The top-ranked Colorado School of Mines golf team had a rough time at the Golfweek Division II Fall Invitational in Oregon this week, finishing the tournament 11th out of 15 competing schools and 53 strokes behind champion California State-Monterey Bay. Senior Kyle Grassel was the Orediggers’ highest finisher, ending up tied for 26th and 16 shots behind winner Brandon Hortt of CSU-Monterey Bay.
After a strong showing last weekend against New Mexico Highlands in this year’s Homecoming Game, the Oredigger football team stumbled on the road this week, losing a tight contest to Western New Mexico 25-22.
The Colorado School of Mines women’s cross country team took to the track on Saturday at the Roadrunner Invite, hosted by Metro State. The Lady Orediggers took fourth against six teams including RMAC foes Metro State, UCCS, Regis, and Colorado Christian.
The Mines campus is one of the few settings where nerds can talk about their favorite elements. Some are practical, such as nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon while others are favorites of the explosive-loving students. Some elements are favorites purely because of their name, such as Krypton. This week, Minds at Mines went around campus asking, “What is your favorite element and why?”
In the September 30, 2013 issue of the Oredigger, Jordan Francis reported on a wonderful interview that he conducted with Kiewit CEO Bruce Grewcock. In this interview, Grewcock suggested that, in addition to a working knowledge of STEM skills (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), Mines students who wish to become successful engineers ought to develop proficient critical thinking and communication skills.
Welcome to your common exam, and thank you for testing with the Physics Department. I will be your TA for the duration of this exam. Whether you have tested with us before, or this is your first time, please pay full attention to the following academic dishonesty briefing.
The world needs clean energy. At some point in the future, carbon dioxide emissions might rise to dangerous levels, and scientists and engineers are working vigorously to find a practical solution to that issue. Edward Maginn from the University of Notre Dame currently runs a project investigating the properties of the relatively new substance “ionic liquids” and how developing new materials for energy and environmental problems can be done through molecular simulation.
Princeton University and Michigan University
A new method developed by researchers called “in silico nano-dissection” uses computers to separate and identify genes from specific cell types. The team used this new method to identify genes expressed in cells called podocytes that often malfunction in kidney disease. They showed that certain patterns of activity of these genes correlated with the severity of the kidney disease. They also demonstrated that their computer-based approach was more accurate than existing methods at identifying cell lineage specific genes.Using the method on kidney biopsy samples the researchers identified 136 genes and showed that two of these genes are able to cause kidney disease. The computational method can be used for cells other than those found in the kidney suggesting that the method could be useful for identifying genes for a range of diseases.
Lithium-Ion batteries appear in nearly every piece of modern technology: phones, laptops, digital cameras, cordless drills, electric vehicles, and airplanes. Professor John Berger from the Colorado School of Mines Department of Mechanical Engineering presented as part of the Applied Mathematics and Statistics (AMS) Colloquium series. Berger’s presentation focused on the stresses due to intercalation and phase transformation in lithium-ion battery cathodes. Along with Mechanical Engineering PhD student at Mines, Veruska Malavé, Professor Robert Kee, and Research Associate Professor Huayang Zhu, Berger is researching the impacts of the above stresses on lithium-ion battery materials.
After many years of long and difficult study, engineers can take comfort in the fact that they can be rewarded with a cool job, such as one in the field of rocket science. Companies like ATK allow engineers and others to combine their knowledge of math and science to the practical use of launching rockets and other crafts into atmosphere and outer space. As Dr. Janica Cheney, the Safety and Mission Assistance Director of ATK’s Defense and Commercial division explained, rocket science largely involves a combination of the principles of Physics and Chemistry combined with a fair bit of practical testing.