Debbie Munro

A FIRST For Engineering

January 10, 2014

On Saturday, January 4, the Shiley School of Engineering hosted the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Kickoff regional event in the Chiles Center. More than 800 high school students and teachers from Oregon and Southern Washington came to UP for the nationwide NASA telecast of the kickoff for this year’s competition. Moderators and volunteers for the event came from throughout the local technology industry. Engineering professor Debbie Munro participated in the formal program (as did engineering student Natalie Janson) and described the benefits of a UP engineering education. Students and teachers were also given tours of Shiley Hall.

Engineering dean Sharon Jones extends her thanks to all who made the event a resounding success, including engineering technician supervisor Allen Hansen and his staff, Bill Reed and the events staff, Dan Sandaal with information services, and athletics director Scott Leykam, who coordinated events in such as way as to allow the use of the Chiles Center during basketball season.

For more information on FIRST go to this link. For information on Saturday’s event contact Kim Spir, engineering, at 7314 or spir@up.edu.

An American Dream—an opera by librettist/Portland Magazine editor, Jessica Murphy Moo, and composer Jack Perla—was produced by OperaLab Japan in Tokyo (November 2024) and Manhattan School of Music (December 2024).

Larry Larsen, Performing and Fine Arts, designed the scenery for this year’s production of Nordic Fire for the Portland Revels that is playing at the Alberta Abbey from December 13 through December 22. He also is designing the lighting for Lakewood Theatre Company’s production of The Maltese Falcon based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett, which plays at the Lakewood Center in Lake Oswego from January 3 through February 9.

Lizhong Hao, Business, presented “The Impact of Auditor and Client Bargaining Power on Audit Pricing: A Two-Tier Stochastic Frontier Approach.” The 2024 Corporate Behavior and New Development of Financial Markets International Conference. Chongqing, China. November, 2024.

Simon Aihiokhai, Theology, was a discussant and participant at the International Congress on the Future of Theology ‘Legacy and Envisioning.’ Organized by the Dicastery for Culture and Education. Vatican City. December 9–10, 2024. Aihiokhai was also a discussant and participant at the General Assembly of the International Network of Societies for Catholic Theology (INSeCT). Rome, Italy. December 8 – 13, 2024.

Dave Houglum, Director of Leadership Studies and Leadership Professor of Practice, Franz Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation, completed the training requirements to be certified in the DiSC assessment on December 19, 2024. The DiSC assessment is a powerful tool that helps individuals and teams improve communication, collaboration, and workplace dynamics by providing insights into behavioral and communication styles. If you’d like to explore using the DiSC assessment for your individual or team’s leadership development, please contact Dave Houglum.