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Academy of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineers
Board of Directors Teleconference
February 11, 2014
The meeting was called to order at 12:02pm by Academy President, Lisa Sombart.
Attendees: Lisa Sombart, Patrick Davidson, John Eash, Randall Wood, Steve Bugg, Travis Durand, Steve Bass, Jim Berkel,
Ed Gerding, Barton Moenster, Bob Mueller, Russell Flye, Lila, Kolker, Cathy Williams and Nolan Brunnworth.
Agenda: There were no changes to the draft Agenda. A motion was made by Randall Wood to accept the Agenda and
second by Patrick Davidson. All were in favor. The motion carried.
Minutes: The draft minutes of the December 17, 2013 Board of Directors meeting were reviewed. Randall Wood
requested a change to the Other Business sections to read: “Nolan Brunnworth stated that support was requested from
Leggett and Platt towards funding an instructional lab.” Also, Lisa asked for clarification in the President’s Update on the
future funding of the years 4 & 5 for the instructional labs. A sentence was added: “University Advancement will be
working on corporate matching and individual matching.” Barton Moenster made a motion to approve the minutes as
amended, Bob Mueller 2nd the motion. All were in favor. The motion carried.
Treasurers Report: Randall Wood reviewed the Treasurer’s Report for July 1, 2013 to January 31, 2014:
We are in very good shape. With a total balance of $190K, less $47K in budgeted obligations (mostly teams $32,400 and
operating expenses), we have $143K left. From this balance, we can comfortably meet our pledge of $100K in support
of the instructional lab grant.
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However, giving is essentially flat compared to last year. Our general fund giving is $19K short of last year, a pocket
switch that has been earmarked for the instructional labs. We need $41K in general fund giving to meet our budget.
Also, based on our last 3 years of history, 60% of our members did not participate financially. 28% of the members
donated 31% of our funds. 18 members (12% of the membership) accounted for 69% of our funds. Of our 157 living
members, 93 are members of OGS (59%)
Ed Gerding asked if it is possible that this 60% of our membership had given to the General Fund instead of the AMAE?
It is possible that members are not aware that there is an Instructional Lab Fund listed with the others. There has been
some feedback that contributors were not aware of this designation possibility. There are 56 choices for donors and
transactions could be split to 3 different funds. Nolan could get a breakdown of the giving.
Jim Berkel asked when we turn over the $100K for the campus matching. Dr. Drallmeier will give the board an update.
We should consider the possibility of initiating membership dues. Lisa stated that there were 2 or more academies that
charge membership dues. Several academies charged $250 in annual dues and another has $500. Electrical Engineering
and the AMAE were the only two academies that do not charge membership dues. Should another directed solicitation
be sent out to the members who haven’t contributed to the Academy regardless of their other contributions? And
possibly remind them that this is part of their participation agreement when they joined the Academy. Lisa will try to
draft a letter to be sent out in March.
Steve Bugg mentioned that it is close to time to pay the design teams. Randall answered that payments can be made at
this time, or in March. Lila will take care of distributing the funds.
Presidents Update: Lisa announced that she just started a new position. The sponsorship letter for the matching funds
for the instructional labs is completed. The proposal is due by January 24th. Dr. Drallmeier will update the board on this
process. The AMAE Strategic plan is aligning with the new UM System and Campus plans. John Eash will give us an
update. Timing and location of events to help increase participation: Lisa is welcoming ideas from any members who
may be involved with other organizations who have more participation/engagement from their members.
Committee Updates:
Membership Update: Steve Bass thanked John Eash for his outstanding service as chair on this committee. The
Academy has inducted 5 new members in 2013 and the process is underway for 2014. Timeline shows that e-mails and
letters will go out to the membership and MAE faculty and emeritus requesting nominations by the end of March. This
committee will then hold a meeting to discuss the nominations. Steve asked for a target number of inductees for 2014.
