Missouri S&T Kummer College Newsletter

Dear alumni, students, faculty and staff:

As we step into 2026, I am thrilled to share our vision for the year ahead, building on the incredible momentum we generated in 2025. Thanks to our growing community of faculty and staff and the recent renovation of our facilities, Kummer College is better equipped than ever to lead in innovation and economic development.

Expanding Our Academic Impact

We are already seeing the influence of our new M.S. in Economics and Innovation, with students and industry partners leveraging expertise from our two specialized tracks: Value-Driven Innovation and Energy Economics. These programs are designed to meet the evolving needs of the global marketplace. Furthermore, our Team Innovation Projects (TIP) program, successfully piloted last year, is scaling rapidly. This spring and fall, we look forward to even more industry-sponsored, interdisciplinary student teams tackling real-world challenges alongside our corporate partners.

A Strategic Vision for Excellence

Two transformative milestones are shaping our path forward. The Kummer College Strategic Plan: Developed in collaboration with Academic Leadership Associates and our stakeholders, our new Strategic Plan focuses on innovative teaching and learning through advanced pedagogies and the ethical integration of AI. The Dennis and Janet Jaggi School of Business: Supported by a generous $12.5 million gift, this new school will help expand Missouri S&T’s identity as a premier R1 university. By integrating business, arts, history and political science with our STEM legacy, we are preparing graduates to lead in a technology-driven world.

Navigating the Future of AI

In a rapidly changing landscape, we remain committed to staying ahead of the curve. Novel AI tools are beginning to surpass established benchmarks for human expertise. To explore how we are adapting, keep an eye out for our Price Points newsletter in February. We will dive into critical AI benchmarks, including OpenAI’s GDPval, and examine prediction markets like Metaculus and ForecastBench. I'm pleased to interview Professor Amaury Lendasse, who is an accomplished scholar of AI and serves as the department chair of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering.

Thank you for being an essential part of our journey. I wish you all a successful and innovative 2026!

S&T alumnus Dennis Jaggi and his wife, Janet, have made a transformational gift of $12.5 million to create the Dennis and Janet Jaggi School of Business. When it launches in the coming year, the school will be dedicated to teaching future leaders financial accounting and business acumen needed to grow companies, accelerate economic development and strengthen the communities where they live and work.

“I want S&T students to have the opportunity to learn about business and entrepreneurship earlier than I did,” Jaggi says. “My vision for the school is that it will instill in students the confidence they need to take two or three years and give entrepreneurship a try. If it turns out it’s not for them, they will have learned a lot of new and very valuable skills.”

AI is rapidly transforming the world, driving growing demands on energy and infrastructure. To explore these challenges, Dean Jim Sterling spoke with Dr. Donald Wunsch, S&T professor and director of the Kummer Institute Center for Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems, who has more than 25 years of experience at the intersection of AI and energy.

When Ryan Veatch was growing up, he always assumed he would become a chemical engineer. In 2009, he came to S&T with that dream in mind. But like many students, life took unexpected turns. In 2012, Veatch dropped out. But that’s not the end of his story. Veatch has returned to earn his degree in information science and technology, and is on the path to earning a master’s degree in business administration.

Shannen Irfan Surhyo has big goals, including becoming a CEO in the banking industry. A first-year student from Hyderabad, Pakistan, she chose S&T for the opportunity to explore and double major in applied mathematics and economics as she builds the foundation for her future.

When Ben Walter, a senior in engineering management, looks at a roller coaster, he sees a canvas of engineering possibilities — a complex system where physics, design and human emotion intersect. In 2022, the RIDES student organization became one of the places he found like-minded peers as a first-year engineering management student at S&T.

Congratulations to our undergraduate and graduate students who crossed the stage during the Dec. 19–20 commencement ceremonies!

We are proud to celebrate your hard work and achievements, and we look forward to seeing the impact you will make as alumni of S&T’s Kummer College.

Congratulations to Dr. Casey Canfield for receiving the 2025 Faculty Excellence Award! Through impactful research, teaching and dedicated leadership, she exemplifies faculty excellence at Missouri S&T,

Through impactful research, teaching and dedicated leadership, Canfield exemplifies faculty excellence at S&T. Over the past two years, she has led a nationally recognized effort to integrate AI into kidney transplant decision-making, securing over $2M in new funding and redeveloping key courses with real-world, public-facing projects that strengthen students’ human-AI collaboration skills. Her mentorship has guided award-winning graduate scholars, and her leadership in bringing S&T into the Public Interest Technology University Network has already sparked new grants, partnerships and statewide impact.