Of the companies on the list, three of the Top 10 were owned by Texas A&M Engineering graduates. Andersen Schoel of Harker Heights, Texas, was first on the list and experienced a compound annual growth rate of 287 percent in the past two years. Houston’s Employer Flexible was third on the list and College Station’s Brazos Technology was fifth.

The “Aggie 100” focuses on growth as an indicator of job creation, product acceptance and entrepreneurial vision. Recipients of the award were selected based on compound annual revenue growth rate for the 2006 to 2008 period. In all, companies from seven states and five countries will be honored at the event. The oldest company on the list was founded in 1916.

Aggie engineer-owned businesses making the list:

Advanced Inspection Technologies    (Spring, Texas)
Michael Beard ’90
Senior Technical Advisor, Managing Partner
Bachelor’s degree, Engineering Technology

AgniTEK (Bryan, Texas)
Antonio Ortiz ’99
Director of Operations, Owner
Bachelor’s degree, Engineering Technology

Andersen Schoel (Harker Heights, Texas)
J.C. Schoel ’00
VP Sales and Business Development, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Industrial Distribution

Baker Engineering and Risk Consultants (San Antonio)
Quentin A. Baker ’78
President, Owner
Bachelor’s degree, Mechanical Engineering

Barhorst Insurance Group (Houston)
Warren Barhorst ’88
CEO, Owner, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Industrial Distribution

Bray International, Inc. (Houston)
Craig C. Brown ’75
President & CEO, Owner, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Civil Engineering
David W. Gent ’75
Senior VP, Owner
Bachelor’s degree, Electrical Engineering

Brazos Technology (College Station, Texas)
Michael McAleer ’92
President, Owner, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Industrial Distribution

CAPSHER Technology, Inc. (College Station, Texas)
Kay Stefan Capps ’83
President, Owner
Bachelor’s degrees, Industrial Distribution and Computer Science

Catapult Systems Inc. (Austin)
Sam T. Goodner ’90
CEO, Owner
Bachelor’s degree, Computer Science
David Jacobson ’90
Owner
Bachelor’s degree, Computer Science
Andrew Montz ’90
GM, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Computer Science

Chaparral Energy, Inc. (Oklahoma City)
Mark A. Fischer ’72
Chairman, CEO, President, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Aeronautical Engineering

CIMA ENERGY, LTD. (Houston)
Thomas K. Edwards ’87
President, COO, Owner, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Petroleum Engineering
Peter D. Huddleston ’80
Director, Owner
Bachelor’s degree, Petroleum Engineering

Command Commissioning, LLC (Irving, Texas)
Ken Meline ’82
President, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Mechanical Engineering
John Hatcher ’82
Sr. Vice President, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Mechanical Engineering

Corkran Energy, LP (Austin)
Dennis Corkran ’77
President, Owner, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Mechanical Engineering

Cowboy Adventures, Inc. (Highlands, Texas)
DBA Cowboy Outfitters
John W. Adams ’70
President, Owner
Bachelor’s degree, Chemical Engineering

Coyle Engineering, Inc. (Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas)
H. Michael Coyle, Jr. ’82
President, Owner, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Civil Engineering

D.S.I. S.A. (Antofagasta, Chile)
Gregory E. Hall ’82
President, CEO, Owner, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Engineering Technology

Dailey Electric, Inc. (College Station, Texas)
Chris Dailey ’93
President, Owner
Bachelor’s degree, Industrial Distribution

Desert Industrial X-Ray, LP (Odessa, Texas)
Douglas Frey ’77
CEO, Owner, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Mechanical Engineering

Dore & Associates, Attorneys, P.C. (Houston)
Carl Dore ’77
President, Owner
Bachelor’s degree, Petroleum Engineering

Employer Flexible (Houston)
Michael Greathouse ’98
Founding Partner, Owner
Bachelor’s degree, Industrial Distribution

Forest Oil Corporation (Denver)
H. Craig Clark ’79
President and CEO
Bachelor’s degree, Mechanical Engineering

GEODynamics, Inc. (The Woodlands, Texas)
David S. Wesson ’82
CEO, President, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Agricultural Engineering

GR Birdwell Construction (Houston)
Gene Birdwell ’59
CEO, Owner, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Civil Engineering

