The cover design of this issue was partly inspired by a presentation in the Arthur Lakes Library by Associate Professor John Spear MS ’94, PhD ’99, delivered long after Lisa Marshall wrote the article, “Engineering on a Grand Scale with the Smallest of the Small.”

Innovation is a theme that runs throughout this issue. While not everyone is driven to innovate, it’s second nature for those connected to Mines, and the people and projects covered in the pages that follow provide an interesting cross section of the many ways a spirit of innovation permeates the Mines community.

Dear Readers, It took a fellow alumnus months to convince Bill McElduff ’82 that the role he and his colleague, Donal Fitterer MS ’88, played in completing the bottom kill of the blown out Macondo oil well would be of interest to readers of Mines magazine. Listening to Bill’s voicemail, it took me all of

Dear Readers, What a tremendous testament to the dedication and work ethic of generations of Mines graduates that the Colorado School of Mines Alumni Association—a membership-based and volunteer-led organization—has now kept Mines magazine in print for 100 years. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read Part I of the 100-year retrospective included in