2016 Scholarship Recipients

June 10, 2016 by

Missouri S&T’s Department of English and Technical Communication offers seven scholarships for students. Congratulations to the following 2016 recipients:

The Jack K. and Mary K. Boyd Memorial Scholarship:
Amra Mehanovic

The Larry Paul Vonalt and Elizabeth Cummins
Vonalt Endowed Scholarship:
Taylor Schubert & Kathryn Curran

The Pogue Endowed Scholarship in English:
Jeanette Mentz

The Winona Clark and J. Kent Roberts
Endowed Scholarship in English:
Kassi Talak

The English and Technical Communication
Alumni Endowed Scholarship:
Kaleigh Rogers & Hannah Ramsey

The Marylou W. Legsdin English Scholarship:
Tori Ramsey

The Prewett Liberal Arts Scholarship:
Hannah Ramsey

Filed Under: Scholarships, Students

New Journal Features Writing by ENGL 1160 Students

March 27, 2016 by

by Arielle Bodine

Undergraduate students at Missouri University of Science and Technology now have the opportunity to publish their research in a peer-reviewed journal called Peer to Peer. The first edition of the journal, which includes peer-reviewed research articles written by undergraduates who were enrolled in English 1160 the spring 2015 semester, was published in February.

The inaugural edition of Peer to Peer features articles by undergraduates in applied mathematics, computer science, computer engineering, biology, electrical engineering and English. The current edition can be accessed through Google Scholar or Digital Commons and is located at scholarsmine.mst.edu/peer2peer.

Students in English 1160 learn research strategies and conduct research on a variety of subjects. Each student in the class submits an article to the journal for review. The submissions are double-blind reviewed by students in the class the following semester. The top-reviewed articles are edited and approved by Dr. Jossalyn Larson, assistant teaching professor of English and technical communication and editor-in-chief of the journal. After approval, the authors prepare their manuscripts for publication.

“Peer to Peer will stand as a testament to the exceptional research conducted by Missouri S&T’s undergraduate students,” says Dr. Daniel Reardon, assistant professor of English and technical communication at S&T.

The journal is sponsored by the Department of English and Technical Communication at S&T and the Curtis Laws Wilson Library. It will be published biannually through Bepress Digital Commons and the Missouri S&T Scholars’ Mine.

The following articles are included in the first edition:

  • “CS in HS: Promoting Computer Science Education in High School,” by Trevor Ross, a senior in computer science from Jackson, Missouri
  • “Feminine Film Style: Does it Really Exist? A Case Study of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette and Zoe Cassavete’s Broken English,” by Alyson Stanley, a freshman in English from Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
  • “The Implications of RFID Technology in University ID Cards,” by Michael Beaver, a junior in computer engineering from St. Charles, Missouri
  • “Why Smart Watches shouldn’t just become a Trend: Using Smart Watches in the Treatment of Diabetes,” by Caelan Rapp, a junior in computer science from Wildwood, Missouri
  • “Innumeracy: The Product of Misrepresentation,” by Elizabeth Cundiff, a junior in applied mathematics from Hallsville, Missouri
  • “Graphene Valley,” by Daniel Applebaum, a senior in electrical engineering from Chesterfield, Missouri

For more information on the journal, contact Larson at larsonjo@mst.edu.

Filed Under: Publication, Students

STC Student Chapter Elects New Officers for 2016

March 27, 2016 by

In January, the Missouri S&T student chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) elected new officers for 2016: Amruta Ranade (president), YeonKyung Lee (vice president), and Mariah Thomas (secretary).

Chapter members attended the Region 6 STC conference in Springfield, Missouri, on March 18 and 19 to hear presentations by Thomas Warren, Kirk St. Amant, Sandi Harner, and Steve Gerson.

Retiring officers from 2014-2015 include Michael Slusar (president), Katherine Upchurch (vice president), and Tyler Neff (secretary).

conference photo

YeonKyung Lee, Amruta Ranade, and Mariah Thomas at the conference on March 8

Filed Under: Organizations, Students

STC Chapter Elects 2013-2014 Officers

September 8, 2013 by

The Missouri S&T student chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) met today and elected officers. The officers for 2013-2014 are as follows:

  • President: Raz Kerwin
  • Vice President: Neha Koolwal
  • Secretary: Adrienne Neckermann
  • Treasurer: Kenneth Wampler

The chapter currently has 15 members. It was chartered in 2011-2012 by Melissa Hollingshead-Wampler, Misty Adams, Megan Kean-O’Brien, Ed Malone, Shubhangi Vajpayee, David Young, and David Wright.

In cooperation with the Tech Commies, a related campus organization, the STC chapter is planning to co-sponsor at least three events this semester:  a fundraiser, a fun event, and an educational event.

The Missouri S&T chapter is one of three STC chapters in Missouri. The other two are the student chapter at Missouri State University in Springfield and the professional chapter in Kansas City. The student chapter at Missouri Western and the professional chapter in St. Louis are now defunct.

