The Mines Mining Innovation Challenge, sponsored by Newmont Mining Corporation, kicked off on January 23 with a full-day workshop. After a full morning of industry experts talking about current practices and the future of the mining industry, teams of students had the afternoon to develop new ways to make the mine of the future safer, more profitable, energy efficient and environmentally sound. Students from disciplines all across campus participated and formed teams, emphasizing the interdisciplinary nature of innovation. The top ten teams received $2,000 each to further develop their ideas, and have since been diligently working to prepare their final presentations and prototypes. The winning ideas were:
- Team Airband: Michelle Pedrezas, Arjumand Alvi, Micaela Pedrezas and Daniela Machnik
- Team Low-Caution: Luke Brown, Zachary Doom, John Kater and Kenneth Graff
- Team Insulation: Michael Burkhardt, Ryan Simms, Adam Chapman and Christopher Overley
- Team Miner Monitor: Clay Kramp, Ben Jasinski, Curtiss Spivey, Travis Nordstrom and Jesse Baxter
- Team RECON: Zachary Brand (ME), John Meyer, Robert Jones and Michael Bowman
- Team SPR: Alexander Peretiatko, Bryce Wilcox and Dylan Therry
- Team DAMS: Vinay Duddempudi, Sam Lolon and Ben Goertz
- Team Balrog Innovations: Marc Valdez, Jenna Lucas, Jordy Lee, John Oldland and Jacob Maes
- Team Remedy Tech: Kayla White, Shao Liu, Rannen Worsley, Jayce Stricherz and Jake Engman
- Team Mine Disaster Prevention System: Cody William, Ross Philipp and Makkawi Makkawi
To learn more about the teams and their projects, visit the Mines booth at the Western Mining Conference March 21-24 at the Colorado Convention Center. After testing the waters at the conference exhibition hall, teams will continue on to the competition's final judging on April 20. Finalists will present a 10-minute pitch to a panel who will evaluate the team and their innovation. A total of $30,000 will be presented to the top three teams to bring their ideas to fruition. Learn more at the Midea hub, and read the story on the Newmont Mining blog.
See more photos from the 2016 Mines Innovation Challenge.
Contact:
Agata Bogucka, Information Specialist, College of Earth Resource Sciences & Engineering | 303-384-2657 | abogucka@mines.edu
Kathleen Morton, Digital Media and Communications Manager, Colorado School of Mines | 303-273-3088 | kmorton@mines.edu
