Geeks have serious tech appeal. It’s not something you hear about often, but it’s something I see on a daily basis. Disclaimer: I work in the communications office at Missouri S&T. So yes, I have a bias, but that also means I get first-hand access to some serious geekhood.

Twenty-first-century geeks loves gadgets. Discarded are the pocket protectors and thick-rimmed glasses. In their place are the ubiquitous white earbuds and Bluetooth headsets. Blackberries, iPods and tiny cell phones are just part of the updated “geek” dress code. And you know what? They look marvelous.

Continue reading "I (heart) geeks" »

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We temporarily interupt our coverage of the Guatemala trip to bring you a few breaking news items.

GE Aviation announced today that Missouri S&T has been selected as the home of a new University Development Center. At least 30 new engineering jobs are expected to be created as a result of this partnership.

Elsewhere, Missouri S&T grad and NASA astronaut Sandra Magnus is officially going to log some time at the International Space Station. Maybe we can get her to blog for us from space?

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This is a photomosaic by artist Robert Silvers, who "uses thousands of tiny pictures to create a digital pointillist portrait." Silvers' work has appeared on the covers of Life and Newsweek, and now UMR Magazine.

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This is a photo of Charles McField (see the post immediately below this one) by Gen Yamaguchi of the Kansas City Star. The KC Star was nice enough to provide the photo, which will be republished in the Spring 08 issue of Missouri S&T Magazine.

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A little something extra on this Friday before Thanksgiving...

About 15 years ago, Kansas City Police dropped a freezing homeless man off at the Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Shelter. There, a volunteer rubbed his frostbitten feet. "Are you a minister?" the homeless man asked. "No," replied the volunteer. "I'm an engineer."

Teresa Williams recently told Charles McField's story in the Kansas City Star Magazine. The content has expired on the Star's website, but we'll give you some of the details...McField worked as an engineer with Allied Signal, now Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technologies, for 13 years after earning his master's degree at UMR. Sure, he did some volunteer work. But it wasn't enough for McField. In 1996, he decided to go to the Harding Graduate School of Religion in Memphis.

"I spent much of my life pursuing goals set by society -- striving to achieve marketable accomplishments or American dream concepts," McField says in the magazine article. "I realized that after acquiring all my dreams, goals, plans, desires, then what?"

McField is no longer an engineer or even a volunteer. Now he really is a minister. To be more accurate, he's a full-time chaplain at City Union Mission Men's Center, 10th and Troost, back in Kansas City. One of his main jobs there is to help people feel better any way he can. In her article, Williams describes a poignant encounter McField had while on the job:

"A few months ago a young client grabbed McField's glasses in a burst of anger, snapped them in two and threw them to the ground. As McField reached down to pick up the pieces, the man punched him in the jaw. A client who saw the event says he actually saw the chaplain offer his other cheek to the aggressor and ask, 'Do you feel better now?"'

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We took a little heat last week for sending out an email to everyone on campus about the space shuttle flying over Missouri. There were supposed to be some sonic booms or something like that, and nobody really heard them. But now we have solid photographic evidence (probably) that the shuttle really did zoom over the Ozarks last week on its way to a landing in Florida a few minutes later.

Thanks to Linda Fulps who provided this photo of the shuttle (we're pretty sure it's the shuttle). This is what it looked like flying over her house in Rolla.

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Utah mine to close permanently
Los Angeles Times (Thursday, Aug. 23)
Jerry C. Tien, a professor of mining engineering at the University of Missouri-Rolla, said he was not surprised by Murray's decision to close the mine -- both because of the apparent safety problems at the site and the questionable economics of the operation.

From haymaker to playmaker
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Wednesday, Aug. 22)
If you think the broiling Midwestern heat makes your job unbearable, imagine spending the summer months the way Ashton Gronewold spends them: bailing hay. ... The centerpiece of Missouri-Rolla's high-powered passing offense, he's a farm-grown All-American, a Say Hay Kid.

Records refute Crandall Canyon owner, show mining plan changed - possibly boosting cave-in risk
Salt Lake Tribune (Wednesday, Aug. 22)
"It's a significant change in terms of pillars or no pillars or robbing the pillars," said Jerry Tien, a mining engineering professor at the University of Missouri-Rolla.

