Colorado School of Mines kicked off Delta Days, a week celebrating and promoting diversity, January 21.

The week began observing Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with a faculty and staff breakfast. At the event, three members of the Mines community were honored for their efforts in enhancing diversity across campus: Maureen Durkin, director of policy and planning; Bruce Goetz, director of undergraduate admissions; and Clifford Sanden, undergraduate student in the Department of Petroleum Engineering.

The recipients of the MLK Day Recognition Award, as it is called, were selected with this criteria:

• Developed an innovative program, policy, or activity which has enhanced diversity within the unit, department, or program.
• Contributed distinctively to fostering understanding and respect for diversity within the campus community.
• Demonstrated a commitment to a philosophy of inclusion by initiating positive interactions between persons of different cultural backgrounds.
• Demonstrated outstanding progress or achievement in one or more of the four priorities of the President’s Diversity Initiative which include: campus climate, broaden and deepen faculty diversity, increase female student enrollment, and increase underrepresented minority enrollment.

Dr. Winston Grady-Willis, professor and department chair of African and African American Studies at Metropolitan State University of Denver was a guest speaker at the event. Dr. Winston Grady-Willis earned a BA in history from Columbia, an MPS in Africana Studies from Cornell, and a PhD in history from Emory. Prior to coming to MSU Denver he was director of intercultural studies and associate professor of American studies at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. While at Syracuse University, where he taught and labored in the Department of African American Studies, he received the Meredith Teaching Recognition Award. His book, "Challenging U.S. Apartheid: Atlanta and Black Struggles for Human Rights," 1960-1977 (Duke), seeks to provide a gendered examination of the contemporary black freedom movement. His articles have appeared in Presence Africaine, The Black Panther Party Reconsidered and Black Prison Movements, USA.

For a full list of Delta Days events, click here.

As it’s often said, the real world can be the best classroom. That’s precisely the idea behind an assignment students in Teaching Professor Chuck Stone’s ENGY 320 Renewable Energy course received: to individually design their own field trips to companies or organizations involved in renewable energy or sustainability and come back with a report.

“It was wide open,” said Stone as students showed off their posters and reports during the Forum on Renewable Energy at Colorado School of Mines, Dec. 6. “If I had told them what to do we wouldn’t have this depth and breadth of projects here. I was incredibly impressed with the variety and creativity.”

The field trips took students from solar companies to train stations and even elementary schools.

Senior Katherine Bony contacted engineers at Wheat Ridge based Major Geothermal learning how engineers at the company access heat energy from below the earth’s surface.

“I learned all about the different types of geothermal [systems]. I originally thought there was only vertical, but there’s horizontal, there are slinky loops. It all depends on the thermal conductivity of the ground,” said Bony.

Bony’s experience also led to an internship opportunity with the company.

Senior Kristen Heiden reported on her experience working with civil engineers working on the LEED certification for the Union Station redevelopment project in Denver.

“What I think is really neat is Union Station has a big waste management system,” said Heiden. “They use waste material to help in the construction, but they also recycle a lot of it.”

Heiden also learned how engineers are making the building greener by installing skylights, improving indoor air quality with large fans and planting gardens outside the station.

“It’s a great look at what we can look forward to as engineers when we’re actually designing things,” said Heiden.

Other projects showcased included a bike that measures electrical energy produced from pedaling. The project could be taken to middle and elementary schools as an interactive lesson about energy.

Stone’s ENGY 320 Renewable Energy class is part of the energy minor at Colorado School of Mines. For more information, click here.

Embedded video from
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology

Twin NASA probes orbiting the moon have generated the highest resolution gravity field map of any celestial body.

The new map -- created by the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission -- of which Mines Professor Jeff Andrews-Hanna is a guest scientist -- is allowing scientists to learn about the moon's internal structure and composition in unprecedented detail. Data from the two washing machine-sized spacecraft also will provide a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed and evolved.

