Meet the President
Paul C. Johnson is the 17th President of Colorado School of Mines, in Golden, Colorado. MINES is world-renowned for producing highly sought-after scientists and engineers, innovations and objective analyses, especially in fields relevant to earth, energy and the environment. MINES enrolls about 6,000 students, offers nearly 50 degree programs, and conducts more than $60 million of research projects annually for industry and governmental agencies.
Mines Mission
Our STEM-focused education and research produce the talent, knowledge and solutions to serve industry and benefit society – all to create a more prosperous future. It’s the mission Mines was founded on 150 years ago and where we continue to excel today. We’re a community of innovative leaders and resilient problem-solvers who revel in challenges and work together in order to engineer solutions on Earth and beyond.
Nearing 150
With 2024 in sight, we’re making great progress on the Mines@150 plan.
Student Awards
- Colorado School of Mines students take top spot at 2024 International Mining Games
A team of Colorado School of Mines students won the women’s division of the 2024 International Mining Games hosted at Montana Technological University. - Two Mines students named Koerner Family Foundation Fellows
KFF Fellows each receive $12,000 in unrestricted funding to support their pursuit of careers in research. - Mines, Lunar Outpost team heading to finals in NASA’s Break the Ice Challenge
The Ice Diggers will be one of six teams facing off head-to-head this spring at a NASA-designed test facility to see which prototype lunar excavation rover performs best. - Mines student entrepreneurs named finalists in NASA challenge
Front Range Team, which includes Mines students Kenneth Liang and Chris Tolton, was one of eight groups named winners in the second and final round of the NASA Entrepreneurs Challenge 2023.
Faculty Awards
- Jennifer Miskimins nominated as 2026 president of Society of Petroleum Engineers
A Mines alum, Miskimins has 30 years of experience in the petroleum industry and has led Mines' Petroleum Engineering Department since 2020. - Stephanie Kwon wins NSF CAREER Award for research to design new catalytic materials
Kwon’s focus is on bottom-up designing catalysts to increase their effectiveness in converting raw biomass molecules to higher-value fuels and chemicals. - Griffiths elected to UC Berkeley Academy of Distinguished Alumni
D. Vaughan Griffiths, professor and associate head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Colorado School of Mines, has been elected to the University of California Berkeley' … - Michael McGuirk Wins Negative Emissions Scialog Award
Michael McGuirk wins a $50,000 award to explore the possibility of using polyolefin waste for Direct Air Capture