Associate Professor Linda Figueroa (CEE) has been elected a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineering. Figueroa’s primary area of focus throughout her 30 years in environmental engineering has involved wastewater reclamation and mine water treatment. In the last decade, her work has focused on synthesizing knowledge to develop and demonstrate sustainable technologies. She has served the profession through her position at Mines and national/international efforts. She had a pivotal role in the establishment of environmental engineering programs at Mines.

Professor Mark Coffey (PH) has returned from a second Fulbright Specialist Program visit to Cardiff, Wales, UK, where he presented mathematics lectures and consulted with faculty, students and staff on mathematics education and other topics.

Assistant Professor Svitlana Pylypenko (CH) organized the 37th Annual Symposium on Applied Surface Analysis, held at Mines June 2-4. Sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the American Vacuum Society and the AVS Applied Surface Science Division, the symposium included presentations and posters surrounding the application of traditional surface analytical techniques, their development, data analysis, and sample preparation.

Assistant Professor Geoff Brennecka (MME) has been awarded the Du-Co Ceramics Young Professional Award from the American Ceramic Society. The award is given to a member under the age of 40 and in the first 10 years of his or her career, "who demonstrates exceptional leadership and service to ACerS.” Brennecka will receive his award at the ACerS Honors and Awards Banquet on Oct. 5 in Columbus, Ohio.

Dr. Catherine Skokan earned her bachelor’s, master’s and PhD in Geophysical Engineering from the Mines Geophysics Department. She joined that department in 1975 and continued until 1996, when she joined the engineering department as a tenured associate professor. She continued this position until 2010 and then became a member of the research faculty, regularly working on educational outreach projects with the Trefny Institute for Educational Innovation.