News and Media
A dedicated experts and staff run the day-to-day operations of the Institute, and manage its research outputs, training, and public engagement activities. For media or interview inquiries with the Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian or any other of the Payne Institute leadership, please contact Deputy Director Greg Clough at (303)384-2218 or gclough@mines.edu.
“Good Samaritan” program may deliver where mine cleanup has stalled 6/11/2025
“Good Samaritan” program may deliver where mine cleanup has stalled
Student Researcher Molly Morgan, Payne Institute Energy Finance Program Director Brad Handler, and Faculty Fellow Elizabeth Holley write about how the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024 gives the Environmental Protection Agency authority to issue up to 15 pilot permits that allow qualified third parties to clean up legacy mine pollution without assuming legal liability for contamination they did not cause. June 11, 2025.
Rare earths shortage could cause pandemic-era disruptions, experts say 6/10/2025
Rare earths shortage could cause pandemic-era disruptions, experts say
Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Roderick Eggert contributes to this article about how a possible shortage of rare-earth elements — minerals that are now center stage in the global trade war – could recall the pandemic-era chip shortage that jacked up car prices, used and new, across America. June 10, 2025.
We Didn’t Inherit the Earth From Our Grandparents, We Borrowed It From Our Children 6/10/2025
We Didn’t Inherit the Earth From Our Grandparents, We Borrowed It From Our Children
Payne Institute Native American Mining and Energy Sovereignty (NAMES) Initiative Director Richard Luarkie is featured on this podcast giving a different perspective to the future of energy and of ourselves. He helps us think about the difference between stewardship and ownership, between a clean energy future and a not so clean energy past and about a future that is not a gift from our forefathers but is a loan from future generations. June 10, 2025.
A Study of Terminal Decline Rates of Oil & Gas Wells 6/9/2025
A Study of Terminal Decline Rates of Oil & Gas Wells
Payne Institute Energy Finance Lab Program Director Brad Handler, Student Researchers Vandan Bhalala and Liam O’Byrne, and Faculty Fellow Jim Crompton write about how in the United States alone, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that there may be nearly 4 million inadequately decommissioned oil and gas wells. They also collectively are a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, a driving force behind global warming. A climate mitigation business model is emerging in which a project developer undertakes to properly plug a leaking abandoned wellbore to stop its fugitive emissions. June 9, 2025.
Could peace be closer than we think? 6/9/2025
Could peace be closer than we think?
Payne Institute Fellow Noé van Hulst writes about how fossil fuel revenues fueled warfare in Ukraine and the Middle-East, despite the sanctions on Russia and Iran. Although the EU continues to discuss more stringent sanctions on Russia, there is a more silent, and perhaps more effective, force at work that may well undermine the engine of warfare: the trend of declining prices of oil and natural gas. Let’s dive a bit deeper into this trend. June 9, 2025.
The Seabed Is Now a Battlefield 6/4/2025
The Seabed Is Now a Battlefield
Payne Institute Fellow Alex Gilbert and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how the rules-based global order is under siege at sea. For most of the past century, U.S. naval superiority has bolstered the cooperative maritime security framework needed to build a prosperous global economy. No longer. June 4, 2025.
The Quantum Imperative 6/2/2025
The Quantum Imperative
Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian writes about how quantum is critical to US tech leadership—ignoring it risks economic, scientific, and national security setbacks. The tip of the spear for technological dominance in the battle between the United States and China is not limited to AI, but in the future application of quantum physics to computing, measurement, and communications. June 2, 2025.
No Minerals, No Megawatts: How material costs and availability shape the future of the US power sector 5/30/25
No Minerals, No Megawatts: How material costs and availability shape the future of the US power sector
Maxwell Brown, Eliza Hotchkiss, Payne Institute Student Researchers Gabriel Collins and Mirali Seyedrezaei, and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how the resilience of the US power sector is increasingly challenged by material price fluctuations and supply chain disruptions, necessitating a deeper understanding of their impacts on energy capacity expansion, infrastructure and system costs, and emissions. May 30, 2025.
Two professors with local ties win prestigious national fellowships 5/30/2025
Two professors with local ties win prestigious national fellowships
Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Jessica Smith is featured in this article about her research on the transition from fossil fuels to other energy sources are impacting sociopolitical systems, primarily looking at impacts on Wyoming and Colorado communities. May 30, 2025.
Trade war with China highlights auto sector’s need for rare-earth mineral supply 5/29/2025
Trade war with China highlights auto sector’s need for rare-earth mineral supply
Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Ian Lange contributed to this article about how President Donald Trump’s trade war with China underscores the importance of a reliable supply chain for the automotive industry of rare-earth minerals and magnets made from them that are necessary for parts from electric vehicle motors to windshield wipers and anti-lock braking systems. May 29, 2025.
