Research at Mines
Mines is a global leader in research and the advancement of technology. Led by our world-class faculty, the research conducted at Mines enhances the educational experience of our graduates. Students have the opportunity to actively participate in research at every level of their education.
Our research spans many highly relevant areas with a specific focus on energy and environmental stewardship. Our first-rate facilities and partnerships with industry, national laboratories, other universities, funding agencies and international institutions enable us to maintain our cutting edge research and have a significant impact on real world problems. Research is a cooperative effort in the Mines community. Click on the links to the left to find out more about our research centers and institutes, technology transfer and research publications.
HIGHLIGHTS
REINVENTING AMERICA'S URBAN WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
GOLDEN, Colo., July 19, 2011 ‐ America's cities face a looming water crisis, driven by climate change, growing population and a crumbling infrastructure. Recognizing the critical importance of this issue, the National Science Foundation has selected a partnership of four U.S. universities to form an Engineering Research Center (ERC) that addresses this challenge by developing new, sustainable ways to manage urban water. The initial grant is $18.5 million spread over five years with additional millions to come in the subsequent five-year period following in-progress reviews.
Engineering Research Centers are interdisciplinary hubs established at U.S. universities where researchers work in close partnership with industry to pursue strategic advances in complex engineered systems and technologies. The Urban Water ERC is led by Stanford University and includes researchers trained in fields including environmental engineering, earth sciences, hydrology, ecology, urban studies, economics and law at Stanford, University of California-Berkeley, Colorado School of Mines, and New Mexico State University.
Concerted effort, grand scale
"Urban water represents a monumental challenge for the United States and it deserves concerted research and thinking on the grandest scale," said project leader Richard Luthy, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and senior fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford. "We're clearing the slate. Nothing is being taken for granted. We'll be developing new strategies for replacing crumbling infrastructure, new technologies for water management and treatment, new ways to recover energy and water, and more – much of it yet to be determined."
One example is better integration of natural systems as part of urban water infrastructure to improve water quality and storage while simultaneously enhancing habitats and the urban landscape.
The partnership of these specific universities is as symbolic as it is pragmatic. The Urban Water Center is based in the American West where the effects of shifting water resources will be felt most acutely, but also where much of the leading thinking on water challenges is taking place.
"These four universities form a powerful collaboration," Luthy added. "Each has its particular strengths, and each is working on problems related to how we use and reuse water, and how we design and manage our urban water resources in the face of some daunting outlooks."
Here's how Colorado School of Mines fits into the partnership...