Integral Power, LLC (Houston)
Ted Boriack ’85
Managing Director, Owner, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Electrical Engineering
Ray Deyoe ’91
Managing Director, Owner, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Chemical Engineering

Latshaw Drilling & Exploration Co.    (Tulsa, Okla.)
Trent B. Latshaw ’75
President, Owner
Bachelor’s degree, Petroleum Engineering

LiquidFrameworks (Houston)
Travis Parigi ’94
President, Owner, Founder
Bachelor’s degrees, Computer Engineering and Computer Science        TEXAS

LNV (Corpus Christi, Texas)
Dan Leyendecker ’90
President, Owner
Bachelor’s degree, Civil Engineering
Derek Naiser ’89
Vice President, Owner
Bachelor’s degree, Civil Engineering
Robert Viera ’92
Vice President, Owner
Bachelor’s degree, Civil Engineering

Lockard and White, Inc. (Houston)
Marc Lockard ’72
CEO, Owner
Bachelor’s degree, Electrical Engineering

Margarita Naturalmente, S.A. de C.V. (Jiutepec, Mexico)
Gordon Ivan Townsend ’81
Director General, Owner, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical Rep, Inc. (Austin)
Larry R. Bloomquist ’79
President/CEO
Bachelor’s degree, Mechanical Engineering

Miner El Paso, Ltd. (El Paso, Texas)
Phil Miner ’80
Chairman
Bachelor’s degree, Ocean Engineering

Miner Fleet Management Group (San Antonio)
Phil Miner ’80
Chairman
Bachelor’s degree, Ocean Engineering

Miner Houston, Ltd. (Houston)
Phil Miner ’80
Chairman
Bachelor’s degree, Ocean Engineering

Mustang Engineering (Houston)
Steve Knowles ’84
President
Bachelor’s degree, Mechanical Engineering

New Tech Engineering (Houston)
Larry Cress ’76
President/CEO, Owner, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Petroleum Engineering

Path Consulting Ltd. (Houston)
Paul Mason ’85
President, Owner, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Mechanical Engineering

Premier Placement Media (The Woodlands, Texas)
David Gedeon ’96
President, Owner
Bachelor’s degree, Industrial Distribution

Sendero Business Services (Dallas)
Bret Farrar ’88
President of the GP, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Mechanical Engineering

Sledge Engineering, LLC (Taylor, Texas)
Casey Sledge ’93
President, Owner, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Civil Engineering

Stress Engineering Services Inc. (Houston)
Joe R. Fowler ’68
President, Owner, Founder
Bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate, Mechanical Engineering
Tom Asbill ’66
Sr. VP, Owner
Bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Mechanical Engineering
Randy Long ’75
VP, Owner
Bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Civil Engineering
Jack Miller ’74
VP, Owner
Bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Mechanical Engineering
Ron Young ’67
VP, Owner
Master’s degree and doctorate, Civil Engineering

Terry Ray Construction, Inc. (Brownsville, Texas)
Terry A. Ray ’79
President, Owner, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Industrial Distribution

The Payton Company (Austin)
Richard Payton ’84
President, Owner, Founder
Bachelor’s degree, Petroleum Engineering

theBIGzoo (Magnolia, Texas)
Chris Gober ’96
Owner
Bachelor’s degrees, Computer Engineering and Computer Science

Guidelines for “Aggie 100″

To be considered for the “Aggie 100,” companies (corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships) must operate in a manner consistent with the Aggie Code of Honor and in keeping with the values and image of Texas A&M. They must also meet the following criteria:

• Have been in business for five years or more as of June 30, 2009; and

• Have had verifiable revenues of $100,000 or more for calendar year 2006

Additionally, the company must meet one of the following leadership criteria:

• A Texas A&M former student or group of former students must have owned 50 percent or more of the company from Jan. 1, 2006, through Dec. 31, 2008, or

• A Texas A&M former student must have served as the company’s chief executive (for example chairman, CEO, president or managing partner) from Jan. 1, 2006, through Dec. 31, 2008, or

• A Texas A&M former student must have founded the company and been active as a member of the most senior management team from Jan. 1, 2006 through Dec. 31, 2008.

