Jon Kellar is the Douglas Fuerstenau Professor of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering. He has been on the faculty since 1990, and in 1994 was selected as an National Science Foundation Presidential Faculty Fellow and in 2016 a Distinguished Member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration. One of Kellar’s academic passions is the creation of undergraduate programs that integrate metallurgy principles to support kinesthetic-based curricular development and outreach.

Dr. Michael West is an associate professor and head of the Department of Materials and Metallurgical engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SD Mines). He has been involved in research with welding and processing for a variety of metal alloys. He has also been involved with several STEM-Education projects including the NSF Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) “Back in Black” Blacksmithing program (Co-PI), the NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates Site (REU) “Back to the Future” (PI), the S-STEM Culture and Attitude Scholarship program for women in engineering (PI), and the Army Educational Outreach REAP program for High school students at SD Mines. Dr. West is active in several professional societies including ASM (directing the ASM Materials Camp for high school students), The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, and the American Welding Society (serving as faculty advisor for the Black Hills American Welding Society chapter). He is also the faculty advisor for the Blacksmithing club on the SD Mines Campus. Many of these activities have a focus of engineering within an artistic or historical context.

Dr. Cassandra (Degen) Birrenkott received her B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 2007 and her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering in 2012 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology where her research interests include novel manufacturing and characterization techniques of polymer and composite structures, the incorporation of multifunctionality in polymeric materials by inducing desired responses to mechanical loading stimuli, and STEM education.

Matthew Whitehead makes paintings, drawings, photographs, and collages based on the subtleties of personal life experience. While rooted in intuition and aesthetics, his work occasionally raises ideas of appropriation and the proliferation of images in contemporary society.

Matthew feels that creativity and art making are essential to existence and hopes to spend his life facilitating both. He has taught Painting, Drawing, Photography, Illustration, Ceramics, Design, Art History, and Foundational Arts to students of all ages. He is currently acting as Professor of Art and the Director of The APEX Gallery at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. He is also the current President of the Rapid City Arts Council board of directors.

https://www.matthewwhitehead.com/

Dr. Katrina J. Donovan graduate from the SD Mines in 2010 and her Ph.D. from the Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering program at Oregon State University. Prior to joining the faculty at SD Mines, she worked in the 3D Printing Department at HP Inc. in Corvallis, OR. She is currently a Lecturer in the Materials and Metallurgical Engineering Department at SD Mines where her research interests include frugal science characterization techniques, materials characterization complex liquid to rigid solids, composite systems, and STEM education.

Dr. Kellogg is a Professor Emeritus of Industrial Engineering and has 36 years in academia. Prior to private consultation he has spent the bulk of his academic research in engineering education and assessment with 40 publications in this area. He has been a member of two NSF cohort groups for Rigorous Research in Engineering Education, has been invited to two RREE Symposiums for work related to holistic learning and has given two invited assessment presentations at the Rose-Hulman Assessment conferences. He has been an independent evaluator on five NSF S-STEM grants, six NSF REU grants, and three faculty development grants.

Deborah Mitchell is Associate Professor Emerita of Humanities at South Dakota Mines, where she taught art history and drawing as well as directed the Apex Gallery. After 19 years of service, she retired in 2018 to pursue full time studio work.

Before coming to South Dakota, she received an MFA in printmaking from Utah State University. As a Graduate Intern at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, she studied paper conservation and completed her thesis show creating monotypes on location throughout Manhattan.

Over the years she has also worked in sculptural ceramics, blacksmithing, and jewelry. In 2004 she designed the SDSMT Ceremonial Mace which is carried during commencement ceremonies by the President of the Faculty.

As a former curator she brings knowledge of a variety of disciplines as well as connections with national and international art communities to our program.