On Thursday, April 30, UMKC, and the civil engineering program specifically, will receive a national award from the national council of examiners for engineering and surveying (NCEES) – the folks who write the exams for our professional licenses. We are one of six engineering programs nationally who are being recognized for our strong relationship with engineering practitioners. And UMKC is the only school in the Central Time Zone. The award is titled, "2009 NCEES Engineering Award for Connecting Professional Practice and Education", and was given for the interaction between engineering professionals (Tom Kimes, P.E. of HDRand Erich Schmitz of TranSystems) and the UMKC civil engineering capstone class. UMKC's civil engineering capstone class has partnered with the City of Kansas City's Public Works Department since 2003 in which the students complete the design for small, traffic-bearing bridges that the City needs to replace. Kimes, Schmitz and O'Bannon oversee the students' work and help them develop professional skills.