Mine safety should concern everyone
KRCG (Tuesday, Aug. 21)
Missouri is not known for its coal mines, but there are experts here who have studied and trained in mines for years. KRCG's Mallory McGowin travelled to the University of Missouri-Rolla Tuesday to talk to a mining professor and a mining student to learn about the struggles miners face.

Local university trains for mining disaster
KY3 (Friday, Aug. 17)
After nearly two weeks, the rescue operation to find six trapped minors is suspended. Now, a mining company officially in Utah says it's likely their bodies may not be found. ... "There's just so many things that could be in the way," Adam Kresler says. Adam is a senior at the University of Missouri in Rolla.

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Visions bloggers would like to echo our chancellor's condolences about yesterday's tragedy at Virginia Tech.

We were all saddened to hear of the tremendous loss. Our thoughts are with the students, alumni, faculty and staff as they work through this difficult period.

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When it comes to the Internet, UMR's Richard Hall thinks the Swiss had it right all along. Neutrality is the best policy. The looming debate over what's being called net neutrality -- or the continuation of equal access to the web regardless of who you are or how much money you spend -- prompted Hall to send his thoughts to representative Jo Ann Emerson. He didn't send an email though. Hall, a prolific vlogger, recorded his his thoughts, posted them on the web, and sent Emerson the link. The Post-Dispatch has the story in today's edition. Essentially, some people want to make the Internet a "pay-to-play system with fast and slow lanes."

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Construction on the new UMR solar house will begin Monday. Expect to see walls and a roof by Tuesday. Also, the solar house team has a blog. Among other things you'll find on the blog is information on how to get your hands on top secret plans that will allow you to build your very own solar house.

Other random stories of interest this week, which happens to mark the start of Spring Training:

If you don't follow the Red Sox as closely as, say, Chancellor Carney does, then you're probably not familiar with the nickname Dice K. Also, you probably don't know anything about the Gyroball.

Zack Greinke is another talented pitcher who likes to experiment on the mound. But what's in his mind is threatening to derail a promising career.

One in every 166 children born in the U.S. has autism. Raising a child with autism puts a ton of stress on parents. But what does it do to the autistic child's siblings?

We all know that you're now using Wikipedia as your main source of information; just don't admit it. It's kinda like citing Cliffs Notes back in the day.

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I was thinking, by now, someone probably should have pulled my credentials on general principles. Anyway, I've got some catching up to do. First, there was the news that Albert Gore and Rush Limbaugh have both been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Then, Prince was the MVP of the Super Bowl. Finally, I read an interesting story this morning about a UMR graduate who says the most important part of the workday is tasting beer. I nominate the Beer Guy for president of these United States, assuming he doesn't have a beard comb over.

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In 1979, Gerald Ford was the first speaker in UMR's Remmers Lecture Series (which has also featured Margaret Thatcher, Henry Kissinger and Lance Armstrong, among others). Ford, who was the first president I really remember, will be remembered by most Americans for pardoning Nixon and being parodied on SNL. He was also quite bald or at least balding. Are there any other American presidents in modern history who had huge foreheads while in office? For some reason, I don't think the American public is willing to elect balding men (or balding women). After all, they never actually elected Ford. Thanks to Spiro Agnew and Tricky Dick, Ford never had to be elected to the vice presidency or the presidency by the American people. And that explains how a very decent man like Gerald Ford could wind up in the oval office.

P.S. I just looked at some presidential portraits. Eisenhower was pretty bald too.

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-- The New York Times says women in science don't get no respect. UMR says climate is responsible.

-- The World's Tallest Man recently shoved his whole arm down the throats of two very disturbed but ultimately very thankful dolphins.

-- Some high school students on the East Coast who have never heard of UMR will soon be hearing about UMR (or whatever we'll be calling it), thanks to this man.

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From the editors: We asked the three candidates for vice provost of research at UMR to guest-blog about the future of research at UMR. They all took us up on our challenge. Here are some of their thoughts.

Donald C. Wunsch II, the M.K. Finley Missouri Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UMR
UMR students, faculty and staff are fortunate to be associated with a remarkable university with exciting strengths in teaching, research, service, and community outreach. We can all thank our 136 years of predecessors for creating a rewarding environment by continually reinventing ourselves. It is now our opportunity and obligation to continue the proud tradition. This is only possible by embracing the challenge of rising to the next level of impact and prominence. Complacency is our worst enemy – our choice is between growth and stagnation. We all recognize this as a common sense principle. How we accomplish growth is the key issue.

