GOLDEN, CO, March 5, 2015—On Feb. 26 and 27, the Colorado School of Mines Graduate Student Government (GSG) hosted the third annual Conference on Earth and Energy Research in the Green Center, an event that showcases graduate student research. More than 100 graduate students presented oral and poster presentations and were evaluated by alumni and industry judges on scientific content, appearance and presentation ability.

Geology and Geological Engineering graduate students Ethan Faber and Robert Duran discuss their presentations with each other.
Civil & Environmental Engineering graduate student Kevin Schaeffer waits for the judges by his presention.

Prizes were given to the top presenters:

  • Chemical and Biological Engineering Department Award ($150)
    • Ashley Maes - “Broadband Electric Spectroscopy to Study Transport in Crosslinked Anion Exchange Polymer Membranes”
  • Chemistry and Geochemistry Department Award ($150)
    • Nicholas Stambach - Rapid Identification of Listeria Monocytogenes using Bacteriophage A511 Amplification and Enhanced Lateral Flow Immunochromatography”
  • Civil and Environmental Department Award ($150)
    • Kevin Schaeffer – “Geologic Prediction Ahead of Tunnel Boring Machines Using Geoelectrical Theory”
  • Economics and Business Department Award ($150)
    • Rajendra Prasad – “Demystifying Japan's Liquefied Natural Gas Price Drivers Using VECM Approach”
  • Electrical and Computer Science Department Award ($150)
    • Hisham Sager – “Pedestrian Detection in Low-Resolution Videos”
  • Geology and Geological Engineering Award ($150)
    • Robert Duran – “Application of Discontinuity Multivariate Clustering Analysis in Support of Rock Mass Characterization for a Small Scale Hydrothermal Fluid Flow Study at the Edgar Mine in Idaho Springs, Colorado”
  • Geophysics Department Award (Tie - $150)
    • Elias Arias - ""Estimating Seismic Reflection Slopes"
  • Geophysics Department Award (Tie - $150)
    • Allie Grazulis – “Measuring Seismic Amplitude of Synthetic Shale Blocks”
  • Liberal Arts and International Studies Department Award ($150)
    • Zira John – “Energy Poverty in Africa: Deciphering the Roles of Colonialism, Governance and Foreign Aid”
  • Mechanical Engineering Department Award ($150)
    • Ryan Hemphill – “Fused Filament Fabrication: Exploring Delamination Failures”
  • Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department Award ($150)
    • Sumedh Gostu – “Hydrometallurgical versus Pyrometallurgical Routes of Iron Removal From Red Mud”
  • Mining Engineering Department Award ($150)
    • Samuel Lolon – “Studies of Underground Coal Mine Explosion Prevention using Computational Fluid Dynamics”
  • Petroleum Engineering Department Award ($150)
    • Milad Saidian – “A Comparison of Measurement Techniques for Porosity and Pore Size Distribution in Mudrocks: A Case Study of Haynesville, Niobrara, Monterey and Eastern European Silurian Formations”
  • Physics Department Award (Tie - $150)
    • Jonathan Rea – “Analytical Modeling of a Dispatchable Solar Thermoelectric Generator with Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage and a Thermal Valve”
  • Physics Department Award (Tie - $150)
    • Ryan Crisp – “Solution-processed inorganic tandems using CdTe and PbS nanocrystals”
  • Runner Up Poster Presentation (Tie - $250)
    • Adam Short – “Optimized Failure Flow in a Planetary Rover”
  • Runner Up Poster Presentation (Tie - $250)
    • Alexandra Anderson – “Cerium Oxide Carbochlorination”
  • Runner Up Oral Presentation ($250)
    • Kun Wang – “Reactivity-Structure Based Rate Estimation Rules for Alkyl Radical H-atom Shift and Alkenyl Radical Cyclization Reactions”
  • Top Poster Presentation ($500)
    • Wendy Belcher – “Unsupervised Learning to Detect Erosion Events in Earth Dam and Levee Data”
  • Top Oral Presentation ($500)
    • Bernard Fosu – “Fundamental Roasting Studies on Newmont Ore and Concentrate Samples”
  • Top Overall Presentation ($1,000)
    • Farnaz Haririchi - Designing Smart Inverter with Unified Controller and Smooth Transition between Grid-Connected and Islanding Modes for Microgrid Application

The conference opened with Mines Advisory Board member Paul Wimer, who spoke on his experience assisting companies, from start-ups to Fortune 100 businesses, with corporate strategy development in a variety of industries. Former adjunct professor Bhakta Rath, currently a member of the Senior Executive Service of the U.S. government, presented a closing keynote.

The GSG Council is composed of one graduate student representative from each academic department offering graduate degree programs. The council meets the first and third Monday of every month to make decisions to guide GSG policies and activities. The meetings are open to interested graduate students. View more information about the conference at ceer.mines.edu.

 

Contact:

Kathleen Morton, Communications Coordinator / 303-273-3088 / kmorton@mines.edu
Karen Gilbert, Director of Public Relations / 303-273-3541 / kgilbert@mines.edu