About the “Aggie 100″

The “Aggie 100,” one-of-a-kind at the college level, was created by Mays Business School’s Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship, whose mission is to provide encouragement, education, networking and assistance to entrepreneurially-minded students, faculty and Texas businesses. “Aggie 100″ is a unique way for Texas A&M University to demonstrate its pride in the accomplishments of its former students while enriching the educational experience for today’s students.

While there are many ways to define business success, the “Aggie 100″ focuses on growth as an indicator of job creation, product acceptance and entrepreneurial vision. The “Aggie 100″ identifies, recognizes and celebrates the 100 fastest growing Aggie-owned or Aggie-led businesses in the world.

About the Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship

The Texas A&M Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship provides encouragement, education, networking and assistance to entrepreneurially-minded students, faculty and Texas businesses. Founded in 1999, the center is part of Mays Business School’s Department of Management. The center enhances student education through campus speakers, competitions, work experiences and financial support. The Texas A&M faculty and Office of Technology Commercialization benefit from the center’s educational programs, extensive business community network and the entrepreneurial services.

The center also reaches out to the state’s business community offering educational programs, business assistance and access to university resources. The center is supported by corporate and individual members and sponsors who believe in the value of an entrepreneurial education program and the value of Texas businesses working with Texas A&M University.

CONTACT: Kelli Levey at Texas A&M, 979-845-4645 or klevey@tamu.edu; Lenae M. Huebner, assistant director, Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship, 979-845-4882 or lhuebner@mays.tamu.edu; or Rich Mullikin, Hollinden Marketing, 925-779-9115 or rich.mullikin@sbcglobal.net.

Deimund ’10 is from Oklahoma City. The president of Texas A&M’s American Institute of Chemical Engineers chapter, his recent research on biomass processing has garnered him a patent, and his current research involves systems biology in liver cells. He is also an avid strength trainer and enjoys classical literature. If selected as a Marshall Scholar, Deimund said he will study advanced chemical engineering at Cambridge University. He said he will also apply for the Winston Churchill Foundation Scholarship and the Gates-Cambridge Scholarship.

Deimund was recently named a 2009 recipient of the Craig C. Brown Outstanding Senior Award from the Dwight Look College of Engineering.

The Marshall Scholarship is tenable for two years of study at any university in the United Kingdom. Students must be graduating seniors or recent graduates and be nominated by the university. Hundreds of students from across the United States apply each year; only 40 of the approximately 1,100 who applied for the Marshall Scholarship in 2008 were selected as scholars.

Nominees will hear of their selection as finalists in the next one to two weeks. Finalists will then participate in regional or district interviews in Houston in November. The announcement of scholars will be announced shortly thereafter.

Texas A&M University has produced four Marshall Scholars, the most recent being Faye Hays in 2007. In the 2009 competition, biochemistry major Matthew Hickey was a finalist for the Marshall.

The Marshall Scholarships began in 1953 as a gesture of thanks from the British Government for the US assistance in rebuilding Europe after World War II. Former Marshall Scholars include Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and New York Times Foreign Affairs columnist Thomas Friedman. According to the Marshall Scholarship Foundation, as future leaders, Marshall Scholars are “expected to strengthen the enduring relationship between the British and American peoples, their governments and their institutions. Marshall Scholars are talented, independent and wide-ranging, and their time as Scholars enhances their intellectual and personal growth. Their direct engagement with Britain through its best academic programmes contributes to their ultimate personal success.”

Because of the fierce competition for these scholarships, the preliminary process to be selected as an official university nominee is quite rigorous. Currently enrolled students and recent graduates should apply for selection in April, with the official deadline for the scholarships being in early October. To be awarded the university’s nomination, a student must show strong scholarly potential, demonstrated through their academic record and letters of recommendation from faculty, leadership ability, demonstrated through their involvement in student and civic organizations, and excellent speaking and analytical skills, as demonstrated in a series of interviews.

Once approved, prospective nominees can expect to spend months developing their applications as they work closely under the advice and guidance of faculty and academic advisors. The official announcement of university endorsement is made only after the nominees submit their finalized application to the scholarship foundations.

For more information, contact Kyle Mox, national scholarships coordinator in the Honors Programs office, at (979)845-1957 or kemox@tamu.edu.

http://dmc-news.tamu.edu/templates/?a=8146&z=15

Dr. Ivan Damnjanovic

Dr. Ivan Damnjanovic, assistant professor of construction engineering and management in the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering, has been appointed to an ad hoc committee by The National Academies’ Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences.

