How the U.S. will break China’s rare earth dominance—and how to play it

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, says the public/private partnership that has formed around the firm MP, the largest U.S.-based rare earth company, is a game changer.
September 12, 2025

Scientists discover fresh water reserve under seafloor off of Cape Cod

Brandon Dugan,  professor of geophysics at Colorado School of Mines, joined WBUR's All Things Considered to discuss the eureka moment of discovering a massive reserve of fresh water under the ocean floor off the coast of Cape Cod this summer.
September 11, 2025

America is sitting on a treasure trove of clean-energy minerals – and wasting most of it

Elizabeth Holley, associate professor of mining engineering, is referenced. Holley recently led a study published in Science that examined the critical minerals in the waste streams at U.S. mining operations.
September 10, 2025

San Lazaro mobile home park turns to natural fixes for undrinkable water

Chris Higgins, professor of civil and environmental engineering, is quoted about the discovery of PFAS in Boulder County.
September 9, 2025

Scientists say fresh water under the ocean could help alleviate water scarcity

Brandon Dugan, professor of geophysics, discusses his research on the presence of fresh water trapped under the ocean.
September 9, 2025

Envisioning a neutrino laser

Kyle Leach, professor of physics, authors this article that considers a new type of laser that would use a beam of neutrinos instead of light.
September 8, 2025

This laser would shoot beams of neutrinos, not light

Kyle Leach, professor of physics, says there would be a huge payoff if scientists could accomplish their goal of creating a neutrino laser.
September 8, 2025

Scientists tap ‘secret’ fresh water under the ocean, raising hopes for a thirsty world

Brandon Dugan, professor of geophysics, is interviewed about his study, funded by the National Science Foundation. Dugan's research involves the examination of an aquifer containing fresh water that stretches from New Jersey's coast to as far north as Maine.
September 5, 2025

Colorado School of Mines graduate, pro racecar driver returns to campus to give back to students

Sabre Cook, 2017 mechanical engineering graduate, returns to Mines to talk to students about her car racing career. Cook says what she learned as a mechanical engineering student helps her better understand, and discuss with her race team, the mechanics of how her car is performing in competitions.
September 4, 2025

Waterlogged and contaminated: In rural Florida, locals suspect a mining company is to blame for their flooding troubles

Ron Cohen, emeritus associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, is quoted about radium showing up in flood waters. Cohen said exposure to low levels of radium happens to everyone, but exposure to high levels of radium will cause cancer.
September 4, 2025

Storing carbon underground? There's less room than we thought, new study suggests

Anna Littlefield, geothermal and carbon capture utilization and storage program manager at the Payne Institute for Public Policy, says that there's isn't a "hard cutoff" for how deeply carbon can be buried in an attempt to keep it out of the atmosphere.
September 3, 2025

This startup is racing to be the first to mine helium on the moon

Chris Dreyer, professor of practice in mechanical engineering, is interviewed for this article focusing on a company's plan to mine for Helium-3 on the moon. Helium-3 is primarily used in security scanners to detect neutrons from nuclear bombs or smuggled radioactive material.
September 2, 2025