Points of Pride

Success at the School of Mines. In a campus full of talented, ambitious, and hard-working scientists, engineers, students, faculty, and administrators, every day can bring a new success or accomplishment to celebrate. Use the following links to read about some of our recent successes. University Recognition Faculty and Staff Honors and Awards Student Honors and Awards Success After Graduation Student Scholarships Research and Development Student Teams at Regional and National Competitions

University Recognition The School of Mines was ranked one of America's 100 Best College Buys for the eleventh consecutive year. The School of Mines may be the best college investment in the nation based on the comparison of total costs and average starting salaries of graduates. More importantly, based on data analysis, it appears that the School of Mines may well be the only university in the nation where starting salaries for graduates average more than the total cost of a four-year degree. Officials from the School of Mines and Halliburton have announced a generous gift of $30,000. Halliburton’s gift – which was donated to the geology and geological engineering department – will go towards developing scholarships for students and faculty support to develop curriculum. School of Mines graduates have some of the highest starting salaries in the Midwest and are among the best-paid in the nation, according to a recent report by Payscale Inc., a Seattle-based research firm. The PayScale 2008 Education and Salary Report puts the School of Mines ninth among Midwestern universities in terms of salary potential and 15th in the nation for Best Engineering Colleges by Salary Potential. The School of Mines was named the 2008 Bronze Award winner in the Student Recruitment Series category for the “Invent Tomorrow” series by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) during the council’s District VI convention. For the fourth straight year, the School of Mines is the recipient of the Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC) Scholars Award. The award is presented annually to the school with the highest percentage of student-athletes honored as DAC Scholar-Athletes. Forty-eight percent of Hardrocker athletes earned recognition for their academic achievements. The School of Mines recruitment website, www.GoToMines.com, was recognized as one of the best admissions websites in the country by the National Research Center for College & University Admissions (NRCCUA). Faculty and Staff Honors and Awards Dr. Jon Kellar, chair and D. Fuerstenau professor of materials and metallurgical engineering, has been named the 2008 South Dakota Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Kellar was selected from nearly 300 top professors in the United States. Dr. Gerald Grellet-Tinner, assistant professor, geology and geological engineering, and assistant curator of vertebrate paleontology, has been featured in a recent article by the prestigious journal Nature. The article focuses on the presumed first paleontological field school conducted by a tribe in the nation. Dr. Vojislav Kalanovic, professor, mechanical engineering, has been officially been awarded Patent No. 7,431,632 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The issued patent relates to the Flexible Robot Environment (FRE®), a robotic solution that combines linear mechanical and motor/drive components with proprietary hardware, software and controls from Control Systems Technologies, LLC, a company owned and operated by Kalanovic. Dr. Stan Howard, professor, materials and metallurgical engineering, has been named to the board of directors for the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS). Howard will serve for three years as the financial planning officer. Dr. Andrea Surovek, associate professor, civil and environmental engineering, has been named to the editorial board of the American Society of Civil Engineers Journal of Structural Engineering. The Journal of Structural Engineering is a peer-reviewed academic journal and one of the top journals in the field of structural engineering. Dr. Dana Medlin, materials and metallurgical engineering, has been selected for the Nucor Endowed Professorship for Metallurgical and Steelmaking Technologies. The endowed professorship is the result of a $1 million gift from Nucor to the materials and metallurgical engineering department at the School of Mines. President Robert A. Wharton, Ph.D., has been named to the National Coal Council, the chief advisory panel on federal coal policy. Wharton has been appointed to represent the viewpoint of academic institutions with a curriculum concentrating in mining and technology research. Dr. Karen Whitehead, provost and vice president for academic affairs, has been named the recipient of the Rapid City Area Chamber of Commerce’s ATHENA Award. The award honors individuals who strive toward the highest levels of personal and professional accomplishment, who excel in their chosen field, devote time and energy to their community in a meaningful way, and forge paths of leadership for other women to follow. Dr. Lance Roberts, assistant professor, civil and environmental engineering, has been selected as the winner of the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) Educational Trust Young Professor Paper Competition Award for 2008. Dr. Karen Braman, assistant professor, mathematics and computer science, has been selected for the Householder Symposium, an international gathering devoted to matrix computations and linear algebra. Dr. Arden Davis, Mickelson Professor, geology and geological engineering, has been appointed to the ABET, Inc. Board