The gravity field map reveals an abundance of features never before seen in detail, such as tectonic structures, volcanic landforms, basin rings, crater central peaks, and numerous simple, bowl-shaped craters. Data also show the moon's gravity field is unlike that of any terrestrial planet in our solar system.

These are the first scientific results from the prime phase of the mission, and they are published in three papers in the journal Science.

The news announced Dec. 5 at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union was immediately picked up by numerous news media:

Time

The Guardian

MSNBC

Science

BBC

For more information about the GRAIL mission and its findings, click here.

The 9th Annual Castle of Cans Food Drive at Colorado School of Mines collected more than two tons of food for needy families, Nov. 14.

Fourteen student organizations donated 4,239 pounds of food to be donated to 39 families in the Colorado School of Mines community and the Golden Food Bank.

The annual event harnesses the engineering spirit of Mines students, where cans of food are stacked into creative structures. This year canned good sculptures resembled the Great Sphinx and pyramids of Egypt, the Roman Collosseum, a lighted 'M' on Mount Zion and a Pac Man game.

Read more about Marquez Hall here.

More than 30 universities gathered during the Society of Petroleum Engineers' Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition in San Antonio, Texas, Oct. 8-10. At the conference the universities competed in the PetroBowl, in which the Colorado School of Mines team came in 1st place. 

PetroBowl matches SPE student chapter teams against each other in a fast-paced quiz competition.  The competing teams are challenged to answer both technical and non-technical questions associated with the oil and gas industry.  Hosted annually at SPE ATCE by the Gulf Coast Section Young Professionals, the event has grown in size and popularity since its debut in 2002.

“The fact that success can be measured down to the hundredth of a second is perfectly aligned with being a Mines student,” says Colorado School of Mines swimmer Michaela McNiff, whose major is chemical and biochemical engineering.

She’s right. Mines students work hard for every measure of academic success. And many are also Mines athletes, competing in 18 varsity sports, 16 club sports and an extensive intramural program that embraces the slogan “Get Out and Play.” For them, the athletic pursuits balance  — even complement — Mines’ classroom challenges.

This valuable student experience outside the classroom helps cultivate the future success of the university’s graduates. Mines has unveiled plans for athletic complex improvements that will support student athletes through new and improved training facilities with a focus on health, safety and student recruitment.

“A nice thing about Mines is that you have all these people on your team who are going through the same courses you are, and you naturally form study groups that keep you in line,” notes petroleum engineering major David Pawelek, a senior tight end on the Oredigger football team.

Holly Hutchison, a biochemistry major, says that playing on the volleyball team “has also provided me with an understanding of working as a team in academic settings, which is incredibly valuable.”

“Competing in track and cross country has been invaluable in teaching me about myself and what I need to do to stay healthy and injury-free and be a well-rounded athlete, teammate and friend,” says Marie Patton, an engineering physics major with an Elite-88 Award, presented to the student athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average in his or her sport at NCAA national championship finals.

Many student athletes mention honing skills in both time management and stress management through their participation in sports. Looking ahead, geological engineering major Bradley Nuse says that the Oredigger swim team “has given me new lifelong friends and potential connections and resources later in life.” And for right now, Mines football player and geological engineering major Zachary Newnam says, “Sports have made college the best time of my life.”

How about learning to make tough choices? Russell Drummond, a civil engineering major, shares this story: “My sophomore year I made nationals for the first time in outdoor track. Unfortunately, outdoor nationals and the civil engineering field session directly conflicted. I didn’t want to postpone taking field session until a later year, so I juggled both. I tuned into classes via a webcam and screen-share while I was at nationals. I didn’t run very well, a common phenomenon for a first-time nationals appearance, but I did very well in my field session, earning an A. I think it was an important experience and a good reminder that I was a student-athlete, not just an athlete. Since then my conflicts have been minor in comparison, and a good balance between school and running has been easy to achieve.”

Russell, who’s been named an All-American and Academic All-American multiple times, says, “I was not going to a school without track and cross country, and the fact that Mines track and cross country are near the top of the nation every year was a huge draw.”

