The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected Michigan Technological University to receive the PROSPECT Planning Prize, awarding the University $1 million to fund innovative plans to train the next generation of the mining, materials science and critical materials workforce.
The DOE's Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) selected Michigan Tech as one of 16 universities in the U.S. to receive a total of $16 million through the Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies (PROSPECT) Planning Prize. The prize recognizes and supports the winning universities' commitment to advancing nationwide efforts to grow the skilled workforce required to produce, process, recover and recycle critical minerals in the United States while creating good-paying jobs.
"America has abundant natural resources, but we need the skilled workforce to turn those resources into economic drivers that will grow our economy and create new jobs," said Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson. "For decades, we have allowed our mining and critical minerals workforce to decline and our domestic supply chains of critical minerals to weaken. PROSPECT is about reversing that trend by challenging universities to rapidly grow the number of graduates ready to build and sustain the American critical minerals supply chains, from mines to materials."
Michigan Tech is the only university from the state of Michigan selected to receive the prize, having the only accredited mining engineering bachelor's degree program in the state. The University has been recognized for its outstanding planning for innovation programs aimed at increasing the number of graduates and credentialed professionals prepared for careers in mining and related supply chain fields in the next two years.
"Michigan Tech began in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, created by the state to train engineers to meet our country's copper demands for the first energy transition. Now, almost 150 years later, we are excited to bring our long history of training workforce for and supporting the mining, minerals and materials industries to help achieve PROSPECT's goal of doubling the critical mineral workforce to help our country thrive through the next energy transition."
While all of Michigan Tech's engineering departments are recognized for this work, the departments of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, Materials Science and Engineering and Chemical Engineering especially focus on training students to understand and safely manage Earth's critical minerals and materials.
The PROSPECT Planning Prize is part of the DOE's broader $100 million initiative to restore U.S. energy dominance and rebuild domestic supply chains for materials that power modern energy, manufacturing and defense technologies.
Michigan Technological University is an R1 public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, and is home to nearly 7,500 students from more than 60 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan's flagship technological university offers more than 185 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, computing, forestry, business, health professions, robotics, psychology, social sciences, humanities, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
