Dr. Kwame Awuah-Offei
O’Keefe Institute Director
Chair and Professor of Mining and Explosives Engineering
Research Interests
- Mining Engineering
- Sustainability
- Life cycle assessment
- Energy efficiency
Dr. Michael Moats
Chair and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Research Interests
- Extractive metallurgy
- Hydrometallurgy
- Electrorefining and electrowinning
- By-product recovery
Dr. Alanna Krolikowski
Assistant Professor of History and Political Science
Research Interests
- Political economy of global supply chains
- International technology and innovation policy
- U.S.-China trade relations
- Diversity of regulatory and policy environments
Dr. Marek Locmelis
Associate Professor of Geology and Geophysics
Research Interests
- Conceptual exploration targeting
- Strategic mineral resources
- Transport and deposition of critical minerals
- REE from clay minerals
Dr. Lana Alagha
Associate Professor of Mining Engineering
Research Interests
- Rare earth extraction
- Froth flotation
- Mine waste management
Dr. Mark Fitch
Associate Professor of Civil Engineering
Research Interests
- Mine impacted waters
- Biochemical reactors
- Metal remediation
- Sustainability
Dr. Mahelet Fikru
Associate Professor of Economics
Research Interests
- Environmental and Resource Economics
- Energy Economics
- Industrial Organization
- Microeconomics
Dr. Maciej Zawodniok
Associate Professor of Computer Engineering
Research Interests
- Digital twins
- Energy-efficient protocols
- RF-based localization
- Wireless sensor networks
Dr. Hongyan Ma
Francisco Benavides Scholar
and Associate Professor of Civil Engineering
Research Interests
- Carbon-negative recovery of critical minerals
- Materials characterization
- Multi-scale modeling
- Solid waste upcycling