of Directors. Davis has previously served ABET as a commissioner on the Engineering Accreditation Commission and team chair. Dr. Roger Johnson, professor, mathematics, has been appointed editor of the journal Teaching Statistics. Dr. Jennifer Karlin, assistant professor, industrial engineering and engineering management, has been elected to the Engineering Research Methods (ERM) national board of directors for the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). ERM is one of the largest and most active divisions within ASEE. Dr. Carter Kerk, professor, industrial engineering and engineering management, and Dr. Jennifer Karlin, assistant professor, industrial engineering and engineering management, have been cited in the latest issue of Material Handling Management in the article “Meeting at the Crossroads: Man/Machine Intersection.” Dr. Stuart Kellogg, chair and Pietz Professor, industrial engineering and engineering management, has been selected as president-elect of the Rocky Mountain Section of the American Society for Engineering Education for 2009-10. The Rocky Mountain Section covers West River, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. The 2010 annual conference will be hosted at the School of Mines. Also, at the ASEE Rocky Mountain Section annual conference Dr. Kellogg’s paper presentation, “Utilizing an Inverted Classroom Approach to Develop Complex Thinking Skills,” was honored with the Best Presentation Award. Dr. Charles Kliche, professor, mining engineering, and Bill Clements, co-owner of Century Blasting Services, LLC, received the cover of the Journal of Explosives Engineering, vol 25, no 1, January/February 2008. The co-authored paper, “Removal of the Top of an Aged Water Supply Reservoir Using Explosives,” details the removal of the top of an old water supply reservoir tank for the City of Lead. Stephanie Lindsley, Surbeck Center program assistant II, was the winner of a $1,000 donation from UniversityLease during their March Madness competition. Lindsley has designated the award to go into a fund that supports activities in the residence halls at the School of Mines. Dr. Alvis Lisenbee, professor emeritus, geology, has been named the 2008 J. P. Gries Geologist of the Year. Dr. James Martin, professor, geology and geological engineering, and executive curator, Museum of Geology, has edited the The Geology and Paleontology of the Late Cretaceous Marine Deposits of the Dakotas, published by the Geological Society of America. The volume is a major contribution to the knowledge of marine rocks and fossils from the end of the Age of Dinosaurs in South Dakota. Dr. Martin is also one of 13 individuals chosen to be inducted into the 2008 South Dakota Hall of Fame. Dr. Dana Medlin, Nucor Professor, materials and metallurgical engineering, has been named an American Society for Metals (ASM) Fellow for his outstanding contributions to innovative design and development of medical devices, dedication to the development and education of future medical device professionals, and prolonged outstanding service to ASM. Dr. Jan Puszynski, professor, chemical and biological engineering, has been honored by the Russian Academy of Sciences and the International Association of Self-Propagating High-Temperature Synthesis for his contribution to science and education, including the publication of more than 140 papers on the subject of combustion synthesis of advanced ceramics and reaction engineering aspects of nanoenergetic materials. Dr. Kyle Riley, chair, mathematics and computer science, has been elected to the Board of Governors of the Mathematical Association of America. Dr. Riley will serve as governor for the Rocky Mountain section of the MAA and will represent the section at the national level. Dr. P.V. Sundareshwar, assistant professor, atmospheric sciences, has been named a Revolutionary Mind for 2007 by Seed Magazine. Dr. Andrea Surovek, assistant professor, civil and environmental engineering, has been awarded the 2008 Ferdinand P. Beer and E. Russell Johnston, Jr. Outstanding New Mechanics Educator Award, on behalf of the Mechanics Division of the American Society for Engineering Education. Dr. John Weiss, professor, mathematics and computer science, had his paper, “Hierarchical Template Matching For Real-Time Symbol Detection,” selected for the best paper award at the twenty-third International Conference on Computers and Their Applications (CATA-2008). Student Honors and Awards Melanie Vedvei, a 2008 industrial engineering graduate of the School of Mines, has been named a Laureate by Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society. The annual program recognizes gifted engineering students who have excelled in areas beyond their technical majors. More than half of the winners at the 2008 Governor’s Giant Vision Business Plan awards competition have ties to the School of Mines. Two teams each earned second place awards and $2,500 cash prizes in the Student Division: DJ Kjar (M.S. TM07) and Jason Howe (EE07) for Valde Robotics, which specializes in designing and manufacturing urban environment unmanned aerial vehicles; and Chris Flack (ME, Rapid City) and Jordan Johnson (ME, Rapid City) for Krystal Klear Kart Bodies, with an innovative design for clear go-kart bodies. Placing second in the Business Competition was Jody Sperlich of Dakota Fire Systems, Inc. with its design and manufacture of fire suppression and protection gel delivery systems, which received a $10,000 prize. Mechanical engineering students Treavor Hendrickson (ME, Rapid City) and Jeff Schnabel (ME, Emery) supported this project through a senior design project. Also of note, is the third place finish in