The project, Predicting Outcomes from Investments in the Maintenance and Repair of Federal Facilities, has a committee of experts who will develop methods, strategies, and procedures to predict outcomes anticipated from investments in federal facilities’ maintenance and repair. The project will begin Dec. 1 and run for 18 months.

Damnjanovic received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 2006 and joined the Texas A&M University faculty in August 2006.

The Zachry Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M was named in 2005 in honor of the generous and longstanding support of the Zachry Foundation of San Antonio, Texas. The department is one of the largest civil engineering programs in the world and consistently ranks among the top departments in the United States. The undergraduate and graduated programs is ranked eighth and the graduate program eighth among public institutions in the most recent U.S. News & World Report rankings.

Written by Cassidy Thomas

Kennedy’s talk, “Toward Optimal Team Processes: How Interventions Can Create Process Gains,” is part of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering’s seminar series, sponsored by Parsons.

Abstract
The increasing implementation of teams in organizations has motivated research regarding team processes and performance. This study focuses on how mental model convergence, a cognitive process, unfolds to impact team performance. Based on the interplay between cognitive and communicative processes, team communication patterns evoking the underlying mental model convergence process of baseline, intervention, and optimal teams are examined. The baseline team data, collected in a laboratory setting, inform a simulation model of communication from which intervention team data are generated. The performance of these intervention teams is assessed on a neural network performance model. Teams with optimal communication patterns are discovered using genetic algorithm procedures for combinatorial problems with multiple objectives. Results indicate that by shifting the timing of communication patterns using interventions, the mental model convergence process emulates those of optimal teams and process gains are created.

Biography
Dr. Deanna M. Kennedy is a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Texas A&M University. She received her Ph.D. in management science at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. She holds an M.B.A. from Golden Gate University at San Francisco and a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of California, Davis. In 2007, she received the Isenberg Award from U-Mass for academic merit and commitment to the integration of science, engineering and management.

Submitted by Katherine Edwards, kedwards@tamu.edu

Dr. Arul Jayaraman

Understanding how certain pathogenic bacteria strains such as E. coli cause infection in people begins with unraveling the complex “talk” between the trillions of cells living in the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract, says Arul Jayaraman, a Texas A&M University researcher who has developed an artificial system that mimics the unique bacteria-laden environment of the human GI tract.

The system is detailed this month in Lab on a Chip, a scientific journal published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, the largest organization in Europe for advancing the chemical sciences.

It represents a significant step in understanding bacterial interactions in the GI tract because it accurately simulates conditions within that area by enabling human epithelial cells to grow in balance with the naturally occurring bacteria (termed “commensal”) that reside in the GI tract.

Traditionally, growing both types of these cells simultaneously in a laboratory environment has been difficult because bacteria reproduce at a much faster rate than epithelial cells and tend to monopolize the nutrients needed by the epithelial cells, says Jayaraman, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University.

“If you try to achieve this in a cell-culture dish what happens is that you have a very nutrient-rich environment that bacteria basically thrive in, dividing rapidly,” Jayaraman says. “You can start with the same number of cells, relatively in proportion, but the bacteria will keep dividing, taking up all of the nutrients. Epithelial cells then do not get what they need. They are typically more finicky than bacterial cells. The numbers then kick in, and it is an exponential process where you will soon have millions of bacteria outnumbering epithelial cells, which will soon die.”

That doesn’t happen in Jayaraman’s model, which grows the epithelial and commensal cell colonies separately before allowing them to interact as they would in the gut. Once the two types of cells are interacting in the right balance, Jayaraman can recreate the sequence of events in a GI tract infection by introducing a foreign pathogen — in this case, enterohemorrhagic E. coli — to the cells within his model.

Previous studies have just added pathogenic bacteria into colonies of endothelial cells, but this approach does not replicate the cellular interactions and chemical signals present in the human GI tract, says Jayaraman, who holds the Ray Nesbitt Professorship at Texas A&M.

