Distinguished Lecture Series

The Colorado School of Mines Faculty Senate Distinguished Lecturer Award was established in 1990 as a means for the Mines faculty to annually honor one of their outstanding colleagues.

Nominations for the award are solicited from all faculty members. Nominees, who may be either active or retired members of the faculty or administration, represent people who are admired and respected by their peers in their role as educators and for their reputation for having stimulating ideas to convey and ability to communicate those ideas effectively.

The recipient, selected from the nominations by a committee of past honorees, and approved by the Mines Faculty Senate, is invited to make a presentation on a topic of his or her choice.

The honorees are further awarded a commemorative plaque and a monetary gift to their discretionary account by the Mines Provost and Executive Vice President.

Contact us

Brandon dugan

Faculty Senate President
Associate Department Head/Professor, Geophysics
Baker Hughes Chair in Petrophysics and Borehole Geophysics

dugan@mines.edu
(303) 273-3512

2024 Distinguished Lecturer: Robert Kee

Faculty Senate Distinguished Lecturer | Robert Kee

A 20-year Journey into Electrochemistry Research for Sustainable Energy Solutions

Beginning in 2002, Prof. Kee served as the PI for a cross-national MURI team to investigate the use of hydrocarbon logistics fuels in solid-oxide fuel cells.  The nine-PI team was composed of engineering and chemistry faculty from Mines, Caltech, and the University of Maryland.  For most of the team, this was their first venture into solid-state electrochemistry.  The MURI research at Mines was primarily concerned with theory and modeling.  However, we soon recognized that establishing a strong and complementary experimental capability would be essential for continued growth.  In 2005, with a significant grant from the State, the Colorado Fuel Cell Center (CFCC) was formed.  In 2007, the CFCC infrastructure expanded again with a federal earmark.  These substantial infrastructure investments have been central in securing and growing cutting-edge government- and industry-sponsored research programs.  Over the years, with new faculty positions, we have grown and strengthened our electrochemistry-based research.  Building on the foundations of the high-temperature fuel-cell research, applications have expanded to include electrolysis and membrane reactors, using both oxygen-ion and proton-conducting ceramic electrolytes and innovative composite electrodes.  In recent years, we have expanded electrochemistry initiatives into numerous aspects of Li-ion batteries.  Throughout this journey, our research benefits greatly by strong collegial multidisciplinary interactions within the Mines community.

Robert Kee Headshot

After 25 years at Sandia National Laboratories, Prof. Robert Kee joined the Mines faculty in 1996 as the George R. Brown Professor of Engineering.  Dr. Kee is best known for his research in modeling reacting-flow processes, with applications that include combustion, fuel cells, electrolysis, batteries, and materials processing.  Prof. Kee is the principal architect and developer of Chemkin, which is the leading software used worldwide for incorporating detailed chemistry into computational fluid flow.  His research includes the development of computational methods and implementation software.  His research is documented in over 250 archival papers, one textbook, and numerous book chapters.

Past Lectures