Three undergraduate students from the University of Missouri-Rolla recently won awards for their presentations at the 2003 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Regional Student Conference in Minneapolis, Minn.

Students competed in a variety of categories and exchanged ideas through special workshops and seminars.

UMR students who received awards include:

–Misty Mills of Centralia, Mo., a senior in mechanical engineering, who won second place in the Old Guard Oral Presentation competition with her presentation on "Material Analysis for Acoustic Behavior." This competition emphasizes the value to deliver oral presentations on a topic related to a technical, economic or environmental aspect of engineering.

–Sarah Massie of Kevil, Ky., a senior in mechanical engineering, who won third place in the Old Guard Technical Poster competition with her poster on "Design and Construction of Stepper Motor Control System." This competition emphasizes the ability to deliver visual presentations in mechanical engineering.

— Donald (Trae) Hibler of Bates City, Mo., a senior in mechanical engineering, who received the Student Section Chair Appreciation Certificate for his work as president of the student chapter of ASME.

Alan Pilch of Oak Forest, Ill., the incoming student chapter president of ASME, and Nishant Unnikrishnan of Rolla, Mo., both Ph.D. students in mechanical engineering, accompanied the students to the conference. Pradeep Nambiath of Palakkad, India, a graduate student in mechanical engineering, did not attend the conference but helped prepare the students prior to the meeting.

Dr. Brad Miller, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics, is the advisor for the ASME UMR student chapter. UMR’s chapter is in Region VII, which includes universities in Canada, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.