Alumni and Friends • Spring 2021
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MAGAZINE For Colorado School of Mines Alumni and Friends • Spring 2021 Plus: Innovative technological solutions Mines is enhancing its business- provide new and improved opportunities focused educational opportunities— Mines alumni share their thoughts on with alumni fanning the flame ambition, giving back and life itself MINESMINES.EDU.EDU1 @COLORADOSCHOOLOFMINES There’s nothing quite like the glow of Guggenheim to spark the nostalgia of being on the Mines campus. Follow Mines on social media for more beautiful shots of Golden and the Mines campus, and keep up with everything happening with your fellow Orediggers. 2 MINES MAGAZINE CONTENTS FEATURE IGNITING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPARK 18 While Mines has long supported entrepreneurship and innovation, it’s now being brought to the forefront—with Mines alumni and supporters leading the way. INSIDE MINES BIG IDEAS ALUMNI NETWORK Top news at Mines 8 The head of U.S. • A new Global Energy Future initiative Space Command • Two new space-focused discusses the minors future of space. 24 • Mines’ first biomedical Smart additions to wheelchairs help and biotech avoid catastrophic consequences. 12 undergraduate degree • Mines recognized for a An entrepreneur commitment to diversity, shares how risk inclusion and access and ambition reaps rewards. 28 Mines’ basketball Supersonic air travel is again teams end the a possibility—with some regular season on improvements. 14 SKILL SET top. 7 George Saunders ’81 shares his scientific Mines’ scholar approach to writing communities provide a and discovering unique and supportive humanity’s depths. 30 How high is the risk to life on Earth if environment for all. 10 the planet’s magnetic field reverses? 17 ON THE COVER: Alex Hansen ’12, a current metallurgical and materials engineering master’s student, works in Mines’ welding lab. Unlock Oredigger dreams with scholarships Students are the body and soul of our institution, and ensuring their success at Mines and beyond is at the heart of all our efforts. Making a Mines education possible by removing financial barriers through scholarships is a cornerstone of the Campaign for MINES@150. Alumni can help give students the same quality, world-changing education they received by donating to Mines scholarship funds. Thank you for making these dreams possible for me and plenty of my peers. Parmida (Mida) Mahdavi Engineering Physics, Class of 2024 Seeing the great success from previous and fellow scholars shows me that any dream is possible, no matter how big. Charles O’Brien Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2021 Without you, I would not be at this school working towards my dreams, and no amount of words can express how meaningful that is to me. Julia Vaughn Chemical Engineering, Class of 2023 Learn more about the impact of scholarships and how you can help make MINES MAGAZINE 4 dreams come true at campaign.mines.edu/scholars. EDITOR’S LETTER Celebrating ingenuity and ambition MAGAZINE I get notes from Mines alumni all Many of the stories in this issue Spring 2021 | Volume 112 | Number 2 the time telling me of their latest focus on those celebrations. Our business ventures, an interesting cover story, while sharing how MINESMAGAZINE.COM product they’ve developed and how Mines is enhancing entrepreneurial they’ve included other Orediggers education on campus, is driven President and Professor in their achievements. In fact, that’s by the experiences and support Colorado School of Mines how many of the stories featured in Mines alumni know—and have Paul C. Johnson the magazine come to be—a short proven—are essential for preparing Chief Marketing Officer note about a unique idea that leaves students for a successful future. Jason Hughes me wanting to know more. The issue includes a look at some Editor, Mines Magazine The ingenuity and ambition I’ve alumni-led projects that are Ashley Spurgeon changing the way we interact with seen from Orediggers is seemingly Editorial Board the world and improving everyday limitless, and those are the most Stu Bennett ’66, Andy Flynn ’86, ME ’98, exciting stories to tell. While Mines technologies. We even sat down with Damian Friend ’75, Peter Han, Magazine is in part a way to keep some inspiring alumni to get their Jason Hughes, Lisa Kinzel, Doug Mayo, alumni up-to-date with what’s thoughts on their personal journeys Larry Preble ’61, John Spear MS ’94 PhD ’99, happening on campus and stay and perspective on life. Rachelle Trujillo, Melanie Westergaard ’87 connected to your alma mater, I hope you’ll join me in celebrating Mines Alumni Board, Executive Committee it’s largely a publication that your fellow Orediggers’ hard work Bill Zisch ’79, President celebrates you—your big ideas that and unique perspectives as you read Sabine Brueske ’94, Vice President help solve complex problems, the this issue. And I can’t wait to hear Tim Saenger ’95, Treasurer distinctive skills that have enabled from more of you