Soccer was the draw for chemical engineering major Megan Woodworth, who has been named First Team All-American, First Team Academic All-American, 2010 and 2011 conference Academic Player of the Year, and Sports Woman of Colorado for her achievements on the soccer field. “I wanted to go to a school where I could be challenged academically as well as have the opportunity to play soccer,” she explains. “Mines was the place.”

The women’s basketball program helped attract Catherine Jimenez and Allie Grazulis to Mines, and so did the knowledge that degrees from Mines would mean a lot to their career aspirations. Chemistry major Catherine wants to apply to medical school. Geophysics major Allie wants to return to her home state of Alaska and work in the oil and gas industry.

Through the years, these student athletes became fans of some well-known sports figures. Oredigger volleyball team member and All-American Jacqueline Stabell, who is pursuing degrees in both mechanical engineering and economics, talks of Mia Hamm. “I grew up playing soccer and always loved her. She is the reason that I became number 9 at age four. I’ve been that number in every sport, ever since.”

Bradley Nuse was impressed by 1996 and 2000 Olympics swimmer Amy Van Dyken. “I remember her, after each race, hugging or shaking hands with all her competition. Now I make a point to attempt to shake hands with all the men I race against.”

Michael Jordan has inspired petroleum engineering major Matthew Brown. He says,“I like Jordan because he was so dominant on a nightly basis. It is one thing to break out and be good for a couple games, but a completely different thing to be so consistent.”  Matthew was named conference Offensive Player of the Week following Mines’ 2012 opening football game, which was also his first career start as quarterback. In the spring, Matthew is a pitcher on the Oredigger baseball team.

Of course, the student athletes have some enthusiastic fans behind them too. Catherine Jimenez recalls her father saying, “I would drive all the way to Pittsburgh and back — even to watch you sit on the bench.”

Named First Team All-Region by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and an All-American, Robert Egeberg, who is working toward an M.S. in civil and environmental engineering, says, “My biggest fan is my Grandpa Sal, or Pop as I call him. He was the one who really got me into baseball. He played for the Yankees organization in his younger days, and he has been giving me tips and instruction since I was nine years old — and even to this day. Unfortunately, he can’t watch me as much anymore since he lives in Arizona, but he always watches my games online and will know all the stats and scores before I even tell him about the game.”

And David Pawelek talks about his parents. “They have always been there every step of the way. Although Mines has been difficult academically, my parents have kept pushing me and encouraging me to continue what I started. I am happy because I will be graduating in December.”

Mines celebrated the grand opening of a new comprehensive student wellness center named for former Mines Physician Dr. W. Lloyd Wright, Sept. 14, 2012.

The new facility houses a number of student health and wellness services under one roof, including the Mabel M. Coulter Student Health Center, a student health benefits program office, student disability services, a dental clinic and academic and therapeutic counseling.

With more than 6,500 student visits to campus health and wellness facilities each year, the W. Llloyd Wright Student Wellness Center will greatly benefit the campus community by bringing these services together in a single state-of-the-art facility.

The $3.2 million, 10,000-square-foot building has been made possible in large part by the ongoing generosity of F. Steven and Gayle Mooney through their Galena Foundation. Steve Mooney, a 1956 alumnus and secretary of the CSM Foundation Board of Governors, is Dr. Wright’s nephew. He and his wife chose to name the wellness center for Steve’s uncle as a way to honor his service to the university and the Golden community.

Dr. Wright was awarded the Mines Medal in 1986 for his contributions to the campus community as its part-time physician. He practiced in Golden from 1946 until 1980, serving Mines until the late 1960s and later holding medical director positions at Coors Brewery and Rocky Flats. He and his wife, Jodie retired to Paonia, Colorado, where they remain active in their community.

“The impact of the Mooneys’ giving is seen all across the Mines campus, in the geology department, in the athletics arena, and in facilities such as this new wellness center,” said President Scoggins. “We are exceptionally grateful for their support and their enduring commitment to the mission of the university.”