the Business Division by Jordan Krell (ME, Plankinton) and Krell Safety Products (KSP) for Smart Swim, a patent-pending drowning alert system. Krell entered the competition as a high school senior. Eleven South Dakota School of Mines and Technology students have been named Tau Beta Pi Scholars for the 2008-09 academic year. The chapter with the next highest numbers of scholars has five. In addition, Travis Walker (ChE/Math08) has been named a Tau Beta Pi Fellow for 2008-09. The students: Benjamin Bangasser (ChE, New Hope, Minn.), Andrew Brosnahan (ME, Lead), Cody Fredricksen (ChE, Rock Springs, Wyo.), Tom Fryslie (EE/Phys, Rapid City), Joshua Hammell (ME, Evansville, Wyo.), Shane Heier (EE, Sioux Falls), Amery Kuhl (ME/Phys, Worthington, Minn.), Lisa Rebenitsch (CSc, Bismarck, N.D.), Alexander Schmidt (EE, Mandan, N.D.), Kajda Stevens (ChE, Benson, Minn.), and Brady Wiesner (CE, Watertown). The School of Mines had seven Hardrocker student-athletes earn NAIA Scholar Athlete honors for the 2007-08 year. For cross country Kyle Kattke (ME07); for indoor/outdoor track Matt Deardoff (CE, Brandon) and Tyler Flattum (IE, Bristol); for men’s basketball Brandon Smith (ME, Amenia, N.D.); for women’s basketball Melanie Vedvei (IE08) and Amber Deweerd (Chem08); for women’s golf Kjada Stevens (ChE, Rapid City); for football Lukas Munsell (EE, Mills, Wyo.), Matt Deardoff (CE, Brandon) Mike deStigter (CE, Sioux Falls), and Chad Westendorf (ME, Geddes). Six South Dakota School of Mines and Technology students have received nearly $15,000 in scholarship funds from the Women’s Auxiliary to the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, Inc. (WAAIME). The students: Robbie Hahn (MetE08), Collin Rogers (MinE08), Stephanie Pashina (MEM08), Andrew Johnson (MinE08), Jordan Hoff (MinE08), and Brandon Fredrickson (MinE08). Katherine Aurand (EnvE, Rapid City) has been named a United States Presidential Scholar. Aurand is one of approximately 141 students chosen for what is one of the nation’s highest honors for graduating high school students. Shawn Honomichl (IS, Rapid City) has been accepted to the 2008 National Center for Atmospheric Research Undergraduate Leadership Workshop. Each year about 20 participants from the current pool of the college senior meteorology students nationwide are selected for this program. Ashley Rook (Chem, Rapid City) has been named a Scholar of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Scholars Program. James Sanovia (GeolE, Rapid City) has been awarded a scholarship from the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF). Melanie Satchell (IS, Pleasant Dale, Neb.) has been appointed to the South Dakota Board of Regents. She will serve as the student regent and will be a formal member of the Board. Travis Walker (ChE/Math08) has published an article in Chemical Engineering Progress, the professional journal of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AICHE). The article, “Harnessing Natural Energy,” is based on a report that Walker wrote as a participant in the Washington Internships for Students of Engineering (WISE) program. Sasha White (CSc, Kyle) has been named to the Gates Millennium Scholar Program. The Gates Millennium Scholars Program was created by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation in recognition of the increasing diversity in American society and the compelling need to increase access to higher education to reflect the diverse society in which we live. Success After Graduation Ninety-nine percent of our graduates report that they have already embarked on a career, or been admitted to a professional program, within one year of graduation. The average annual starting salary of our graduates is approximately $56,000. Student Scholarships The School of Mines awards more than $11 million in scholarships and financial aid annually, which is disbursed to more than 80 percent of our students. Research and Development The School of Mines recently hosted a university round table discussion on DUSEL research, collaboration and education in conjunction with representatives from the University of California Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, South Dakota EPSCOR, South Dakota Science and Technology Authority, Sanford Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory, and a number of South Dakota colleges and universities. The event culminated with a discussion of alternative energy and environmental studies, led by Dr. Steven Chu, former director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and professor of physics and molecular and cellular biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and current U.S. Energy Secretary. Dr. Chu’s study of fundamental phenomena and in measuring important physical quantities with unprecedented precision led to the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997. The School of Mines is the site of a new National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry/ University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) in the area of bioenergy. The new I/UCRC, the Center for Bioenergy Research and Development, will receive substantial funding at the multimillion dollar level from both the National Science Foundation and sponsoring industries. The School of Mines is one of only eight universities to have two or more I/UCRCs and has already seen considerable opportunities created from its Friction Stir Processing I/UCRC, which was started in October 2004. School of Mines faculty members and researchers received 90 awards totaling more than $10.1 million during the 2008 fiscal year. The funding came from many different agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the