Continue reading "VP of research finalists share their thoughts" »

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Anyone looking for a research project? The Treasury Department needs you; it's been ordered to change the way it prints money so that it will be easier for the blind to tell bills apart.

The federal judge's ruling proposes several options, like using raised ink or printing bills of different sizes. The department has 10 days to decide whether to appeal.

Any change will be expensive, I'm sure. But after seeing how my blind uncle lives, I think it's worth it.

What do you say?

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Ok, so the past few weeks have been tough for me -- a car accident (complete with a totaled car and stitches), a son with strep, a dog with pink eye, two inches of standing sewage in the basement, a grandmother in the hospital -- you get the picture, right? I'm generally an optimist, someone who can find the bright side of things. But it's been cloudy for several, several days. I've even considered making my own Earl list, so that I could find some way to improve my karma.

That's why today's Secret Santa story in the Kansas City Star really caught my attention. Growing up in Warrensburg, I often heard about this guy who would go to laundries and thrift stores and other similar places during the holidays to distribute thousands of dollars to people in need. What I guy, I thought, to do without seeking credit. No one knew his name.

Continue reading "I do, I do believe" »

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I finally got to go to the City Museum in St. Louis this past weekend and it's only the Best Place Ever. (I bet Detroit doesn't have a place that cool.) The museum is half junk art, half playground, half aquarium, half engineering laboratory (I'm using Yogi Berra fractions here). And the best part is that it's fully interactive. Take the kids! For those of you who are no longer kids in the traditional sense, be prepared to suffer back pains and knee injuries. But it's still worth it, unless you're claustrophobic or afraid of heights.

While we're on the subject of cool things to do, Rolla has it's own unique attraction this time of year. This one's not recommended for those who are afraid of dark, underground places or have a history of heart problems. I'm speaking, of course, of UMR's famous Haunted Mine.

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That's what Buck O'Neil said. See. And there has been a run on red dresses this week in Kansas City. Women all over town are planning to wear them this weekend to honor the memory of Buck. Flags will also be flying half-staff this weekend at UMR and all over the state of Missouri to honor O'Neil, who passed away last week. Of course, this doesn't have anything to do with UMR directly, but I couldn't let it pass without a post. You can read Joe Posnanski's wonderful obitituary here. A full tribute is located here. You can find out why Buck called Satchel Paige "Nancy" by reading the famous interview with Ken Burns here. Additional information about Kansas City's Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is here.

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Gerald Cohen, a man that has spent more than one-third of his life doing research on the hot dog, has added "frogged up Murphies" (aka French fried potatoes) and other eatery slang to his menu of expertise.

His findings, along with co-author Barry Popik's material, are the subject of a new book, "Studies in Slang VII." The 194-page book consists of 24 articles that reat a range of U.S. slang, covering everything from "hashhouse" lingo to the origin of Chicago's nickname as "The Windy City."

"British and U.S. slang etymology is a huge and highly interesting area, and it doesn't get nearly the attention from scholars that it deserves," Cohen says.

BTW -- A Cincinnati newspaper is credited with bestowing Chicago with its nickname after a tornado had passed through the Illinois city.

And, following in fellow blogger Lance Feyh's footsteps, I'm offering this Friday challenge. The first person who gets all five questions correct will win a cool Visions prize. Just submit your answers by clicking on "comments" below.

What are you ordering when a waiter tells the cook to make:

1. A motorman's glove?

2. A bag of mystery?

3. One indigestion in a snowstorm?

4. Noah on a raft?

5. Brass band with leader?

OK, don't eighty-six this quiz. Send us your answers!

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Here's a quick quiz to test our ability to receive comments. Just submit your answers by clicking on "comments" below. The first person who gets all five questions correct will win a prize. We don't have any official visions gear yet, but Mindy Limback will knit the winner a sweater while she's on maternity leave. I'm sure she doesn't have her hands full with anything else. The contest is open to anyone -- so you better start googling before Andy Careaga sees this. Any weekenders should have a good head start.

