With degrees in hand and a major milestone achieved, our GMES Spring & Summer 2026 graduates came together at the Rock House / Mine Shaft in Houghton to celebrate their transition into the Michigan Technological University alumni community!
GMES is proud to announce and celebrate the accomplishments of our Spring & Summer 2026 graduates. These dedicated students have conducted research, completed rigorous coursework, and made meaningful contributions to our academic community. Their hard work and perseverance have prepared them to take the next step as professionals and researchers in the fields of geosciences, mining, and engineering. Please join us in congratulating the following graduate students:
The Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences (GMES) is proud to congratulate alumna Sienna Meekhof (Geology, 2021) on receiving the 2026 AIPG John Stewart Memorial Early Career Professional Award, a prestigious national honor recognizing outstanding early career geologists who demonstrate leadership, service, and a commitment to advancing the profession.
The Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences (GMES) is proud to recognize Bryce Baar as the 2026 GMES Department Scholar!
Dr. Nathan Manser, Professor of Practice in the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences (GMES), has been named the inaugural Richard J. Saccany ’71 Endowed Faculty Fellow in Mining Engineering. His five-year appointment will begin on July 1, 2026. We congratulate Nathan on this well-deserved recognition.
“I am deeply honored and grateful to be selected as a recipient of the Richard J. Saccany ’71 Endowed Faculty Fellow in Mining Engineering,” said Manser.
The Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences (GMES) is proud to recognize Dr. Yanrui “Daisy” Ning, who was selected as a Fall 2025 Research Excellence Fund (REF) Seed Grant recipient by Michigan Tech’s Vice President for Research Office. Daisy joined the GMES faculty in Fall 2025 as an Assistant Professor and has quickly begun building a strong research program focused on advancing digital sensing and modeling approaches for subsurface engineering and mining applications.
Dr. Ning’s project “Fiber-Optic Signatures of Stress and Seepage in Underground Critical-Mineral Mines” supports the development of new approaches for improving monitoring and safety in underground critical-mineral mines. By combining advanced modeling techniques with fiber-optic sensing technologies, her work aims to improve how deformation and water-related hazards are detected and interpreted in underground environments.
The REF Seed Grant will help Dr. Ning establish a strong foundation for future externally funded research and expand GMES research capacity in areas such as digital mining, sustainable subsurface engineering, and resilient infrastructure. The project will also provide training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, helping prepare the next generation of engineers and scientists.
The GMES community congratulates Daisy Ning on this achievement and looks forward to her continued success at Michigan Tech. Dr. Ning’s work aligns closely with Michigan Tech’s Tech Forward 2.0 priorities, including sustainability, resilient infrastructure, and responsible development of critical mineral resources. It also reflects GMES’s continued commitment to integrating advanced computational tools and sensing technologies into mining and geoscience education and research.
The GMES community congratulates Daisy Ning on this well-earned recognition and looks forward to the impact of her work as she continues to grow her research program at Michigan Tech.
Michigan Tech’s student team from the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences (GMES), known as School of Minds, has advanced to the top six teams nationally in Phase 2 of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (SME)/National Stone, Sand, and Gravel Association (NSSGA) Student Design Competition. This achievement places the team among a select group of top-performing programs across the country in a highly competitive national field.
The geophysical instrumentation capabilities of the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences (GMES) have recently been expanded with the acquisition of a state-of-the-art ABEM Terrameter LS 2 resistivity and induced polarization (IP) surveying system. This purchase was made possible through the Carl Schwenk Faculty Fellow Endowment Fund.
This investment reflects GMES’s ongoing commitment to providing students with hands-on training and technical skills that align with current and emerging workforce needs. The new system replaces an older instrument and enables the addition of an induced polarization module to our summer field geophysics course, taught by the Carl Schwenk Faculty Fellow, Teaching Professor Dr. Jeremy Shannon.
Carl Schwenk was deeply committed to geoscience education and to ensuring that future generations of geoscientists and geoengineers had access to modern tools and meaningful field experiences. By sharing his success with his alma mater, he created a lasting impact that continues to benefit our students today. We remain deeply grateful for his vision and generosity.