Filed Under: Organizations, Students

New Missouri S&T Student Chapter of STC

April 9, 2012 by

The Society for Technical Communication (STC) recently approved our petition to create a student chapter of STC at Missouri S&T.

The Missouri S&T chapter hopes to attract members from the former St. Louis chapter of STC as well as students and faculty on the Missouri S&T campus.

The Missouri S&T chapter met for the first time on April 3, 2012, and elected the following officers:

  • Melissa Hollingshead, President
  • Shubhangi Vajpayee, Vice President
  • Megan Kean-O’Brien, Secretary
  • Misty Adams, Treasurer

David Young agreed to be the Chair of the Recruitment Committee.

The group is working on a constitution and bylaws and will soon petition the university for recognition as an official student organization.

For more information about the Missouri S&T Student Chapter of STC, please contact the president, Melissa Hollingshead, or the faculty advisors, Dr. Ed Malone and Dr. David Wright.

Filed Under: Organizations, Students Tagged With: , ,

Department Picnic

May 1, 2009 by

I’ve just returned from the Department of English and Technical Communication’s annual picnic. At the end of every spring semester, we gather to socialize, announce scholarship awards, give Academic Scholar’s List certificates — and eat.

Despite the afternoon’s being chilly, windy, and rainy, over 50 people, students, faculty, spouses, children, parents, came to Lion’s Club Park here in Rolla. It’s especially nice to see young children at department picnics and also nice to meet the parents of some of our students.

grilling.JPG

Dr. Bryan Salmons grills burgers, brats, dogs, and veggie burgers.

Perhaps you will be able to join us next May.

Filed Under: Alumni, Department, Faculty, Students

An Outstanding Student

March 11, 2009 by

Laura Ward, an English Education major, was recognized as an outstanding English student at the Missouri English Conference in February, meeting at Tan-Tar-A at the Lake of the Ozarks. Laura is currently student teaching as she finishes requirements for her degree and certification. Join me in congratulating her!

Filed Under: Students

A Tech Com Grad at Work

March 2, 2009 by

Elizabeth Richardson (“Libby”) received her M.S. in Technical Communication in 2007. She has been working in the Republic of Korea, first teaching English as a Second Language, and now as a technical writer for Samsung. In a recent email, Libby brought us up-to-date:

“I’m in Suwon City, South Korea at the R&D complex, working with B2B products (Business 2 Business). Our marketing team is going to be launching the B2B web portal soon from our worldwide website.
“I’ve been editing all of the manuals for applications coming out of my division it seems. They are even having me write some pop-up messages for the applications. Right now I’m helping write a Java API (javadoc) for a major release we have coming up. It’s a challenge, but it’ll be worth it. I’m working with an engineer that’s in India to document the code. I also edit other stuff, too. I think within a few months I’ll probably be editng every piece of writing coming out of Samsung’s Digital Printing Division. Oh, I’m also working on getting a style guide up and going for our division. That’s in my ‘spare time’ though.
“Tell the current students to hang in there! The future isn’t completely bleak!”.
Filed Under: Alumni, Students

“And zero at the bone”

January 17, 2009 by

The title phrase comes from a poem Emily Dickinson wrote about suddenly encountering a snake while walking in tall grass. It’s always resonated with me because I had the same experience more than once, encountering a variety of snakes, including rattlers, in the grasses of the Kansas Flint Hills.

“Zero at the bone” also seems appropriate to the week ending today. We’ve had some very cold temperatures accompanied by dangerous wind chills. At the same time, this week opened the spring semester here at Missouri S&T. Starting a new semester is somewhat like taking off in a jetliner: there are some jolts and shakes, a bit of nervousness, but also the excitement of beginning a new journey, of meeting new people.

Speaking for myself, the new semester is off to a good start. I’m teaching World Literature I, from the beginnings to the Renaissance. The beginnings go way back to Sumerian and Akkadian syllabary script inscribed on clay tablets, Gilgamesh, in other words. This is one of my favorite courses, so it’s appropriate as the last course I expect to teach at S&T.

My retirement is scheduled for 1 July 2009, so this is not only my last semester to teach but also my last as chair. I hope to post more frequent entries here in these last few months, so come on back!

Filed Under: Campus, Faculty, Reflections, Students Tagged With: , , ,

Weathering the Storm

December 6, 2008 by

Surely everyone knows by now that a series of economic catastrophes are shaking up our lives. Everyone I know has more questions than answers, and the answers seem to shift each day–or more often. The University of Missouri system faces serious budget cuts; the amount isn’t known yet.

This post expresses strictly my own views, stating my attitude more than what I know, because what I know isn’t much. The serious budget cuts that the University of Missouri system faces will affect the way each campus, each department, and each faculty member functions. The cuts will affect the educational process of students.
As chair of the Department of English and Technical Communication, my goal is to do all I can, and to support the department’s faculty and staff to do all they can, to ensure that we come through this storm with the least possible damage. The quality of our courses, our degree programs, our research will remain as high as before the crises.
Filed Under: Campus, Department, Faculty, Students Tagged With: , , ,
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