about the work Mitch Kruse ’85, Secretary you to not only meet but exceed you’re doing and the interesting expectations beyond Mines and avenues you’ve taken. Contributing Writers the connections you’ve made and Jenn Fields, Natalie Gross, Sarah Kuta, Jasmine Leonas, Mark Ramirez maintained over the years to help you meet your goals. Graphic Design Gretchen Kershner Ashley Spurgeon Photography Agata Bogucka, Joe DelNero MAGAZINE NEWS Advertising Contact Ashley Spurgeon Mines Magazine’s Spring 2020 issue [email protected] | 303-273-3959 won the grand gold award in the “publishing improvement” category in Mines Magazine is published by this year’s Council for Advancement the Colorado School of Mines and Support of Education’s District Communications and Marketing Office for VI Institutional Awards. The award alumni and friends of the school. recognizes print university magazines that have undergone significant changes over a two-year period Share your thoughts and demonstrate outstanding Email: [email protected] Mail: Mines Magazine, 1500 Illinois St. improvement in the publication. Golden, CO 80401 The category’s judges commented, “Mines did their homework and Support Mines Visit: weare.mines.edu crafted a publication that meets their Call: 303-273-3000 voice and vision in a new way. It’s a well-designed piece. Bringing readers into the planning process is a nice Elevate your education touch for the audience’s engagement. Content is rich, diverse, and still Visit: gradprograms.mines.edu 303-273-3678 concise for a busy audience.” Call: Email: [email protected] MINES.EDU 5 INSIDE MINES Campus | Students | History CREATING BUSINESSES, LEADERS AND PROSPERITY Mines graduates are helping prepare future entrepreneurs and business leaders “Success stories abound throughout America,” Warren Buffett wrote in his most recent Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letter. “Individuals with an idea, ambition and often just a pittance of capital have succeeded beyond their dreams by creating something new or by improving the customer’s experience with something old.” Many of you have stories like these. Stories of hard work and dedication. Hanging We will soon see the impact of their gift when we open the Labriola your own shingle or staking your claim. Innovation Hub in late 2022. It will contain makerspaces, team You created something new, and in the meeting spaces, the Thorson Capstone Lab and the McNeil Center for process, created prosperity for a growing Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The Innovation Hub will be the network of employees, partners, suppliers building in the Labriola Innovation Complex, which began to take and neighbors. shape in Fall 2020 with the completion of state-of-the-art project- Frank Labriola ’52 and his wife Mary based classrooms in McNeil Hall. have their story. Frank graduated from Mines students will start and finish their education in the Labriola Mines with a professional degree in Innovation Complex. It will have everything they need to move metallurgical engineering and with time, their projects and ideas from vision to reality. This complex will recognized that what he really wanted solidify Mines as a unique, top-of-mind, first-choice option for to do was start his own business. He future generations of Orediggers. It will project our continued put everything he had into founding commitment to learning-by-doing and preparing future innovators PIMALCO, an incredibly successful and industry leaders. manufacturer of lightweight hard-alloy aluminum for the aerospace industry. Frank and Mary know entrepreneurs, innovators and business leaders can, as Buffett puts it, create “a spread of prosperity that Frank and Mary believe that companies benefits all of humanity.” As you’ll see in the pages of this issue, driven by leaders and innovators with both Orediggers have been doing this long before now, and thanks to the engineering and business smarts, and who Labriolas and many of you, we’re going to see that continue and grow. take care of their people, are at the core of this country’s prosperity. They want Mines to inspire and produce that next generation of entrepreneurs and industry leaders and made a transformative gift to Paul C. Johnson ensure that happens. President and Professor 6 MINES MAGAZINE NOTHING BUT NET The Oredigger basketball teams pull off impressive seasons The season may have looked different without fans in Save the date the stands and other health precautions in place due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but the Oredigger basketball teams still made an extraordinary showing FALL CAREER DAY on the court in the regular season. Here are the September 14, 2021 highlights: Men’s basketball Employer registration will open in mid-June. • The Mines men’s basketball team pulled off a 13-0 winning streak before suffering a loss to Colorado Mesa, who was No. 7 in the nation at the time. • The team held the top spot on the National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 poll for six consecutive weeks.