Missouri has led the world in Aerospace, Engineering, Earth and Life Sciences?

People in the “Show-Me State” have significantly impacted space exploration for more than 40 years, from playing a key role in the first U.S. manned space mission to helping to supply the next generation of Moon-focused engineers.  St. Louis McDonnell Aircraft, which later merged with the Boeing Company — built the Mercury space capsules for NASA.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis studying chemical data from the Hubble Space Telescope have determined the eruption conditions of Jupiter’s volcanically active satellite, Io, and concluded that the moon has a differentiated mantle similar to that of Earth.  Io, one of the four major satellites of Jupiter has tremendous volcanic activity occurring on its surface.  Differentiation is the process where various rock types are produced from a common magma.

A passenger jet powered in part by vegetable oil successfully completed a two-hour flight Tuesday to test a biofuel that could lower airplane emissions and cut costs, Air New Zealand said.  One engine of a Boeing 747-400 airplane was powered by a 50-50 blend of oil from jatropha plants and standard A1 jet fuel.  The flight was a joint venture by Air New Zealand, airplane maker Boeing, engine maker Rolls Royce and biofuel specialist, UOP Llc, a unit of Honeywell International.

Today, three active NASA astronauts hail from Missouri — Dr. Linda Godwin  born in Cape Girardeau, Dr. Janet Kavandi born in Springfield and Dr. Robert Behnken born in Creve Coeur.  Combined, Godwin and Kavandi have flown in space seven times, logging more than 71 days in space. Behnken is serving in technical assignments until assigned to a space flight.  Some of tomorrow’s aerospace engineers and space explorers also hail from Missouri.

Charles Stark Draper of Windsor created a variety of gyroscopic instruments that revolutionized the design of guidance and control systems for navigation, particularly for military applications.  Born in Windsor, Missouri on Oct. 2, 1901, he attended the University of Missouri, moving on to Stanford University in 1919, where he completed a B.A. in psychology in 1922. Later that year he entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned his S.B. in electrochemical engineering in 1926, an S.M. in 1928, and an Sc.D. in physics in 1938.

William (Bill) Powell Lear of Hannibal was an inventor and businessman. He is best known for founding the Lear Jet Corporation, a manufacturer of  small private jets that would offer the same advantages as jetliners, but at a fraction of the cost.  He also developed the 8-track cartridge, direction finders, lightweight air radios,autopilots for aviation, F-5 autopilot with a control for landing aircraft in “zero-zero” weathe,and Lear Jet.

Edwin Powell Hubble, of Marshfield was the first astronomer to find observable evidence that the universe is expanding, a discovery which helped establish the theory of the “Big Bang.”   Hubble’s work revolutionized our understanding of the size and structure of the universe.  Hubble noticed that it contained stars resembling stars in the Milky Way but much fainter. He concluded that the stars in the nebula must be much farther from Earth than stars in our own galaxy. His work proved that the Andromeda Nebula was actually a distant galaxy separate from our own.

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center today announced that the Howard G. Buffett Foundation has granted more than $3 million to fund research to enhance resistance to virus infection and increase the nutritional content of sweet potato for Africa.  They hope that our research will be part of a solution in meeting the challenge to efficiently feed Africa’s growing population.

Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company. Our biochemical and organic chemical products and kits are used in scientific and genomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, the diagnosis of disease and as key components in pharmaceutical and other high technology manufacturing.

Paul Mueller Company, centrally located in Springfield, Missouri, specializes in the design and manufacture of stainless steel processing systems and equipment for the food, dairy, beverage, chemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and pure water industries.  Since their inception in 1940, Mueller has evolved into a global process solution provider.  Their products are used in over 100 countries in a wide variety of applications.

George Washington Carver was a world-famous chemist who made important agricultural discoveries and inventions. His research on peanuts, sweet potatoes, and other products helped poor southern farmers vary their crops and improve their diets.  George Washington Carver was born in Diamond, Missouri.  Carver’s research and instruction helped poor southern farmers, both white and black, change their farming practices and improve their diets.

