Mines Office of Research & Technology Transfer

Spotlight on International Collaboration: Colorado School of Mines and Universidad Nacional de San Agustin de Arequipa (UNSA) in Peru recently announced a third phase of joint sustainable mining research to be conducted through the Center for Mining Sustainability. This phase will include $4.2M in funding for four new projects: ?? Development of a publicly available groundwater model for the sustainable management of aquifers of the Arequipa Region, led by John Mccray, professor of civil and environmental engineering ?? A pilot plant to repurpose mine tailings to produce concrete and bricks, led by Reza Hedayat, associate professor of civil & environmental engineering ?? Development of a sustainable, nature-based treatment system called a unit process open water (UPOW) wetland that utilizes colonized microorganisms to produce an adaptable, scalable design, led by Josh Sharp, professor and associate department head of civil and environmental engineering ?? Identification and characterization of deposits of rare earth minerals in Southern Peru in conjunction with economic, environmental, and market analyses to prepare for development of these resources, led by Rod Eggert, research professor of Mines Division of Economics and Business Including the latest phase, this highly productive partnership has supported more than 40 Mines researchers and 30 UNSA researchers, provided over $19M in funding, and supported 21 distinct projects. “Mines is excited to continue our incredibly productive collaboration with UNSA,” said Paul Santi, director of the Center for Mining Sustainability and professor of Mines Geology and Geological Engineering.?“Over the years we have seen the positive benefits of our work on the local communities, reducing environmental impacts and developing new tools for them to manage their resources. This new phase of research moves us even further into the implementation and application of research.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/gyybfqWH For more information about the Center for Mining Sustainability: https://lnkd.in/g3YS3WKT #InnovationWithImpact

Colorado School of Mines earned ongoing recognition of its R1 status in the 2025?Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. This honor recognizes Mines in the?highest tier of research universities in the United States. “R1 status is an achievement that only the top five percent of research institutions nationwide earn, and Mines’ continued recognition reflects the dedication of the Mines research community to drive innovation with impact,” said Walter Copan, Vice President of Mines Office of Research & Technology Transfer. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gmr57SR6 #InnovationWithImpact

? Colorado School of Mines researchers are using math to optimize energy flow: Samy Wu Fung and Daniel McKenzie, both researchers and assistant professors of Applied Mathematics and Statistics at Colorado School of Mines, are combining optimization models and machine learning to deal with real-world obstacles in flow paths, like delivery routes through traffic. They have developed tools that integrate optimization algorithms into deep learning models and are tackling an important, but often overlooked portion of our infrastructure – the power grid. ? Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gfYv69vd

The Colorado School of Mines Shared Instrumentation Facility (SIF) is partnering with Manufacturer's Edge to give Colorado manufacturers access to cutting-edge research tools and expertise. This collaboration empowers manufacturers with advanced imaging, failure analysis, materials characterization, and more—boosting innovation and efficiency. #Innovation #Manufacturing #Partnership #Colorado Mines Office of Research & Technology Transfer

Highlighting the important work of our colleagues at the Payne Institute for Public Policy at Colorado School of Mines through the Native American Mining and Energy Sovereignty (NAMES) initiative. “I am honored to lead this groundbreaking initiative at the Payne Institute, where our team will work together to empower Native Nations to become leaders in research and development, to responsibly harness their critical energy resources and human talent to build thriving economies, and to create a legacy of sustainable prosperity for generations to come.” - Richard Luarkie, Director of NAMES. Read more about Dr. Luarkie's appointment as Director of NAMES: https://lnkd.in/gBMuqv-5

Did you know geothermal energy could supply 10 percent of the nation’s baseload power but currently makes up just 0.4 percent of U.S. electricity? This untapped resource has the potential to bolster America’s energy security while supporting sectors like data centers, AI infrastructure and military bases. The Atlantic Council hosted a fireside chat with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis moderated by Jeremy Harrell, CEO of ClearPath followed by a panel of experts, including Colorado School of Mines’ own Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, for a discussion on geothermal energy’s challenges and opportunities. Dr. Bazilian brings extensive expertise in energy policy and analysis to this conversation, leading Mines’ efforts to deliver impactful, policy-driven research on energy and environmental issues. The expert panel was moderated by Reed Blakemore, Director of Research and Programs, Atlantic Council Global Energy Center and in addition to Dr. Bazilian, it included Ravi Chaudhary, Former Assistant Secretary of the United States Air Force for Energy, Installations, and Environment, Brian George, US Federal Lead, Global Energy Market Policy and Development at Google, Tim Latimer, CEO and Co-Founder of Fervo Energy, and Jack Waldorf, Executive Director of Western Governors' Association. Watch the recording of the event here: https://lnkd.in/dkiWFaw2 #InnovationWithImpact

