Missouri University of Science and Technology
The University of Missouri-Rolla (abbreviated UMR) is an institution of higher learning located in Rolla, Missouri and part of the University of Missouri system. It is almost entirely an engineering and sciences campus having approximately 4,800 students.
History
UMR was originally an MU offshoot called the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy (MSM) founded in 1870 as the first technological learning institution west of the Mississippi river. Early in its beginnings, the School of Mines was focused primarily on mining and metallurgy, but by the 1920s, had expanded into civil, electrical, mechanical, and chemical as well as chemistry, physics, mathematics and geology.
In 1964, the School of Mines joined the newly created University of Missouri system as the University of Missouri, Rolla campus. The campus curriculum was expanded to include all the engineering disciplines and also liberal arts.
Campus Highlights
Stonehenge
UMR's Stonehenge is a partial reconstruction of the original Stonehenge monument located on Salisbury Plain, Southwest of London. UMR's version of the ancient structure is located on the northwest corner of campus, and was dedicated on June 20, 1984 during the summer solstice. It features a 50-foot-diameter ring of 30 sarsen stones around a horseshoe of five trilithons through which various sightings of sunrise and sunset can be made. About 160 tons of granite were used to construct the monument. The rock was cut by UMR's waterjet equipment, which used two waterjets cutting at a pressure of 15,000 pounds per square inch, slicing across the surface just like a conventional saw. The cutter moved at a speed of about 10 feet per minute and cut between one-quarter and one-half inch on each path.
Millenium Arch
UMR worked together with artist Edwina Sandys to develop a new way for making deep cuts into granite, and used the method to create a new sculpture for the campus. The sculpture is known as the Millennium Arch and forms a fitting compliment to an earlier sculpture, the UMR Stonehenge, which sits on the other end of campus. The Millenium Arch is located on 10th Street, facing Castleman Hall, in Rolla. The project was developed in the High Pressure Waterjet Laboratory of the Rock Mechanics & Explosive Research Center at UMR. The work for this project was carried out by two faculty members: Dave Summers and Greg Galecki. Technical support was provided by Jim Blaine, Bob Fossey, John Tyler, and Vicki Snelson.