The Brass LIFE (Leadership, Involvement, Foreign Experience) Award honors exemplary Mines students seeking new experiences through study abroad with $5,000 per semester for up to three semesters.*

Established in 2007 by alumni Lorin and Mary Brass (‘75 and ‘77), whose careers and family life were greatly enriched by living, working and traveling internationally, the Brass LIFE Award seeks to encourage Mines students to pursue transformative global opportunities through academic study outside of the United States.

*at least one semester must be dedicated to an approved South Dakota Mines study abroad program.

Lorin Brass (BSMetE ‘75) was raised in Lennox, South Dakota before attending SD Mines for Metallurgical Engineering. After receiving his MS in Materials Science and Engineering from UC Berkeley he had a nearly 30-year career with Shell Oil Company, holding various engineering, business, and leadership roles in the U.S. and internationally. 

His wife, Mary Rausch Brass (BSCE ‘77), grew up in Rapid City and studied Civil Engineering at SD Mines. She worked as a structural engineer for Brown & Root before fully dedicating her time to family and volunteering.

The Brass family lived in The Hague, the Netherlands from 1997-2006. Their life experiences as part of the international community abroad enriched their appreciation for the diversity of world cultures. It opened doors for them to travel extensively throughout Europe and beyond. Recognizing the transformative impact that international living had on them and their daughters, the Brasses established the Brass LIFE (Leadership, Involvement, Foreign Experience) Award in 2007 through the Lorin and Mary Brass Endowment Fund, funded by the Brass Family Foundation.