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Foundations of Responsible Innovation

Welcome to the Colorado School of Mines, where our faculty and students are driving national leadership in energy innovation, grid resilience, critical mineral security, quantum science, and mission-focused research with partners across the federal landscape.

Foundations of Responsible Innovation

Intersections Policy - Capitol Building

Intersections of Science, Policy, & Governance

Examining processes of policymaking and governance and engaging with decision-makers to leverage Mines’ technical expertise and address the most pressing challenges of our world.

Engineering Sustainability

Engineering Global Sustainability

Exploring the interconnection between environmental stewardship, social equity, and economic growth to build a resilient and sustainable future.

Economic Feasibility

Economic Feasibility & Social Acceptance

Understanding the economic and social drivers that influence resource and technology development and adoption in communities across the globe.

Entrepreneurship Innovation

Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Identifying sociotechnical opportunities and delving into the factors that promote entrepreneurship to transforms ideas into market-ready products and services.

Communication Public Engagement

Communication & Public Engagement

Exploring how attention to social context can inform research development, enhance public accountability of science and engineering, and inspire community interest in science.

Ethics Values

Ethics & Values

Investigating the inherent ethical dimensions of science, engineering, and society to promote responsible research and actions that are aligned with diverse human values.

Transforming Engineering Education

Transforming Engineering Education & STEM Workforce

Understanding student learning and developing project-based experiences that integrate the environmental, social, and technical dimensions of STEM education to build an innovative and ethical future workforce.

International Relations & Global Studies

International Relations & Global Studies

Studying the international dimensions of social, technical, and environmental systems, and engaging with the global community of researchers and leaders working to build a better global future.

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“Mines is unique among engineering schools, because we have innovative social scientists who study science, technology and engineering and use that knowledge to collaborate with our peers. This means that as an institution, we have a real opportunity to lead the practice of interdisciplinary, transformative research that really makes a difference.”

- Dr Jessica Smith, Professor, Engineering, Design, and Society Division Director, Humanitarian Engineering & Science Graduate Programs

Uniquely Mines: Explore our distinctive opportunities, expertise, & facilities

Humanitarian Engineering

The Humanitarian Engineering and Science (HES) program educates technical professionals to promote sustainable community development by drawing on a unique mixture of faculty expertise in engineering, applied sciences, and social sciences. HES students engage in direct research and outreach within and alongside the communities they seek to serve. Project experiences prepare graduates for careers in development, corporate responsibility, or further study.

HES graduates are prepared to become impactful leaders who can harness engineering and science to foster sustainable community development for people around the world.

LEARN MORE ABOUT HUMANITARIAN ENGINEERING

Foundations of Responsible Innovation: Research Collaborations

Mines embraces a culture of collaboration and has a history of building strategic partnerships across industry, academia, government, and national labs. Sharing capabilities and expertise enables us to accelerate and broaden our impact as we work together to engineer innovative solutions. Discover our Foundations collaborations:

Center for Resource Recovery and Recycling

Center for Resource Recovery and Recycling

CR³ is a multi-university cooperative research center focused on sustainable stewardship of the earth's resources. Mines partners with Worcester Polytechnic Institute and KU Leuven to advance technologies that recover, recycle, and reuse materials across industries.

Colorado Geological Survey

Colorado Geological Survey

Housed at Mines, CGS is a state government agency that provides geologic advice to the public to help reduce the impact of geologic hazards, promote responsible development of mineral and energy resources, and provide geologic insight into water resources.

Critical Materials Innovation Hub

Center for Mineral Resources Science

CMI is a DOE Energy Innovation Hub focused on assuring supply chains for materials critical to clean energy technologies. Mines is part of CMI senior leadership and spearheads CMI efforts in education, training, and outreach.

Institute for Initiatives in Latin America

Institute for Initiatives in Latin America

IILA builds external connections with partner institutions in Latin America and mobilizes Mines resources to conduct cutting-edge applied science that benefits local communities and builds research capacities at partner institutions.

Nexus | Mines/NLR

Nexus | Mines/NLR

Nexus is a partnership between Mines and the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) that strengthens, accelerates, and enhances collaborative efforts to address energy challenges.

Shared Instrumentation Facility

Shared Instrumentation Facility

The SIF provides centralized access to world-class scientific equipment and engineering instruments on Mines campus. External partners can consult with technical experts and access the SIF through our website.