Bart Moenster suggested around 6. John Eash agreed but noted that there could be more as there may be some who
cannot come to the Induction Dinner. John suggested not discarding any nominations just in case some cannot come to
the Dinner. Randall Wood suggested a minimum of 4 but no more than 7 or 8. Bob Mueller suggested getting additional
information on the nominees from Nolan Brunnworth. John Eash will have one nomination, Doug Douchart from
Hendricks Motor Sports. Nolan mentioned Jeff Thornburg, an AE’95 who will be receiving an alumni award. Nolan has a
listing and will get together with Steve. Jim Berkel mentioned that the Alumni Awards will be given on Homecoming and
we will not be holding our Induction Dinner that weekend. Lisa asked if there were any requirements for an honorary
membership. Bob checked the Bylaws and stated that honorary memberships can be given to faculty who are no longer
employed by the department.
SDELC Report: Steve Moss was not available to give a report and no report was submitted for this meeting. Chris
Thomason was also not available to give a status on the truck issue.
Senior Design and Technical Resource Update: Randy Foster submitted a report but was not available. There were no
questions or comments from the board.
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Scholarships Update: Barton Moenster reviewed his submitted report. A teleconference was held in January. New
members to this committee were Pierre Powell and Andy Johnston. The online application process had inadvertently
started one month earlier than expected. Recommendations will be made in mid-April and presented at the April
meeting.
Special Events Update: Travis Durand reported. A teleconference was held on January 28th. New members to this
committee are Travis Durand and Vance Havens. Feedback from the 2013 induction events was positive; the only
problem noted was the poor acoustics at Matt’s Steakhouse. This committee recommends moving the 2014 Induction
events to October 9th and 10th, 2014, one week prior to the Missouri S&T Homecoming, so all events can be held on
campus. A venue scheduling problem at Homecoming prompted the change of dates for the 2014 Induction Events.
This lead to a discussion of changing future Academy Induction Events to be held in April, just prior to the beginning of
the fiscal year in June. Other academies hold their induction events and other meetings in April. Of course, this would
entail adjustments to many committees’ schedules. This committee plans to hold their next teleconference sometime in
June.
Bart Moenster noted that changing the induction events to a week before homecoming would eliminate the possibility
of inducting any alumni award recipients since they receive their awards during homecoming. Bart also was in favor of
moving the induction events to the spring.
Steve Bugg stated that consideration should be made to the mid-semester senior design reviews that are typically held
in October. After some discussion, Cathy will talk to Dr. Midha about scheduling the fall 2014 mid-semester design
reviews on Saturday, October 11th.
Lisa noted that the Chancellor holds Academy Presidents Meeting in April & Oct. The October 9th and 10th dates will
conflict with this meeting. She questioned if the plan is to hold our induction events one week prior to homecoming
every year, or if this was an exception to the usual scheduling. Cathy clarified that this year is an exception and possibly
next year as well. The Alumni Association has been reserving the Havener Center for homecoming weekend and plans
to continue to reserve ahead of AMAE. This is why we are having trouble securing the Havener Center during
homecoming weekend. However, the Alumni Association plans to hold their future homecoming events at the new
Hasselman House when it is completed. This will leave the Havener Center open for reservations by the AMAE.
Nolan informed the board that the dedication of Bartlesmeyer Hall will be on October 17th in the evening during
homecoming weekend.
Lisa then approved dates of October 9th & 10th for the 2014 Induction Events. Cathy will cancel any other reservations
placed on hold.
Strategic Planning Update: John Eash reported that the strategic plans of the Academy and the MAE department are in
alignment. He thanked Bob Mueller for his assistance. He reviewed the submitted draft plan and how it aligns with not
only the department but with the campus plan as well. He noted the various themes in the plan and how each
committee is assigned for action. We may consider updating the Bylaws to coincide with this plan. Bob Mueller noted
the current functions of each committee should be retained, but also consider developing/renaming another
committee. Lisa said the committee chairs should look at this draft for questions/comments. John will collect
committee comments and share any feedback with the board.