1. In what song will you find both Lenny Bruce and Leonard Bernstein?

2. What scientist quoted the Hindu god Vishnu when he said, "Now I am become death, destroyer of worlds."?

3. What is responsible for ending the world in the novel Cat's Cradle?

4. "Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them." For this redundant character, it had been all three.

5. What is the largest volcano in the solar system?

OK. Knock yourselves out......................

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As the air starts to cool down, we are reminded that St. Pat's is only a winter away. And, assuming you know what three snakes might have in common with one shamrock, you still have time to enter the St. Pat's Sweatshirt Design Contest. All artwork must contain the following phrases, words or images: Best Ever, St. Pat's, 99th Annual, University of Missouri-Rolla, 2007, at least three snakes and at least one shamrock. Submit designs by Sept. 16 to Daniel Ryan (dlrkbd at umr dot edu) or to Pi Kappa Alpha at 613 West Ninth St., Rolla, MO, 65401. The winner will receive instant fame and a $100 cash prize. All entries become property of the St. Pat’s Celebration Committee.

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The future’s so bright at the state’s premier technological research university that students might want to consider wearing shades.

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Ok, it's not JUST UMR, but education was one category editors from Bizjournals looked at when compiling their list of small communities with the best quality of life. Rolla, Mo., is 13th on the list -- and second in the Midwest region. The study is aimed at people who are considering a move to a small town. Highest-scoring towns had a strong economy, light traffic, moderate cost of living, good access to big-city attractions and (here's where UMR comes in) first-class educational systems. Go Rolla!

Check out bizjournals.com for the complete ranking.

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Congratulations to our intrepid editor, Mindy Limback, who welcomed a baby girl to the planet this morning. Allison Grace Limback was born at 8:01 a.m. She weighs 7.7 pounds and measures 19 1/4 inches long. Allison and her parents are doing fine.

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One of our graduates recently told us an incredible and inspirational story that we couldn't wait to share. A version of the story that follows will eventually run in an edition of UMR Magazine...

Most engineers rely heavily on the so-called left-brained skills associated with literal analysis, and Thomas “Trent” Givens is no exception. But Givens, who earned a mechanical engineering degree from UMR in 1988, no longer takes his ability to think like an engineer for granted. In fact, Givens no longer takes anything for granted.

“I have survived two brain tumors and have managed to climb up the ladder in the engineering field despite my memory deficits,” says Givens, a deputy branch chief within the Schreiver Space Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base. “Fortunately, the location of the tumors left my engineering skills intact, but I will never be able to write poetry.”

He is quick to add that he wasn’t necessarily a poet before the tumors.

Today, Givens enjoys coaching youth soccer. But his son was just one-year old back in 1995 when Givens suffered a Grand Mal seizure during a business trip to Seattle. “At some point, the EMTs had to resuscitate me,” he says. “I was dying.”

Continue reading "Who needs poetry, anyway?" »

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In one of our earliest posts on this blog, we told you about UMR Professor Richard Hall's brush with cyber-celebrity via the wildly popular video blog (vlog) known as Rocketboom. The post even elicited a comment from Rocketboom's very own Amanda Congdon.

But now, Rocketboom is apparently no more. As Congdon explains on her website, and in a recent vlog entry, she and business partner Andrew Baron have parted ways. Baron says Rocketboom will be back, but it won't be the same without Congdon. We'll miss her.

Meanwhile, Hall's the Richard Show goes on.

Technorati tag: rocketboom

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Choregraphed fireworks displays will light up skies tomorrow night across the country, generating numerous "ooohs" and "ahhhs." But do you know the science behind the sound? Paul Worsey does.

According to Worsey, whose pyrotechnic students often perform fireworks shows at local events, computer programs now allow shows to be run entirely from music. The process of setting a show to music begins by measuring the amount of time a particular type of firework takes to explode after leaving the ground and recording this number in a database. Next, the music to be used in a show is translated to time code, so that it can be read by the computer. From there, show designers must simply determine when they want specific types of fireworks to detonate during the show, and using the database, the computer will calculate how far in advance it needs to launch a firework so that it will explode at just the right time. Once the program is set, the fireworks are grouped together and numbered, connected with Ethernet cables, and then commanded by the computer when to fire, based on the time code.