Green Steel 5/26/2025
Green Steel
Payne Institute Low Carbon Energy Technologies Program Manager Anna Littlefield contributes to this podcast on how industrial processes like the manufacture of steel, cement, fertilizers and petrochemicals, especially plastics, account for one-third of our global energy use. The world now produces annually about 4.5 billion tons of cement, 1.8 billion tons of steel, nearly 400 million tons of plastics, and 180 million tons of ammonia. Their manufacture requires high temperatures, which is often the case, the heat comes from burning fossil fuels. What is the path to decarbonize industrial processes? May 26, 2025.
Can Colorado better source, produce rare earth minerals? 5/26/25
Can Colorado better source, produce rare earth minerals?
Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Ian Lange contributes on this article about President Donald Trump’s recent policy directives to cut the cord between China and the U.S. for rare earth minerals triggered by China’s retaliatory cut-off of certain critical minerals put a spotlight on the United State’s near-total dependence on China for minerals, products and materials essential to our economy and national defense. May 26, 2025.
From Black Gold to Green Growth: Kurdistan’s Energy Opportunity at a Crossroads
From Black Gold to Green Growth: Kurdistan’s Energy Opportunity at a Crossroads
Payne Institute Fellow Peri-Khan Aqrawi-Whitcomb writes about the Kurdistan Region’s recent multibillion-dollar oil and gas deals with U.S. companies, framing them as a pivotal moment of economic and geopolitical significance. While these agreements open the door to long-term prosperity, their success depends not only on the Kurdistan Regional Government but also on its international partners. May 26, 2025.
Europe’s Bet on Saving Industry 5/22/25
Europe’s bet on saving industry
Payne Institute Fellow Noé van Hulst writes about a blog he published a year ago, “Anatomy of a Fall: Europe’s deindustrialisation”. Since then so much has happened that I feel the urge to come back to this topic. The bad news is that despite passionate speeches and statements from policy makers about the key importance of the manufacturing industry for the economic and security future of Europe, the bleeding hasn’t stopped. May 22, 2025
Advancing CO2 separation and capture in post-combustion scenarios using resonant vibration techniques 5/15/2025
Advancing CO2 separation and capture in post-combustion scenarios using resonant vibration techniques
Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Amirhosein Riahi, Julie Muretta, and Richard LaDouceur write about how carbon dioxide (CO2) requires specialized capture methods for effective mitigation. Biochar has garnered significant interest as a versatile, porous solid adsorbent due to its cost-effective production, thermal, chemical, and mechanical stability, and minimal environmental impact. However, its small surface area and diffusional issues result in slow CO2 adsorption kinetics and limited capacity, hindering widespread adoption. May 14, 2025.
Native American Mining and Energy Sovereignty Initiative receives support from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation 5/15/2025
Native American Mining and Energy Sovereignty Initiative receives support from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
The Payne Institute for Public Policy at Colorado School of Mines has received support from the Sloan Foundation for our Native American Mining and Energy Sovereignty (NAMES) Inititative. The Payne Institute will be hosting our second annual NAMES Symposium this month in Ignacio, Colorado. May 15, 2025.
The most promising ways to destroy ‘forever chemicals’ 5/14/2025
The most promising ways to destroy ‘forever chemicals’
Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Christopher Higgins contributed to this article about how researchers are seeking a breakthrough on how to get rid of PFAS, which have been found in drinking water, food packaging and soil. May 14, 2025.
Carving a path to the energy future with the Payne Institute for Public Policy 5/6/2025
Carving a path to the energy future with the Payne Institute for Public Policy
Payne Institute Senior Advisor and Mines Alum Rick Tallman ’85, MS ’92, is featured in this article about his work as a key strategist for the Payne Institute’s Native American Mining and Energy Sovereignty Initiative (NAMES) and as a member of the Mines Foundation Board of Governors. Tallman said he began working with the Payne Institute because their substantive work is influencing how Mines—and Mines students—can change the world. May 6, 2025.
Pentagon’s AI metals program goes private in bid to boost Western supply deals 5/2/2025
Pentagon’s AI metals program goes private in bid to boost Western supply deals
Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Ian Lange contributed to this article about how a U.S. government-created artificial intelligence program that aims to predict the supply and price of critical minerals has been transferred to the control of a non-profit organization that is helping miners and manufacturers strike supply deals. May 2, 2025.
Tracking a Chemical Explosion in Iran 4/28/2025
TRACKING A CHEMICAL EXPLOSION IN IRAN
Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Mikhail Zhizhin, Christopher Elvidge, and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how A massive explosion occurred on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at the Shahid Rajaee port, located near the southern city of Bandar Abbas, Iran. This port is Iran’s largest commercial harbor and a crucial trade hub on the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz is well known as a key transit for global oil trade. April 28, 2025.
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