Five competitive seed grants have been awarded to Missouri S&T faculty members to support implementing the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network’s (KEEN) principles focused on having an entrepreneurial mindset in their courses. 
 
The $14,000 in funding for these grants comes from the Kern Family Foundation and was sponsored by S&T’s College of Engineering and Computing along with the Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence. Missouri S&T became a KEEN partner institution in October 2023. 
 
The grant awardees include: 

• Dr. Mario Buchely, a Roberta and G. Robert Couch Assistant Professor of materials science and engineering. Buchely’s project is titled “Enhancing student engagement in engineering materials science using entrepreneurial mindset in laboratory activities: Module 2-tensile testing.” 
• Tracie Devault, assistant teaching professor of English and technical communication, and Dr. Phillip Mulligan, assistant teaching professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. Their project is titled “Improving student presentations in senior design class through use of AI.” 
• Dr. Alexander Douglas, assistant teaching professor of mining and explosives engineering. Douglas’s project is titled “Principles of mining engineering: A reimagined course redesign.” 
• Dr. Bijaya (B.J.) Shrestha, associate teaching professor of electrical and computer engineering. Shrestha’s project is titled “Developing entrepreneurial mindset content to integrate the KEEN principles of curiosity, connections, and value creation for EE2800 – Electrical Circuits.” 
• Dr. Robert Woodley, associate teaching professor of electrical and computer engineering. Woodley’s project is titled “Redesigning EE 3430 and EE 3431 in entrepreneurial mindset methodology.” 

“A transformative engineering education goes beyond preparing students with strong technical skills,” says Dr. David Borrok, vice provost and dean of the College of Engineering and Computing. “By leveraging the KEEN framework, we can help our students develop an entrepreneurial mindset in which we encourage curiosity, connections and an understanding of value creation.  
 
“Hundreds of engineering students will be impacted by these positive changes each year, and we plan to continue growing and expanding our efforts.” 

For more information about S&T’s KEEN-related efforts, contact keenmst@mst.edu.

About Missouri S&T

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students located in Rolla, Missouri. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, Missouri S&T offers over 100 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top public universities for salary impact, according to the Wall Street Journal. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.