Vol. 30 No.1 - Feb 15, 2026

Students Eligible to Win $10,000 Through Essay Contest 2

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This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Vol. 30 No.1 - Feb 15, 2026
The Robert L. Gould Scholastic Award is an opportunity for students of all majors to submit a research paper for the chance to win up to $10,000.
For more than 30 years, SS&C Technologies, a financial technology company, has sponsored the award to recognize outstanding university students who produce academic papers on topics related to investment management strategies, theories and trends.
The topic for this year is American investment into personal retirement plans. Although Americans have vehicles to save for retirement such as 401ks and IRAs, the median family retirement savings in 2022 was only $87,000 – not enough to retire. Some countries, such as Australia, mandate a retirement contribution for all employees. Other countries, such as France, rely primarily on pensions/defined benefits. What should be done to better prepare Americans for retirement – both by individuals and by the government?

First place will receive $10,000, second place will receive $7,500 and third place will receive $5,000. To apply for the Gould Scholastic Award, students must be a University junior, senior or honors program student. Graduate students are not eligible to participate. Group projects are eligible, but if the group wins, the winning dollars are split equally among the members of the group.

Interested students should contact Yung-hwal Park, associate professor of business administration, at yhpark@truman.edu by Sept. 20.

University Gifted Precision Equipment from Local Man 2

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This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series Vol. 30 No.1 - Feb 15, 2026

The Physical Sciences Department recently received two precision analytical tools with a combined value of approximately $15,000.

Students and faculty members conducting research can now make use of either an Ohaus analytical balance – with a draft shield – or an Ohaus explorer balance, valued at $10,000 and $5,000 respectively. These balances are highly calibrated and can measure the weight of a human hair. To show how precise the balances are, a person could dip a cotton ball in alcohol, place it on the balance and watch the mass decrease in real time as the alcohol evaporates.

The gift comes from John Cross, a retired machinist originally from upstate New York who has been living in Kirksville since 2017. Cross has always had an interest in precision engineering. In recent years, he primarily used the balances as a hobby, and he chose to donate them to Truman because he knows they will be used to educate students.

“I wanted to donate them to someone who could use them,” Cross said. “There are a lot of people over at Truman who could use them. There are a lot of brains over there. I feel fortunate if I can give them something that they can use.”

While Truman already owns similar pieces of equipment, this donation will increase accessibility for students. These balances will be housed in a chemistry lab space. The high-precision balance will be used most commonly in analytical, physical and biochemistry courses, while the other balance could be used across the entire lab curriculum.

 

Brain Lamp, right, and Tim Walston, center, accept a donation of two precision balances from John Cross.