“If you really want to understand how the commensal bacteria that are in the GI tract either prevent or enhance infection, you need to have a way in which you can actually recreate the system with both components present – the commensal cells and the epithelial cells,” Jayaraman says. “To our knowledge, this is the first report describing co-culture of bacteria and epithelial cells and its application to investigate pathogen colonization and infection.”

Commensal bacteria, he explains, produce a wide range of bacterial signals, and the concentration of these signals in the GI tract is extremely high.

These signals, he adds, are given off during normal metabolic processes of the cells. While there is no evidence to suggest that they were created specifically for defensive purposes, some of these signals have evolved to act as a line of defense. Others may actually enhance a pathogen’s infectious potential, he says. For the invading pathogen, it’s a matter of “talking” to the right cells and avoiding the “wrong” ones.

It’s a game of “push and pull” that is further complicated by the fact that the strength of these signal levels varies, Jayaraman says. For example, a person may be under a lot of stress, which can cause stress hormones to be high and might in turn diminish the signals that aid in defense against a pathogen. Other times, a gastric disease might kill some of these cells that are emitting a protective signal, lowering the overall strength of the signal and making a person more susceptible to serious infection, Jayaraman notes.

So far, Jayaraman’s model has yielded some interesting findings, shedding light on the constant array of signals being emitted within the GI tract and their effects on invading pathogens. One of those findings reveals how indole, a chemical produced by commensal cells within the GI tract, acts a signal to foreign pathogens.

“Indole already has been shown as an important signal for communication between bacteria,” Jayaraman says. “We are looking at how pathogens might also be affected by indole, and we are seeing that they are indeed affected.”

Specifically, if a pathogen passes through bacteria that produce indole, the pathogen will become less infectious, Jayaraman explains. Conversely, if it passes through bacteria where there is no indole, the pathogen retains it same degree of virulence.

“In a sense, the pathogen is looking for weak points in a ‘wall’ of defense,” Jayaraman says. “We believe this can be applied to several other signals. There might be signals that increase a pathogen’s infectiousness. Does it choose a location in the wall where it can pass through without decreasing its infectious potential, or does it look for a place where its infectiousness is enhanced?”

Contact: Arul Jayaraman, (979) 845-3306, arulj@tamu.edu

Written by Ryan A. Garcia, (979) 845-9237, ryan.garcia99@tamu.edu

Her talk, “Digital Magnetofluidics and Molecular Separations in a Drop,” is part of the Department of Biomedical Engineering’s seminar series.

Abstract
Digital magnetofluidics consists of a novel drop manipulation microfluidic technique. It relies on magnetic fields to control the movement of drops in air, on silicon nanowire (Si NW) superhydrophobic surfaces, using magnetizable micro‐ or nano‐ particles. Key operations such as movement, coalescence, and splitting of aqueous and biological fluid drops, as well as electrochemical measurement of dopamine and glucose have been demonstrated. It is possible to create pH gradients in a drop for protein electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing. Fractions with different pI ranges can be obtained through drop splitting. Digital magnetofluidics‐based protein separations can be performed with extreme ease and simplicity, working with proteins in either native or denaturized state, in a few minutes and using low voltage, and also holds promise as a method for removing albumin from serum samples for blood analyses. This is a technology with great potential as a means for rapid preparation and analysis of microliter‐sized biological fluid samples.

Submitted by Nicole Priolo, npriolo@bme.tamu.edu

Dr. Brian Marcus

Marcus’s talk, “Computing the Entropy of Two-dimensional Shifts of Finite Type,” is part of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering Distinguished Lecturer Series.

An open reception will immediately follow Marcus’ presentation.

Abstract
A one-dimensional shift of finite type (SFT) is the set of infinite sequences that do not contain, as a sub-word, any finite word in a given finite list. The simplest example is the golden mean shift, which is defined as the set of all infinite binary sequences which do not contain the word “11″ (i.e.., 1’s are isolated). SFT’s are ubiquitous as models of dynamical systems and also as constraints imposed on sequences to improve the performance of data recording systems. Perhaps the most fundamental quantity associated to an SFT is its entropy (called “topological entropy” in dynamical systems and “capacity” in information theory); entropy is defined as the asymptotic growth rate of the number of allowed finite words in the system. The entropy is easily computable as the log of the largest eigenvalue of a nonnegative integer matrix. For instance, the entropy of the golden mean shift is the log of the golden mean.

