Sustainability Research on Campus

Advanced Energy Systems Group

Director – Robert Braun
AES Group
The Advanced Energy Systems group at Colorado School of Mines is focused on the study and advancement of sustainable and alternative energy systems that either convert valuable resources to useful products (such as power, heat, cooling, synfuels, etc.) or store energy for later use. .

Advanced Water Technology Center

Director – Jorg Drewes
Associate Director –Tzahi Cath
Official AQWATEC Website
The mission of AQWATEC is to develop novel water treatment processes enabling sustainable and energy efficient utilization of impaired water sources for potable and non-potable water supplies

Center for Environmental Risk Assessment

Director – James Ranville
Official CERA Website
CERA promotes and enhances environmental risk assessment research and educational activities at Mines. By bringing diverse interdisciplinary expertise to bear on problems in environmental risk assessment, the center facilitates the development of significantly improved, scientifically-based approaches for estimating human and ecological risks for using the results of such assessments.

Colorado Center for Advanced Ceramics

Center Director: Geoff Brennecka

CCAC – CCAC was created in 1989 with help from CoorsTek to serve as a focal point in Colorado for interdisciplinary research and education on ceramics and related materials. In 2022, researchers at CCAC and NREL published findings on a critical route to reducing the cost of high-efficiency solar cells in the high-impact journal Advanced Energy Materials.

Colorado Fuel Cell Center

Director – Neal Sullivan
Official CFCC Website
CFCC seeks to advance fuel-cell research, development, and commercialization and to promote business opportunities in Colorado. The day-to-day activities of the center are handled by a director. All contracting and business activities are conducted through Colorado School of Mines.

Colorado Renewable Energy Research Collaboratory

Official Colorado Renewable Energy Research Collaboratory Website
The Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory is a research partnership among the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Colorado’s premier research universities — Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The March 2023 issue of Mines Research Magazine features sustainability related research.

Center for Sustainable Separations of Metals

Mines Faculty Associate – Jenifer Shafer
Official CSSM Website
CSSM scientists are developing cross-disciplinary chemistry for greener mining and the efficient recycling of critical metals such as lithium, cobalt, gold, rare earths, tantalum, tellurium, and others. Efforts in the center are focused on the development of new, sustainable metals-processing that produces minimal waste and environmental harm.

Integrated Groundwater Modeling Center

Director – Reed Maxwell
Official IGWMC Website
IGWMC is an internationally oriented information, education and research center for ground-water modeling. IGWMC advises on ground-water modeling problems, distributes ground-water modeling software, organizes short courses and workshops, conducts research in practical, applied areas of ground-water hydrology and modeling, and provides technical assistance on problems related to ground-water modeling. As a focal point for ground-water professionals, the center supports and advances the appropriate use of quality-assured models in ground-water resources protection and management.

Landis Research Group

Director – Amy Landis
Landis Research Group
Researchers in this group conduct research in biofuels, soil nutrients, and mining in space in a sustainable manner.

Power Systems Engineering Research Center

Mines is a member of the Power Systems Engineering Research Collaboratory of universities. Mines pursues both fundamental and applied research in the interrelated fields of conventional electric power/energy systems and machinery, renewable energy resources, distributed power generation, energy economics and policy, power electronics and power quality.

NEXUS

Center Director: Dr. Ryan Richards
NEXUS – The world faces multiple challenges in energy and sustainability. The Mines/NREL Nexus facilitates cooperation in areas of common mission, where combined capabilities can lead to solutions for key global challenges, and a means to pursue opportunities to address them. Nexus is the embodiment of the decades-long Mines/NREL relationship. It is a joint partnership that strengthens, accelerates, and enhances all separately funded collaborative activities between NREL and Mines.

Reinventing the nations urban water infrastructure

Official ReNuWit Website

ReNUWIt is an interdisciplinary, multi-institution engineering research center. Our goal is to change the ways we manage urban water.  Colorado School of Mines, UC Berkeley, Stanford University, New Mexico State University.