About
The Project Team
Roel Snieder
Roel Snieder holds the W.M. Keck Distinguished Chair of Professional Development Education at the Colorado School of Mines. He received in 1984 a Masters degree in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics from Princeton University, and in 1987 a PhD in seismology from Utrecht University. From 1993-2000 he was professor of seismology at Utrecht University, and served as Dean of the Faculty of Earth Sciences. Roel served on the editorial boards of Geophysical Journal International, Inverse Problems, Reviews of Geophysics, the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, and the European Journal of Physics. In 2000 he was elected as Fellow of the American Geophysical Union. He is author of the textbooks “A Guided Tour of Mathematical Methods for the Physical Sciences”, “The Art of Being a Scientist”, and “The Joy of Science” that are published by Cambridge University Press. In 2011 he was elected as Honorary Member of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, and in 2014 he received a research award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. In 2016 Roel received the Beno Gutenberg Medal from the European Geophysical Union and the Outstanding Educator Award from the Society of Exploration Geophysicists. He received in 2020 the Ange Melagro Prize for his outstanding class Science and Spirituality. In 2023 Roel received the Outstanding Faculty Award from the Colorado School of Mines Board of Trustees. From 2000-2014 he was a firefighter in Genesee Fire Rescue where he served for two years as Fire Chief.
Cortney Holles
Cortney Holles is a Teaching Professor in Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) at the Colorado School of Mines. She earned her master’s degree in English in 2003 and came to Mines in the Fall of 2004 to teach Nature and Human Values. She has enjoyed working with Mines students to improve their communication skills and explore the impacts of the natural world on human behavior and society ever since. She directed the Nature and Human Values class for several years and developed new courses for HASS in science communication and service learning. She earned her doctorate in Education in 2021 from University of Northern Colorado in Curriculum & Innovation and her dissertation research on faculty and student well-being in higher education, especially in engineering and STEM environments, is the foundation for her passion for research. She believes that faculty and students need good support from the university system to navigate life challenges and mitigate mental illness and is working to expand the focus on care and wellbeing in stressful academic environments. She is also a poet and memoirist, only parent to two teenagers, and perpetual seeker of great coffee, live music, and hot water to soak in.
Qin Zhu
Qin Zhu is Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering Education and Affiliate Faculty in the Department of Science, Technology & Society and the Center for Human-Computer Interaction at Virginia Tech. He is currently serving as Associate Editor for Science and Engineering Ethics, Associate Editor for Studies in Engineering Education, Editor for International Perspectives at the Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science, and Executive Committee Member of the International Society for Ethics Across the Curriculum. Qin’s research interests include engineering ethics, global and international engineering education, engineering cultures, and the ethics of human-robot interaction and artificial intelligence.
Qin is leading a research group LANCSET (Laboratory and Network for the Cultural Studies of Engineering and Technology). The LANCSET group is committed to making visible and challenging cultural values and ideologies prominent in training, practices, and policies surrounding engineering and technology, using empirical and experimental methodologies to study the effects of cultural values and norms on these environments.
Cynthia James
Cynthia is a transformational coach and inspirational leader, guiding people to make changes at a deep level for lasting healing. Cynthia excels as a speaker, coach, singer, and multiple award-winning author of What Will Set You Free and Revealing Your Extraordinary Essence and #1 Amazon Bestseller for I Choose Me: The Art of Being a Phenomenally Successful Woman at Home and at Work. Her newest book Does My Voice Matter? was released in 2022.
Cynthia embodies the quote “I am not what I have done, I am what I have become” and she leads others to do the same. Her own life was transformed as she transcended a violent and abusive childhood. Through education and personal healing, she created the foundation for all her programs. Her work in self-care strategies and emotional integration support leaders, women and organizations internationally.