Annie Turnbo Malone, a chemist and entrepreneur,  became a millionaire by successfully developing and marketing hair products in St. Louis for African Americans throughout the United States.  At the beginning of the 1900s, Annie Malone had pioneered and revolutionized hair care methods for all African Americans.

With over 150 U.S. patents, Fergason’s inventive contributions spanned a wide range in the field of liquid crystals.   James Fergason of Wakend is the inventor of an improved Liquid Crystal Display, or LCD.  In 1970 Fergason started his own company, International Liquid Crystal Company (Ilixco), to further study and commercialize LCDs.  Fergason was raised in rural Missouri and attended a one-room school, followed by a small high school.

Jack St. Clair Kilby of Jefferson City was a Nobel Prize laureate in physics in 2000 for his invention of the integrated circuit in 1958. The microchip made microprocessors possible, and therefore allowed high-speed computing and communications systems to become efficient, convenient, affordable, and ubiquitous.  He has over 60 patents to his credit and is considered one of the greatest electrical engineers of all time.

Robert D. Maurer of St. Louis helped produce Optical Waveguide Fibers.  Optical fiber is the foundation for the global, multimedia telecommunications networks and is capable of carrying 65,000 times more information than conventional copper wire.  More than 90 percent of the U.S. long-distance traffic is already carried over optical fiber and more than 800 million kilometers has been installed.  Optical fiber is the foundation for the global, multimedia telecommunications network of tomorrow.

Steven Hofmann, a professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia is being recognized for solving a math problem that had stumped his peers for more than 40 years.  The problem, known as Kato’s Conjecture, applies to the theory of waves moving through different media.  Hofmann became curious about the problem as an undergraduate when a professor introduced him to it.  the professor was unable to solve the problem.

Linda Hall Library-The largest privately funded public library of science, engineering, and technology in the United States, Linda Hall features a collection that dates from the 15th century to present times.   It is located on a 14 acre arboretum in Kansas City, Missouri.  The Library is used extensively by companies, academic institutions and individuals throughout the world. The Library was established by the wills of Herbert and Linda Hall and opened in 1946.

Marlin Perkins was born on March 28, 1905 in Carthage, Missouri, and attended public school there through eighth grade. In the fall of 1919, he entered Wentworth Military Academy and there he demonstrated his fascination with snakes by keeping blue racer snakes in his room. Marlin Perkins, recognized as one of the leading ecologists and naturalists in the world, helped bring wildlife into American living rooms. Perkins’ interest in animals began long before his adventures on Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.

William Sun of Parkway Central High School in Chesterfield, Missouri, is awarded second prize and a $75,000 scholarship.  His biochemistry project, William Sun, 17, examined a recently discovered molecule, Golgicide A (GCA), as a potential drug to inhibit intracellular transport of disease.  This discovery could lead to new approaches for preventing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Rock Port, Missouri, is a small city of 1,300 people, and they just made history by being the first city in the US to be 100% powered by the wind, also making them #1 in the US for percentage of renewable energy. The Loess Hills Wind Farm, built by the Wind Capital Group, employing 500 workers from 20 states for about a year, is expected to produce about 16 million kilowatt hours annually, while Rock Port only uses 13 million.

Kip Cullers may not look like royalty but the Missouri farmer does have a regal reputation as “The Soybean King.”  In 2006, Cullers crushed the previous soybean record of 118 bushels per acre, with a 139 bushels per acre harvest.  One year after setting a new soybean record of 139 bushels an acre, Cullers shattered that record with a 154 bushel per acre yield.

Cerner became one of the nation’s top vendors of health care information technology by selling software systems to hospitals one at a time.
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Missouri University of Science and Technology, formerly the University of Missouri-Rolla, is one of the world’s leading technological research universities.
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Huntsville is home to NASA’s Marshall Center — sponsor of Missouri’s Educator Resource Center — a place that gives Missourians, as well as neighboring states, access to NASA expertise and educational materials in science, math and technology. The education center is on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau.
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