How China Beat Out the U.S. to Become the Top Player in Rare-Earths Refining

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, discusses the challenge posed by China's dominance in the processing and refining of ores.
March 24, 2025

China Is Winning the Minerals War

“China is not just standing still waiting for us to catch up,” said Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute at the Colorado School of Mines. “They are making investments on top of their already massive investments in all aspects of the ....
May 21, 2024

The Computer Science Major Leading College Football’s Nerdiest Contender

John Matocha of the Colorado School of Mines already has a job offer and an all-time college football record—and wants a Division II championship next. (PS: that’s not a real face tattoo.)
November 30, 2023

Big Oil’s Talent Crisis: High Salaries Are No Longer Enough

Jennifer Miskimins, head of the petroleum engineering department at Colorado School of Mines, said Gregg’s graduating class is benefiting from a pickup in oil-industry hiring and many have gotten good internships. “They’re a hot commodity,” she said ....
August 6, 2023

The Energy Transition Will Require Cobalt. America’s Only Mine Can’t Get Off the Ground.

In relatively small markets for critical minerals, it remains unclear if Washington will be able to jump-start investment or have to settle for subsidizing projects that can’t stand up on their own, said Rod Eggert, an economics professor at the ....
July 22, 2023

China Controls Minerals That Run the World—and It Just Fired a Warning Shot at U.S.

“We would be foolish to limit our thinking that that kind of thing is impossible,” said Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines. “If you keep ratcheting up your tit-for-tat, that’s one area ....
July 7, 2023

Even University Presidents Lose Their Minds When Their Teens Apply to College

Richard Holz filled out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the Fafsa, for his two daughters. Like many parents, he found the process baffling. “It’s like they want to know your shoe size,” says Dr. Holz. “They want to know so much ....
November 29, 2022

Auto Makers Ask Congress for Easier Path to Electric-Vehicle Tax Break

"There is and remains a total domination by China on the processing side,” said Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute and professor at the Colorado School of Mines. “It’s definitely not changing in the short term. That would be a decadal ....
August 4, 2022

Now Hiring: Industry Jobs for the New Space Age

Angel Abbud-Madrid, director of the Center for Space Resources at the Colorado School of Mines, discusses the "living off the land" approach to space exploration in this Wall Street Journal podcast episode.
May 31, 2022

Wooden Skyscrapers are on the Rise

“We need to find a way to make these buildings earthquake-resistant, since it’s a new building type, and nobody’s ever done this before,” says Shiling Pei, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Colorado School of Mines and ....
April 11, 2022