Ashley Spurgeon

Taking the Scenic Route: Mines alumni, students and friends raft the Grand Canyon

Many people have made a trip out to the Grand Canyon to witness one of the most scenic natural spots in the United States. Yet, after standing at its edge and witnessing its awe-inspiring natural beauty, it’s only natural to want to get up close and personal with the Canyon’s unique landscape and geology. Mines provides that opportunity. Each May, Mines’ Office of Alumni Relations offers a seven-day rafting adventure through the Grand Canyon. In 2017, a group of alumni, students, faculty and friends were led down the Colorado River by geologist and Mines professor Steve Sonnenberg ’81. The...

Bringing the Academic and Commercial Worlds Together

Posted by Ashley Spurgeon

Earlier this year, Mines launched a new Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The center focuses on connecting Mines with the business community and supporting the environment of invention and enterprise that has always been at the heart of Mines. Mines Magazine sat down with the center’s director, Werner Kuhr, to ask him about his goals and the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation. What are your goals as the director of this new center on campus? The first goal is to spread this concept of entrepreneurial thinking, or teaching students how to demonstrate the value of the work they’re doing....

Maniacs for Mining Education

Posted by Ashley Spurgeon

Ryan Miles ’07, MS ’14 was frustrated. As a mining engineer who frequently traveled for work, he consistently found himself talking to people who confused mining engineering with data mining. Additionally, many people didn’t understand that mining is still a viable, thriving industry, critical to today’s world. Ryan knew he had to do something to better educate people about his field. He and his wife, Jules, began brainstorming ways to inform people about the importance of the mining industry—thinking about creating a blog, starting a YouTube channel or even the more traditional route of submitting articles to academic journals....

Giving Back to Make STEM More Accessible

Posted by Ashley Spurgeon

Rubecca Martinez Dalton ’06 was first introduced to Colorado School of Mines when she visited the Geology Museum in the third grade, but it wasn’t until she entered high school that she was introduced to the possibility of a career in engineering. For three summers, Dalton participated in Metropolitan State University’s Denver Prep Program, where high school students could take math classes that were designed like college courses. She said the professors she learned from described math as a subject that anyone is capable of studying and creates an even playing field for all students. “Before that,” Dalton said,...

Leaking secrets: Measuring gas seepage to determine the possibility of life on Mars

Posted by Ashley Spurgeon |

Humanity’s fascination with Mars—and the possibility of life on the red planet—has grown in recent years, and countless hours of study have gone into determining whether or not Mars would be able to provide sustainable life. Most of this research is based on what we already know about life on Earth and what makes it possible for organisms to not only survive but thrive. Mines emeritus professor, Ron Klusman, has spent the past 30 years researching low levels of gas seepage from Earth into the atmosphere and the environmental changes caused by the release of those gases. While at...

Author: Ashley Spurgeon

Taking the Scenic Route: Mines alumni, students and friends raft the Grand Canyon

Bringing the Academic and Commercial Worlds Together

Maniacs for Mining Education

Giving Back to Make STEM More Accessible

Leaking secrets: Measuring gas seepage to determine the possibility of life on Mars

Current Issue: Fall 2017

Follow us on Twitter