November 9, 2007

Article Body: Dear Friends,

With mid-terms behind us, the fall semester is fast coming to a close. The campus continues to enjoy an unusually mild weather with yet a hint of the snow and cold to come. Activities and events are running full steam. Here are a few of the highlights of the last few weeks.

We were honored to host His Excellency Hamid Al-Bayati, Iraqi Ambassador to the United Nations, and friend of alum William Tucker (GEOLE56) on campus on October 25th. Ambassador Al-Bayati, who was recently elected one of the Deputy Presidents of the U.N. General Assembly, spoke to the group in attendance about the current status of Iraq and its transition to a new government. He also shared his personal story telling of the persecution of his family under the Saddam Hussein regime and his involvement in the opposition to Saddam prior to the invasion. We thank Mr. Tucker for making this event possible.

Dr. Jan Puszynski, professor of chemical and biological engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, was recently honored by the Russian Academy of Sciences and the International Association of Self-Propagating High-Temperature Synthesis for his contribution to science and education during a special international conference in Chernogolovka, Moscow Region. Dr. Puszynski has published more than 140 papers on the subject of combustion synthesis of advanced ceramics and reaction engineering aspects of nanoenergetic materials, and was one of only five researchers from the United States who received this prestigious recognition by the international community.

The SDSM&T Foundation has announced a new $15,000 scholarship, the Lorin and Mary Brass LIFE (Leadership Involvement Foreign Experience) Award. This is the first SDSM&T Scholarship that will provide funds for a student to study abroad for at least one semester. Lorin and Mary Brass established the scholarship to emphasize the importance of campus leadership and international education experience for students, two areas that greatly impacted their lives. There will be one $15,000 scholarship awarded each academic year, with the first Lorin and Mary Brass LIFE Award being available to the scholarship recipient starting in the Fall 2008 semester. Interested students will need to submit a Scholarship Application before January 15, 2008. For an application and more information, visit: http://resources.sdsmt.edu/forms/brass-scholarship.doc.

In just their second year of competition, the School of Mines team, “The Good, The Bad, and The Nerdy”, took home first place with their over sized calculator craft named “The Numerator 2.0” in the Red Bull Soapbox Race held on October 13th in Providence, Rhode Island! Over 50,000 spectators gathered to watch 57 teams from across the United States and Canada compete in the race. Visit http://sdmines.sdsmt.edu/pressrelease/2007October/redbull for more information.

The SDSM&T programming teams placed fifth and eleventh in the North Central Regional ACM Programming Contest on November 3. Three of the four SDSM&T teams placed in the top 11% and all four teams placed in the top third. Other universities competing included: USD, SDSU, DSU, Iowa State, Kansas State, Michigan Tech, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, University of Iowa, and University of North Dakota. Congratulations to Coaches Ed Corwin, Toni Logar, Roger Schrader and their excellent teams of students! For a full listing of team standings visit: http://ncna.unomaha.edu/~acmregn/rankorder.html.

The School of Mines was host to the Rocky Mountain Unconventional Gas Conference October 10th-12th. This was our third annual unconventional gas conference on campus. With over 110 participants, the conference was a great success! Participants in the conference represented the coalbed methane and shallow gas industry, and came mostly fro the region, but some from as far away as Oklahoma, Texas, California, and Kentucky. Several participants were also alumni from the School of Mines. This conference provided professional, technical education for the participants—mostly geologists and engineers.

Best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments. I can be reached at charles.ruch@sdsmt.edu.

Charles Ruch

Posted by Mitchell Vander Vorst on 11/9/2007 3:40:00 PM

November 9, 2007

November 9, 2007

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