COVID-19 affected this year’s mining engineering competitions just like nearly every other aspect of life. But our teams would not be denied a chance to participate.

Catherine Johnson was promoted to associate professor of mining and explosives engineering and granted tenure this fall. The action comes as no surprise to those who are familiar with Johnson’s work at Missouri S&T.

What would draw a student from Quito, Ecuador, to a mining engineering program at Missouri S&T? For Nicolas Sanchez Calderon, it was the chance to combine his interests in civil engineering and geology. Sound like a stretch? Not at all, says Sanchez Calderon.

Missouri S&T has been educating mining engineers for 150 years. Mining was part of our first name, really – Missouri School of Mines. No surprise, then, that S&T alumni are still leaders in the industry and are taking mining engineering into the future in highly technical new ways.

The 2020-21 academic year brought a lot of attention – and grant money – to S&T’s steel research.