A two-dimensional SFT is defined as the set of tilings of the integer lattice that do not contain as a sub-array any finite array in a given finite list. Two-dimensional SFT’s are much less understood than their one-dimensional counterparts. In particular, there is no known closed-form expression for the entropy, which is defined as the asymptotic growth rate of the number of allowed arrays in the system. Even for the simple case of the two-dimensional golden mean shift (also known as the hard square model), which is defined as the set of all binary tilings that do not contain two adjacent 1’s, horizontally or vertically, there is no known explicit formula.

In this talk, we present recent results in joint work with Erez Louidor and Ronnie Pavlov. These include improved numerical approximations to entropy of specific SFT’s and their cousins (sofic shifts), numerical approximation schemes which are provably exponentially accurate for a class of SFT’s including the two-dimensional golden mean shift, and a few new exact computations of entropy.

Biography
Dr. Brian Marcus received his B.A. from Pomona College and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, both in mathematics. His main research interests are in symbolic dynamics and information theory. He has been on the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the research staff of the IBM Almaden Research Center. He has held visiting and adjunct positions at several universities, including UC-Berkeley and Stanford University. He has been professor of mathematics at the University of British Columbia since 2002, serving as head of the mathematics department from 2002 to 2007. He is an IEEE Fellow, was co-recipient of the IEEE Leonard G. Abraham Prize Paper Award, co-author of An Introduction to Symbolic Dynamics and Coding (Cambridge University Press), has published extensively in mathematics and engineering journals, and holds 12 U.S. patents.

Faculty Contact: Dr. Anxiao (Andrew) Jiang, ajiang@cse.tamu.edu

Submitted by Tony Okonski, tonyo@cse.tamu.edu

Mannan, who also holds the title of regents professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M, is scheduled to present “Making the right Decision: What we Learn From History” at 1 p.m. Wednesday ( Nov. 4) at the Cedar Rapids Marriott Hotel.

This year’s conference theme is “Safety at Risk: Choice and Influence.”

Mannan, a professional engineer and certified safety professional, is an internationally recognized expert on process safety and risk assessment. He is a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and a member of the American Society of Safety Engineers, International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration and National Fire Protection Association. In addition to his many professional honors and achievements, Mannan has served as a consultant to numerous entities in both the academic and private sectors, including the Columbia Accident Investigation Board.

In addition to Mannan’s address, the conference also will feature keynote presentations from John S. Bresland, chairman and chief executive officer of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, and John Henshaw, former assistant secretary of labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Written by Ryan Garcia, ryan.garcia99@tamu.edu

In photos available at http://friendfeed.com/spaceastro/1b5b5a02/ares-i-x-cord-is-loose-from-5-hole-probe-launch-now, the left top picture shows the probe at the tip of the rocket.

NASA’s Ares I-X test rocket lifted off Oct. 28, at 11:30 a.m. EDT from Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a two-minute–powered flight. The flight test lasted about six minutes from its launch from the newly modified Launch Complex 39B until splashdown of the rocket’s booster stage nearly 150 miles downrange.

Courtesy of http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/ares/flighttests/aresIx/index.html

The competition, which is considered the world’s most prestigious computer programming competition, will pit teams from eight universities against each other as they vie for the regional championship and a chance to advance to the World finals that will be held in February 2010 in Harbin, China.

The best and the brightest information technology students from around the globe will compete for awards, scholarships, prizes and bragging rights to the “world’s smartest trophy.”

During the competition, teams of three students will be challenged to use their programming skills and rely on their mental endurance to solve complex, real-world problems under a grueling deadline.

Tackling these problems is equivalent to completing a semester’s worth of computer programming in one afternoon. The team that solves the most problems correctly in the least amount of time will win a coveted spot in the world finals.

In addition to Texas A&M, other schools competing in the regional include: Baylor University; Rice University; Southwestern University; Texas State University; The University of Texas at Austin; Trinity University; and the University of Houston.

Last year, Texas A&M had three teams compete in the competition, with one of the teams finishing third overall in the south regional, which included 68 teams competing at four sites.

The ICP was started at Texas A&M in 1970 and has grown to include teams in approximately 90 countries on six continents.

Written by Tim Schnettler, tschnettler@tamu.edu