At Colorado School of Mines, researchers are pushing the boundaries on the complexity of environments in which robots can effectively operate – working toward truly autonomous operation in real-world situations. We have all witnessed the advances in robotics that have allowed robots to move and operate independently in specific and controlled environments, from vacuuming, to assembling components, to self-driving cars. But when robots face roadblocks, they lack the ability to independently find valid alternatives. Mines' Associate Professor of Computer Science Neil Dantam and CS alumni and Assistant Professor at Washington State University Sihui Li are developing new algorithms that consider different motions and paths, enabling robots to identify roadblocks and determine alternative steps and solutions. According to Dr. Dantam, "With industrial robots, you often pre-program specific steps. But if you drop a robot in a less structured or unstructured environment like my kitchen, you may have a task that the robot does not do a million times or even 100 times but maybe just once. That’s the kind of scenario we’re thinking about—domestic services, things like custom manufacturing. You’re not going to do the typical industrial robot programming to make a single thing one time. But if you’re able to say, “This is what I want at the end. Now, robot, you figure out all the steps to do that,” that’s the idea. That’s what has previously not been feasible but what we’re making progress toward." Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gt2Dwgp9 #InnovationWithImpact

Congratulations to Colorado School of Mines physicists Kyle Leach, Joseph Smolsky, and their team which includes Mines undergraduate and graduate researches and Shared Instrumentation Facility (SIF) at Colorado School of Mines Director David Diercks for co-authoring a recent article that appeared in Nature Portfolio's flagship journal, Nature! The article presents a new method* that can measure the "quantum size" of a neutrino using "tabletop-scale" precision measurements. This breakthrough is important because it offers crucial insights for theoretical models of neutrino behavior and paves the way for future studies on subatomic particles. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” according to Dr. Leach. “Our findings could have far-reaching implications, from refining the standard model of particle physics to improving methods for detecting neutrinos from nuclear reactors and astrophysical sources. We are excited for what comes next.” *This novel method is part of the BeEST (pronounced “beast”) Experiment, an international collaboration that employs the use of tabletop-scale measurements to examine and understand the fundamental particles and interactions of our universe. In addition to Mines researchers, BeEST major contributors include researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, TRIUMF, and institutions across Europe and is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Read the Mines Newsroom PR: https://lnkd.in/gNwSsdhP Read the article in Nature: https://lnkd.in/ggjejM8i Find out more about BeEST: https://beest.mines.edu/ #InnovationWithImpact

Did you know that researchers at Colorado School of Mines are creating the materials and technologies essential for advancing the aerospace industry into the future? ?? A recent article in the Mines Research Magazine explains the reason that materials play such a critical role in aerospace technologies: "As the aerospace industry reaches new heights, the demand for advanced materials has never been more critical. Traditional materials often fall short in meeting the rigorous demands of modern aerospace applications. Mines stands at the center of this innovation. Renowned for its expertise in materials science and engineering, the university closely collaborates with aerospace companies and organizations to foster an environment where academic research and industrial application intersect. Researchers are leading projects to advance aircraft and space technologies that can withstand extreme temperatures and stress and take on new environments beyond Earth." Read more to discover some of the areas where Mines researchers are redefining what's possible across aviation and space exploration: https://lnkd.in/gYsQP2Kt Shout out to Zhenzhen Yu, associate professor of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering and Christopher Dreyer, professor of practice in Mechanical Engineering at Colorado School of Mines who were interviewed for this story. #InnovationWithImpact

Welcome back to Mines, Dr. Stefanie Tompkins! The Mines Office of Research & Technology Transfer team is looking forward to working with you again!