“It’s becoming very, very technical,” said Worsey. “And it’s becoming a lot safer, since you don’t have people lighting the fireworks and blowing themselves head over heels.”

A summer rerun courtesy of JOM.

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Sprint Nextel CEO Gary Forsee, a 1972 civil engineering graduate from UMR, talks about the future of multimedia content on cell phones and other handheld devices in this interview published today on Forbes.com.

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Visions has been getting slammed by “Nice site” blog comment spam for the past few days. We moderate comments but that just means that it doesn’t show up on the site. We still have to delete it and 500+ junk messages are just too much.

We want the feedback but need to fight spam too. We promise to open comments just as soon as we can. Thanks for understanding. In the meantime, feel free to let us know what you think by emailing news AT umr DOT edu.

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Being an electrical engineer these days is almost as dangerous as working on one of those Alaskan crab fishing boats -- at least it is during the World Cup. Electricity offices in Bangladesh and Argentina were stormed in the past weak by mobs of football (soccer) fans who were angry about power failures that interrupted television coverage of World Cup matches. The hooligans in Bangladesh were apparently wielding bamboo sticks. The Kansas City Star reported that the last time the entire country of Bangladesh was impacted by blackouts was in the 1990s, when a monkey electrocuted itself at the main hydroelectric facilty. Stay tuned for more developments regarding possible power outages during the World Cup -- unless, of course, the power goes out, in which case you won't be able to stay tuned. (This shouldn't be a problem in the U.S., because our electrical engineers are really good and nobody here really cares that much about soccer anyway.)

Posted by Lance Feyh at 11:33 AM | Permalink | add to del.icio.us| Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's quiet here at Visions as my colleagues have turned their three-day holiday weekend into a four-day one. So while some are sitting by the pool enjoying Missouri's heat wave, I'll share today's edition of the Friday Five.*

1. Bob Phelan just called in his report from the Mini Baja Team. Turns out our team's vehicle may not be the smallest or most manuverable, but it's dependable. The team is participating in a series of tests today and will race tomorrow. Check back here to find out how they did.
2. Visions is proud to announce it has a new sibling on campus. Check out BLUMR, UMR's gardening and landscape blog, for all the dirt.
3. Research by UMR chemist Nuran Ercal shows that a newly redesigned antioxidant may play a critical role in preventing HIV-1-associated dementia. Her research will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Experimental Neurology.
4. UMR students talk with TechnoFiles this month about their commuter bus feasibility study. Grab the mp3 here. Like what you hear? Go ahead and subscribe directly to TechnoFiles in iTunes, Yahoo or supply the following URL to your podcast receiver: www.mst.edu/podcast/sample.rss. Or browse the episode archive and listen online at Yahoo.
5. Robert Stone, director of the interdisciplinary Student Design and Experiential Learning Center and associate professor of interdisciplinary engineering, is leaving campus for a year, starting in July. He will join the engineering mechanics faculty at the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) in Colorado Springs, Colo., as a visiting professor. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Stone has been asked to assist the USAFA faculty with their two design competition teams: the Formula SAE race car team and mini-baja buggy team. Good luck -- (and don't be too helpful, ok?)

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The campus is quiet. The sun is out. And it's time for another edition of the Friday Five. Here we go:

1. Warren K. (Kent) Wray, professor of civil engineering and former provost at Michigan Technological University (MTU) in Houghton, Mich., will become provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at UMR effective Aug. 1, Chancellor John F. Carney III announced today.


2. Visions got a sneak peek at next year's Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experiences (OURE) research projects. It's an interesting mix of work, spanning topics from surrogate mothers to lock design. We're looking forward to sharing the details of the research, once students return to campus.


3. Members of UMR's Engineering Without Borders chapter are leaving this weekend for Jerez, Guatemala. The students will try to send us dispatches from the field, likely while they are in Copan and Antigua.


4. For readers who missed last Saturday's commencement address: James Ronald Miller quoted John Wooden, Dr. Seuss and even Yogi Berra, who said, “If you come to a fork in the road, take it." Sounds like good advice for this weekend -- and beyond.


5. And finally, last but not least: UMR students are looking forward to taking their 'go-kart on steroids' for off-road competition next week.