State of South Dakota, NASA, the Department of Transportation, Army Research Laboratory, Air Force Research Laboratory, and many more. Through its research and development projects in areas such as nanotechnology, carbon sequestration, advanced materials development, and geology, the School of Mines continues to assist the military, the State of South Dakota, regional and national industrial firms, farmers, and ranchers. The School of Mines is also an active participant in the effort, led by Black Hills Vision, to create a technology-based economic development corridor in western South Dakota. Student Teams at Regional and National Competitions 2008 Aero Design West Competition: The School of Mines team captured third place in design at the competition. They also took trophies for the best design report and largest payload. The School of Mines took first place overall at the 2005 and 2006 competitions. American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE): The ChE car team placed third in the poster competition and fourth in the performance test. In addition, the team won awards for the most creative drive system and the most team spirit. Benjamin Bangasser (ChE, New Hope, Minn.) also received the nationally competitive AIChE Fuels and Petrochemicals Division Harry West Student Paper Award for his research project, “Reversible Hydrogen Storage Properties of Ti Catalyzed Lithium Borohydride and Aluminum.” American Society of Mechanical Engineers Human Powered Vehicle Challenge: The School of Mines team placed ninth at the competition. They also took fourth in the endurance race and eighth in the sprint competition. American Society of Civil Engineers Student Conference: The School of Mines chapter finished third of 14 schools at the regional conference. The concrete canoe team took third in design paper and third in presentation. The steel bridge team finished third overall. The bridge placed first in efficiency, first in lightness, second in construction speed, third in economy, and fourth in stiffness. The overall third place finish of the steel bridge team qualified them to compete at the national steel bridge competition. Association for Computing Machinery (ACM): The School of Mines programming teams made an excellent showing at the North Central Regional of the ACM programming contest. The Red Team placed fifth, the Blue Team eleventh, the Green Team twenty-third, and the White Team seventy-first, putting all School of Mines teams in the top third. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Region 5 Competition: The School of Mines team entered three robots in the competition, eventually capturing third, fourth, and ninth places. 2008 Baja SAE Competition: The contest pitted the School of Mines against nearly 100 teams from across the country and around the world. The School of Mines raced two cars, car number 7, a new car designed and built by the senior students this year (with assistance from underclass students), and car number 117, the car built last year and managed by the underclass students this year. Car number 117 won the endurance event. Car number 117 also won the sales presentation event. Car number 7 was in the design finals and placed in fourth place in the design event. In the overall competition, car number 117 finished in fourth place and car number 7 finished in sixth place. Also, car number 117 scored the highest design report score with 49 out of 50. Car number 7 scored 48 and tied for third place. Society of Mining Engineers Student Competition: The School of Mines team placed third in the competition. Formula SAE West Competition: The School of Mines finished in sixteenth place overall against 82 registered teams. The competition consisted of eight separate events including design, cost, manufacturing, sales presentation, skid-pad, acceleration, autocross, and endurance. Of these events, the team took third in autocross, third in sales presentation, fourth in design, fifth on the skid-pad, eighteenth in acceleration, and forty-fourth in cost. SAE Clean Snowmobile Competition: The School of Mines’ alternative fuel vehicle placed fourth overall at the competition. The team received first in the draw bar pull and Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price events, second in the range event, third in the objective handling event, and fourth in the subjective handling, noise, and presentation portions of the competition. They were also the only team in the zero emissions category that finished the competition without losing their maintenance bonus (100 bonus points that are awarded for not working on the vehicle throughout the competition). 2008 International Aerial Robotics Competition: The School of Mines unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) team received four awards at the competition. The team received the Best Technical Paper Award, Best T-shirt Design Award, tied for the Best System Design Award, and received more than $8,000 in prize money for their efforts. Team member Mark Sauder (IE04) received a special award for sportsmanship. The team took first place in 2006 and second in 2007. Red Bull Soapbox Race: The School of Mines team, The Good, The Bad, and The Nerdy, took home first place with their oversized calculator craft named “The Numerator 2.0” at the 2007 Red Bull Soapbox Race. The race, organized by the energy drink Red Bull, challenges teams to design, build, and race gravity powered soapbox crafts in a downhill race against the clock. Teams are judged on three criteria: speed, creativity, and showmanship.

Fast Facts

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Last Modified: 02/12/2009