Research at Mines

Global Leaders

Mines is recognized as an R1 Institution by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, and is a global leader in research with a focused mission to enhance understanding of the earth, energy and the environment. Led by our world-class faculty, the research conducted at Mines aims to address national and international critical needs while cultivating the experience of our graduate students as the next generation experts in their field. The university is home to world-class research facilities that provide services, expertise and instrumentation which enable innovative, cutting-edge fundamental and basic research throughout campus. Through partnerships with industry, national laboratories, other universities, funding agencies and international institutions, Mines is able to conduct leading-edge research with significant impacts in addressing real-world problems. Research is a cooperative effort in the Mines community.

Research and Technology Transfer Vision, Values and Goals: Mines articulates the vision, values and goals for its research activities through a variety of publicly available resources, including the Mines website.

In research and technology transfer, the Mines vision is “an inclusive culture of excellence in research and innovation interdisciplinary and collaborative, creating positive societal impact.” We continue to be leaders in our traditional areas of strength such as mining, materials and energy, while expanding our research portfolio to include areas critical to national and global issues including data science, machine learning / artificial intelligence, quantum engineering, cybersecurity, bioscience and biotechnology, the energy transition, circular economy, social justice, humanitarian engineering, and environmental stewardship. Our world-class facilities and faculty as well as our important partnerships with industry, national laboratories, other universities, funding agencies and international institutions enable us to maintain our cutting-edge research and have a significant impact by addressing key real-world problems.

A sampling of materials publicly available which define our vision, values and goals of research efforts undertaken by Mines faculty include the following.

Shared Instrumentation Facility

Research Centers & Industry Consortia

Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Research by Department

Unique Facilities & Equipment

The Payne Institute for Public Policy

Colorado School of Mines remains committed to tackling some of the most difficult challenges in earth, energy and environment, including finding solutions to groundwater contamination and lowering the risks of small-scale mining.