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One of the best features of events like tonight's Graduation Jubilee, aside from the free food, is that they give visitors a chance to see the unusual research projects UMR students select. If you go over to the Havener Center tonight, you will find students discussing everything from "parental rejection as a pathway to depression" to "neural network based predictions of elephant distribution in a South African game reserve."

Posted by Mindy Limback at 04:53 PM | Permalink | add to del.icio.us| Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Slow research day, I guess, but Dr. Richard Hall (right, previously featured by visions for his pioneering efforts in video blogging and using the web as a teaching tool) did sing a really funny ode/ballad with his wife, Maureen, at a retirement party this afternoon for Dr. Arlan DeKock and Dr. Raymond Kluczny of the UMR School of Management and Information Systems.

Posted by Lance Feyh at 03:50 PM | Permalink | add to del.icio.us| Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's spring. It's lovely outside. And it's time for the Friday five, a.k.a. a smorgesboard of research goodies.

• "UMR in a Global Society," a panel discussion on the impact of globalization, will begin this afternoon at 4:30 p.m. in the Havener Center on campus. Five panelists – two faculty, two alumni and one student/alumnus – will discuss globalization and its impact on higher education during this event.


• UMR students working on a commuter bus system feasibility study see two main benefits for such a public system. First, because many families stationed at the post have only one vehicle, spouses who would like to work are often unable to do so. A public transit system would give both spouses the option to work by eliminating dependence on a personal vehicle, potentially increasing the number of available workers and positively affecting the regional economy. Second, public transit could help reduce emission levels and prevent congestion on Interstate 44 as the region continues to grow.


• It's Academy time. Read more about the latest inductees in chemical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, engineering management and mines and metallurgy.
  
• A group of UMR students who designed and built an advanced radio-controlled aircraft are in Marietta, Ga., this weekend for the Aero Design East Competition.


• UMR students showed their chemical engineering savvy by placing second in chemical reaction-powered, autonomous vehicle competition in Stillwater, Okla. The car’s performance earned the team a spot in the national competition set for November in San Francisco.
  

Wasn't that tasty?

Posted by Mindy Limback at 03:35 PM | Permalink | add to del.icio.us| Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A new study suggests some people tend to hide the fact that they are interested in science, for fear they will be labeled nerds or geeks. As it turns out, there are more of us than previously thought. (Does this mean it's OK to discuss Kurt Vonnegut novels in public again? Will the president finally announce that he's been devoting a lot of his free time to deciphering hidden messages in pi?) According to a recent article on the study, 60 million Americans were found to be "intellectually curious about politics, the arts and science...Among the intellectually curious group, those who are aware of science-oriented websites tend to visit them frequently. Some 85 percent said they are intrigued by scientific breakthroughs and innovation, compared to 35 percent of those outside the group. And while 72 percent of the intellectually curious say science is relevant to many aspects of their lives, that figure is 26 percent among the rest of the population."

Posted by Lance Feyh at 08:45 AM | Permalink | add to del.icio.us| Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Todd Hubing dishes out the shocking truth behind static electricity to LiveScience.Com.

Hubing tells readers:

"As you keep walking across the floor, you become full of electrons. Eventually more electrons don't want to come up on you because you're so charged up. You end up with a high voltage, about 20,000 to 25,000 volts."

That's serious power at your fingertips, considering a normal electrical outlet on the wall is only around 100 volts of electricity.

Read more here. Not enough? Check out Hubing's Q&A on educating electromagnetic compatibility engineers. Completely unrelated but just as interesting.

Posted by Mindy Limback at 11:54 AM | Permalink | add to del.icio.us| Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch includes a nice B1 feature on Nelson O. Weber, ME'62. Weber, who retired as a mechanical engineer from McDonnell Douglas and Boeing, is putting his engineering skills back to work surveying the wreckage of the steamboat Montana, one of the largest paddlewheel steamboats to ply the Missouri River.

Last year, the Missouri was so low that Weber was able to map out nearly the entire width of the ship. The parts that still lay buried in the water and mud, he probed with a bamboo pole. Weber took measurements, drew diagrams, and even got his cousin to fly a small plane over the wreckage so he could take pictures.

Read more about Weber's work here.

Posted by Mindy Limback at 08:51 AM | Permalink | add to del.icio.us| Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)