Gifts like the Carl Schwenk Faculty Fellow Endowment Fund demonstrate how alumni and friends can make a tangible, lasting difference in student education. Continued philanthropic support allows GMES to invest in cutting-edge equipment, strengthen experiential learning, and prepare students to lead in a rapidly evolving geoscience profession.
Written by Aleksey Smirnov, Chair of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences.
Celebrating Our Fall 2025 MS & PhD Graduates
GMES is proud to announce and celebrate the accomplishments of our Fall 2025 graduates. These dedicated students have conducted research, completed rigorous coursework, and made meaningful contributions to our academic community. Their hard work and perseverance have prepared them to take the next step as professionals and researchers in the fields of geosciences, mining, and engineering. Please join us in congratulating the following graduate students:
Sananda Ray, PhD, Geophysics
Rolla Asiedu, MS Geology
Elijah Dosapati, MS Mining Engineering
Seth Farmer, MS Geology
Kudakwashe (Kuda) T. Mutanga, MS Mining Engineering
Akintunde (Stephen) Samakinde, MS Geological Engineering
We are incredibly proud of each of these graduates and look forward to seeing the impact they will make in their careers and beyond. Congratulations to the graduate student class of 2025!
Congratulations to Our Fall 2025 Bachelor of Science Graduates!
GMES is proud to celebrate the achievements of our Fall 2025 Bachelor of Science graduates—students who have built the skills and knowledge to become the next generation of geoscientists and engineers. Please join us in congratulating:
Matthew Keebaugh, BS Mining Engineering
Luke Mariuzza, BS Geological Engineering
Carl Rich, BS Geology
Kiera Watson, BS Geology
Honoring our award and scholarship recipients:
Graduate Certificate in Geoinformatics
- Kudakwashe (Kuda) T. Mutanga
Outstanding Scholarship Award
Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award
Finishing Fellowship Recipients
- Gabriel Ahrendt, Ph.D. in Geophysics
- Xinzhu (Sabrina) Li, Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences
The Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences (GMES) at Michigan Technological University is always looking for opportunities to expand our education and research into new, forward-looking areas. Drone-based geophysics is one such area—an emerging field that is rapidly transforming how we investigate and understand the subsurface.
Drone-based geophysics offers remarkable potential for geoscience and engineering practice. By
combining unmanned aerial systems with advanced geophysical sensors, we can safely and efficiently
collect high-resolution data in challenging or previously inaccessible environments. These capabilities
are reshaping mineral exploration, environmental assessment, hazard mapping, and infrastructure
monitoring.
To provide our students with this increasingly sought-after skill set — valued across industry, government agencies, and research organizations — we have launched the development of a new drone-based geophysics curriculum. To support this initiative, the department has acquired a high-capacity Aurelia X6 Pro V2 drone paired with a Geometrics MagArrow II magnetometer, one of the most advanced airborne magnetic systems available. This effort is currently led by Professor Aleksey Smirnov, chair of GMES, together with MS student Samuel Jensen. Both have recently completed comprehensive training and earned professional unmanned aerial vehicle pilot licenses, ensuring safe and compliant deployment of these systems in research and instructional settings.
Our vision is to develop a suite of drone-based geophysics courses covering not only airborne data acquisition but also advanced data processing and visualization. Students will use the state-of-the-art Seequent Oasis Montaj geophysical software — recently acquired to support the Applied Geophysics program — to work with real flight datasets, learn industry-standard workflows, and build strong practical expertise.
Our future research directions include a wide range of potential applications, such as high-resolution magnetic mapping of Precambrian rocks in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, critical minerals and geological hydrogen exploration, surveys of mine tailings and legacy mining landscapes for environmental and safety assessments, geologic mapping of fault zones and structural features, and magnetic mapping for archaeological investigations.
We are also actively seeking collaborations with other departments and research centers at Michigan Tech, as well as partners outside the university, to broaden the impact and interdisciplinary reach of this developing program.
Looking ahead, we plan to expand our toolkit with additional drone-compatible geophysical methods, including electromagnetics and ground-penetrating radar, further enhancing opportunities for education and research.
We are excited about the hands-on learning and research possibilities that drone-based geophysics will offer, and we hope that this work will inspire more students to join GMES and contribute to the continued success of the department. Stay tuned for updates…