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Date 5-31-06
Contact David Tisdale 601.266.4499
WITH PHOTOS
Hattiesburg—The
University of Southern Mississippi can provide support for U.S.
military missions through products created in its polymer science
laboratories, as well as an online degree that can be accessed anywhere
by its personnel, said two of the university’s faculty members during
a briefing for the head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Tuesday.
Desmond Fletcher,
director of the Southern Miss School of Construction, and Dr. Marek
Urban, director of the Southern Miss School of Polymers and High
Performance, made their presentations to Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, who
followed Fletcher and Urban with a briefing on the Corps’ work to
date on Hurricane Katrina recovery.
The University
of Southern Mississippi offers a unique opportunity for military
personnel to earn a degree from anywhere in the world through its
online program in construction management, Fletcher said.
“With construction
career opportunities growing, this program can give military personnel
stationed around the world the opportunity to earn a degree that
can give them an advantage in the civilian job market,” Fletcher
said.
The Southern
Miss Construction Management program is the only dually accredited
program of its kind in the country, through the Accreditation Board
for Engineering Technology and the American Council for Construction
Education, Fletcher said.
Just as in many
products used by civilians, Urban said plastics and polymers are
an integral part of the equipment and other materials, including
uniforms, used daily by the military.
“A lot of the
materials used in tanks, aircraft and other military equipment are
simply plastics and polymers,” Urban said. “Nontoxic coatings that
are developed in the polymer science laboratories at Southern Miss
can also be used on military equipment, including warships and planes,
including coatings that can make some weapons’ delivery systems
undetectable to radar.”
Urban said research
in the school is also being done on developing coatings that can
be used to absorb and prevent the spread of radiation, critical
in the event of radiation contamination incidents, as well as in
the development of new technology for soldiers that would allow
sweat to evaporate from their uniforms in hot conditions but still
protect them from chemical warfare agents.
Strock was
invited by Dick Vogel, executive director of the Southern Miss Eagle
Club, to come to the university to learn more about its online degree
program in construction management. Strock and Vogel were classmates
at the Virginia Military Institute and also served together in Germany
with the 1st Infantry Division.
The Corps’
primary responsibilities, including response to disasters like Hurricane
Katrina, focus on transportation, energy and housing, as well as
repair and inspection of Corps projects such as the levee systems
in the New Orleans area. The Corps also played a critical role in
debris removal, temporary roofing and construction of temporary
public facilities such as police stations and city halls, among
others. “I lead the world’s largest public service engineering organization,
and so I’m interested in staying in touch with the latest and greatest
in technology, and clearly you are on the cutting edge here in Hattiesburg,”
Strock said.
Click to enlarge
ENGINEERS COMMANDER—University of Southern Mississippi president Shelby Thames, left, talks with Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, right, commander and chief of engineers for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Southern Miss distinguished lecturer Buford Blount, center, a retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. who commanded the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, the lead force in defeating the Iraqi army and capturing Baghdad, Tuesday on the Hattiesburg, Miss., campus. Strock was on campus to be briefed on some of the university's programs, such as construction engineering technology, and to give a public address about hurricane recovery efforts. (Southern Miss Public Relations photo by Steve Rouse)
Click to enlarge
ENGINEERS COMMANDER—University of Southern Mississippi president Shelby Thames, left, talks with Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, commander and chief of engineers for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Southern Miss polymer science professor Marek Urban, Tuesday on the Hattiesburg, Miss., campus. Strock was on campus to be briefed on some of the university's programs and to give a public address about hurricane recovery efforts. (Southern Miss Public Relations photo by Steve Rouse)
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