Historic Photos of Colorado Mining
Ed Raines, collections manager for the Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum, is the author of Historic Photos of Colorado Mining. This coffee-table book provides a visually stunning introduction to Colorado’s discovery and early development of mineral wealth through nearly 200 vintage photographs. Many of the ruins found throughout the mountains of Colorado are recognized as historic landmarks. Often the stories behind the ruins are as fascinating as the sites themselves. In his book, Raines meticulously recounts the stories of the prospectors, miners, engineers, teamsters, railroaders and townspeople who served as entrepreneurs and workers in industrializing the Colorado Rocky Mountains. (Turner Publishing Company, 2009)

Two Humanitarian Engineering Publications
Two publications co-authored by Mines faculty were included in a series of individual short books surrounding the topic of engineering and social justice. Division of Liberal Arts and International Studies faculty Juan Lucena, Jen Schneider and Jon A. Leydens co-authored Engineering and Sustainable Community Development, which analyzes sustainable community development programs involving engineering students, professors and practitioners. While there has been a blossoming of such programs worldwide, there is a need for critical yet accessible accounts of engineers involved in such programs. This short book addresses this need by providing a historical overview of the relationship between engineers and development, detailing examples of students involved in a variety of programs, and including practical approaches for engaging with and listening to communities.

In Carl Mitcham and David Munoz’ book, Humanitarian Engineering, the first of two central chapters describes humanitarian engineering as the artful drawing on science to direct the resources of nature with active compassion to meet the basic needs of all – especially the powerless, poor or otherwise marginalized. A second central chapter then considers strategies for education in humanitarian engineering. Reflections on the challenges and implications raised by these subjects constitutethe rest of the book.

Both of the above publications may be purchased online from Morgan Claypool morganclaypool.com/toc/ets/5/1 (From the Mines campus, they may be downloaded in PDF format without charge under an Arthur Lakes Library campus-wide subscription.)

In Situ Chemical Oxidation for Groundwater Remediation
Robert Siegrist, professor of environmental science and engineering, is lead editor, assisted by Michelle Crimi (Clarkson University) and Tom Simpkin (CH2MHILL), of the 705-page book, In Situ Chemical Oxidation for Groundwater Remediation, which provides a comprehensive, up-to-date description of the principles and practices of in situ chemical oxidation for groundwater remediation based on a decade of intensive research, development, demonstrations and lessons learned from commercial field applications. Contributors include: Profs. Illangasekare, Munakata-Marr, Petri; and Heiderscheidt PhD ’05, Krembs MS ’08, Urynowicz MS ’98, PhD ’00. (Springer, 2010 springer.com/series/8449)

Debris-Flow Erosion Control Treatments After Wildfire
Victor deWolfe MS ’06 and Paul Santi PhD ’95, professor of geology and geological engineering co-authored the book Debris-Flow Erosion Control Treatments After Wildfire: An Evaluation of Erosion Control Effectiveness, which considers popular methods for reducing erosion of soil and other material from steep terrain burned by wildfire. The authors’ combined research tracks erosion and erosion-control effectiveness for 46 debris flows in nine recently burned areas in California, Utah and Colorado. Clear winners included debris storage basins or carefully spread straw mulch, while log erosion barriers or in-channel check dams were more dependent on appropriate placement. Lightweight silt fences, reseeding and hydromulching seemed to show little improvement over natural recovery. As with most engineering efforts, one-size-fits-all approaches were more often than not ineffective, while designs with engineer/geologist supervision were usually more effective. (International Erosion Control Association, 2009)

The Art of Being a Scientist
Roel Snieder and Ken Larner’s book, The Art of Being a Scientist, is a hands-on guide for new graduate students and other young researchers looking for practical advice and skills to help launch their careers. By teaching junior scientists to develop effective research habits, the book helps make the experience of graduate study more efficient, effective and rewarding. The authors have taught a graduate course on the topics covered in this book for many years, and provide a sample curriculum for instructors in graduate schools who wish to teach a similar course. Subjects covered include how to choose a research topic, department and advisor; how to make a work plan; research ethics; using the scientific literature; oral and written communication; publishing papers; time management; and career planning. (Cambridge University Press, New York, 2009)