Communications Update: Jim Berkel reported that he is trying to increase focus of the academies, especially the AMAE
website, on the Missouri S&T website. Jim had talked with the Chancellor Schrader and Vice Chancellor Joan Nesbitt on
January 23th while she was in Florida regarding academy information on the alumni website. Nolan is following up on
this. This committee has held 2 teleconferences. Cathy and Kimber are doing an outstanding job. The committee is
working closely with Nolan Brunnworth in locating “unreachable” members; they are Ron Schoenbach, Tom Speigel and
Stephen Voss. The “Did you Know?” section of the Academy webpage will feature Kimber Crull. This committee is
asking for input to improving the website. New members are Jeff Simmons and Travis Durand, Lisa Sombart as the
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advisor. A Save the Date postcard will be sent out in April although there has not been much improvement in increased
attendance as a result of this reminder.
Facilities Update: Russell Flye stated this this committee met on October 18th, 2013 during the annual membership
meeting. Andy Johnston is a new member on this committee. Russell has requested of department modification for
Toomey Hall from Dr. Drallmeier. There are no budgetary considerations this period.
Past Presidents Council Update: Chris Thomason had not submitted a report and was not present at this meeting.
Development Report: Nolan Brunnworth updated the committee on new campus developments.
Laboratory Matching – the committee will meet on Feb 12th with the Chancellor and there should be an answer in 2
weeks. There have been 9-10 submitted proposals for this matching opportunity. There is $500,000 in the total pool.
This Academy is requesting their $100,000 to be matched by the campus.
Sauer Lab (aka Mechanical Viewing Lab) – The lab is coming along; there is new furniture in the lab. John Sauer was
excited to see photos of the developing lab.
John Dorn, ’94 ME, will attend the Chancellors Leadership Academy and speak to the ASME on Feb. 26th and tour
Toomey Hall. John’s father is a ‘65ME. John is a District General Manager of Trane in Indiana and could be a
consideration for membership to the Academy.
Nolan will be in Detroit in Mid-March.
There are 2 new annual scholarships from Academy members Steve Moss & Craig George starting this Fall 2014.
The Boeing Company is setting up an office on campus in Rolla; there is a master research agreement in progress. John
Eash elaborated on the project. The Center for Aerospace Manufacturing Technologies will be moving into the
Innovations Research Park building. James Castle, a ’99 ME grad, is planning to move his family to Rolla and will be
overseeing this office. This is part of an effort of The Boeing Company to increase partnerships across the campuses.
Lisa asked for clarification to the process of the Instructional Labs. We have received commitment for the 1st lab; the
matching funds will be used for the 2nd and 3rd labs, when received. We need to reassess what labs 4 & 5 are and the
faculty needs for these labs. This should be revisited at the April meeting and Lisa asked Nolan give an update on needs
and the corporate/individual matching. He will get together with Dr. Drallmeier and make sure everyone is on the same
page.
Department Update: Lila Kolker reported for Dr. Drallmeier who was not present. There has been a 7% increase in on
campus enrollment for the Spring Semester and a 4% increase in MAE students from this time last year.
The Provost and Dean searches are progressing. The committee hopes to have all three named by the end of the
semester and in place by the Fall semester.
The three MAE faculty searches are progressing, hoping to be in place by Fall. On campus interviews will begin next
week.
The Sauer Lab/Conference Room renovations are complete. The computers in the lab will be able to interface with a
portion of the HVAC monitoring system in Toomey Hall. We hope to make this access available this semester. We are
waiting on Physical Facilities to provide access to the system.
The instructional labs proposal was submitted. Joan Nesbitt, Vice Chancellor of University Advancement, has
complimented the Academy on the quality of the proposal; the results should come by end of February.
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The student chapters of the ASME are looking for speakers for their evening meetings or other special events. They are
looking for a list of potential Academy members and topics. The Communications Committee will discuss this issue.
Other Business: None
Lisa instructed that the next meeting will be a quarterly meeting on campus on April 25, 2014. Cathy will forward the
location of this meeting.
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting by Jim Berkel and was 2nd by Barton Moenster. All were in favor. The
meeting adjourned at 1:38pm.