The 2012 MATHCOUNTS Missouri Western Chapter competition is quickly approaching and we are in need of volunteers to help the day run as smooth as possible.  For those of you that are not familiar with MATHCOUNTS, it is a competition for 6^th-8^th grade students giving them an opportunity and incentive to test and showcase their math skills (for more information, visit www.mathcounts.org).  This year’s local competition includes 10 schools and a total of 100 students! 

Attention all potential volunteers:

The FIRST Lego League tournament needs volunteer judges for the FLL Qualifier Tournaments to be held on December 3 (Kearney Jr. High) and December 10th (Bingham Middle School, Independence, Mo). The championship event is held at Union Station on January 14th.  Visit http://www.firstlegoleague.org/ for more information about FLL.

The judges work in pairs to judge projects, core values and robot design. Training in using the scoring rubrics will be held on Wednesday, November 30th at Time Warner Cable, 6550 Winchester, KCMO, from 7-8:00 pm. (If needed, a separate training may be scheduled.)

If you are interested, contact Cindy Howard, FLL volunteer coordinator, at cindy@crhowardarchitect.com.

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS
KANSAS CITY SECTION, GEOTECHNICAL COMMITTEE
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2011

PLACE:       UMKC , Room 402 New Student Union,  50^th and Cherry, KCMO

PARKING: Metered Lots are available (SEE ATTACHEDMAP).

TIME: 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.     – Social / hors d’oeuvres – beverages
                 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.     – Presentation

COST: $10.00, $3.00 – for students

RESERVATIONS:     Contact Mike Schmidt w/ TSi, at mschmitz@tsi-engineering.com or 913-749-4010 by Monday, December 5th, 2011.  (Should you want to come and forget to confirm, please come anyway)

PROGRAM:         Landslides and the Development of Hazard Maps for Northeast Kansas

In 1997, the Kansas Geological Survey began an effort to map the landslide hazards of northeastern Kansas.  The pilot area was Atchison, because of the steep bluffs along the Missouri River.  For the Atchison pilot project, aerial photographs of several dates were combined with the data from the civil engineer’s office, and a field reconnaissance to produce a map of landslide features.  The map included recent landslides and slope areas that have features related to dormant landslides.  This data was digitized, along with a geologic map of the pilot area, and a digital elevation model (DEM).  The DEM was used to produce maps of the slope angle and slope aspect.  The next step was to produce quantitative landslide susceptibility map (landslide hazard map).  Because of the size of the area (two 7½ minute quadrangles) and a lack of knowledge of the distribution of soil properties, deterministic approaches based on soils mechanics could not be used in this area.  Thus, a probabilistic approach was used.  Although many researchers in this field use large numbers of data sets, the KGS approach selected datasets based on the key elements of the deterministic approach: material properties and slope angle.  Geologic data was used as a substitute for material properties that were not available.  The regression equation was solved using a statistical package producing an equation that could be used to determine the landslide hazard probability for each cell in the raster.  The pilot project produced four products: a new geologic map, a map showing the landslide features, landslide hazard map, and a report on the landslides.  Landslide feature and landslide hazard maps were produced for several other areas including the City of Leavenworth.

Eligible for 1.0 Professional Development Hour (PDH) for attending     

UMKC Campus Map

NOTICE OF TECHNICAL PRESENTATION December 8