to the high summer temperatures and

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low winter temperatures of the Midwest,” Buttlar says. Cold pavement cracks. Hot pavement becomes squishy and develops ruts. “So either we add a chemical treatment to strengthen it,” says Buttlar, “or we add polymers. These can be either straight from the factory or, more preferably, from recycled plastics.”

The polymers in plastic help the asphalt bind better. “In effect, you’re creating a high-performance asphalt purely with recycled materials.”

With Dow’s support and funding, Buttlar’s lab established a process for adding the waste plastic. He says it took his group about six months to settle on a design that would meet road pavement standards — namely, that it wouldn’t crack or rut under the extremes of temperature and that it would roll out with consistent density beneath the compactors. Buttlar says the plastic-enhanced material, which also contained a Dow polymer that helped compatibilize the recycled plastic, passed the tests with flying colors and was ready for the real world by the spring of 2021. Rain delays pushed back the start date, but by August they were ready to introduce Columbia’s Stadium Boulevard to its new skin.

THE ROAD TO THE FUTURE

The test road — an experiment in progress — is accessible to anyone with a vehicle. Start at the corner of College and Stadium, on the edge of campus, and head east. The pavement in that first section includes recycled rubber tires, finely ground before mixing with the other ingredients in asphalt. That idea, Buttlar says, is even further along than the plastic waste pavement. “We finished our research and continued demonstrations” years ago, he says, and “the economics and supply chain are finally catching up. Its usage is kind of exploding right now.”

Beyond that section, heading uphill past the rock cut, is a section paved with the first of three experimental mixtures that include recycled plastic. Turn

N AT H A N PA R K E R

Above, left to right, Dow’s ELVALOY™ Reactive Elastomeric Terpolymers (RET) compatibilizer becomes part of asphalt samples tested in the Mizzou Asphalt Pavement and Innovation Lab.

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around at Route 63 and head back toward campus to drive over the other two. The first is paved with a different mix of plastic and asphalt. In those test sections, plastic accounted for between 5% and 10% of the weight of the asphalt binder, and Buttlar estimates that the project diverted about 2.7 million plastic bags from landfills.

The final stretch includes the recycled plastic mixed with ELVALOY™ RET. Buttlar also discovered that the recycled plastic plus Dow’s polymer allowed removal of other additives that are required with recycled asphalt. The use of both recycled and new polymers is usually called a hybrid approach.

“We think the hybrid approach could be used for interstates because of its combined durability and sustainability benefits,” he says. “Making these mixes with a little bit of new polymer and a heavy dose of recycled polymer would be a big win for the environment.”

Buttlar has been vigilantly surveying the experimental stretches of Stadium Boulevard for cracks and ruts. Ahlvers says MoDOT will check every year or so. It will want to know, for example, how it fared in the winter. “That’s when it gets the salt and the snowplow blades,” he says.

The next few years could see rapid progress in

the technology. Buttlar anticipates that by the end of 2022, the state will have established new specifications for including ground rubber — and then, by a year or two later, for including recycled plastic. “The general public will see the benefit pretty soon if things keep going well.”

He’s also planning a demonstration on an interstate in southeastern Missouri, which is important because superhighways weren’t designed to last forever. “We have this habit of keeping pavements on life support well beyond their original design lives,” he says. Highways that were originally paved with concrete, for example, may have developed cracks over time — and those cracks usually travel upward through any resurfacing layers used to extend life.

Efficient paving material may slow down cracks in resurfacing layers, extending their lives and keeping the roads in a smoother condition until they can be rebuilt.

“I love conducting research on pavements that allows us to be flexible and adaptive as we look to the future,” Buttlar says. “We have to prepare for connected and autonomous vehicles, truck platoons, vehicle charging, and all the things that are going to happen as transportation transforms. We have to build and adapt roads for the cars of the future.” M

Asphalt expert Bill Buttlar stands at a stretch of Stadium Boulevard near campus where he is testing the real-world performance of asphalt modified with recycled plastic.

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Fellowship Lights Up Grad Students’ Futures

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dreams. Dweik not only appreciates the financial assistance but also sees the award as validation.

“It’s a recognition that I’ve been able to do good work in my field so far and should consider pursuing it further,” he says.

Alumnus Thompson Lin, MS EE ’90, PhD ’93, founder and CEO of Applied Optoelectronics Inc, established the fellowship, renaming it in 2021 to honor his former professor, Jon M. Meese. Each year, the fellowship goes to two graduate students — one in biomedical engineering and one in electrical engineering and computer science. Elliott Leinauer, BS EE ’21, a second-year doctoral student, won this year’s other fellowship. Focusing his research on biosensors, Leinauer aims to develop sensors that can control prostheses and detect biomarkers of various cancers. “The ideal case is to develop a novel sensor, patent it and commercialize it,” he says.

Engineering doctoral student Ferris Dweik explores the intersection of technology and biology.

To learn more about supporting students with scholarships, contact the Engineering Advancement Office at 573-884-3426 or email umcengrdev @missouri.edu.

ROB HILL

As a Columbia high school student interning in an MU College of Engineering laboratory, Ferris Dweik got an early start researching how biosensors could detect E. coli in meat samples. Seven years later, his fascination with biosensing and fluorescent imaging burns even brighter. When not playing a pickup game of soccer with friends, he is still exploring the interface of technology and biologic processes in an engineering lab as he works toward a doctorate in biomedical engineering.

After completing his degree, Dweik, BS BME ’19, can see himself as a professor and administrator, creating new diagnostic tools and medications.

“Medical biosensing and diagnostics is an undeveloped field with a lot of room for engineering growth,” he says. Now that Dweik has received the Jon M. Meese/Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. Graduate Fellowship for the 2021–22 academic year, he is one step closer to achieving those career

A PROUD TRADITION,

Courtesy University Archives Collection C:1/141/11

ENGINEERING THE FUTURE

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