Appendix A
Workshop Planning Committee Member Biographies
Eric M. Riggs (Chair) is dean of the College of Natural Resources and Sciences and professor of geology at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. He previously served as associate dean for diversity and graduate affairs in the College of Geosciences and was professor of geoscience education in the Department of Geology & Geophysics at Texas A&M University. Riggs has also served in faculty and administrative roles at Purdue University and San Diego State University. Riggs’ scholarship is focused on many related aspects of teaching, learning, and cognition in the geosciences through the lens of embodied cognition, culture, and diversity. He is past-president of the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) and the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT). He is a fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA) and is a professional member of GSA, NAGT, and the American Geophysical Union. Riggs has contributed to three prior workshops and reports with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, related to the future of the Earth science workforce. He served on the executive committee of AGI from 2015 to 2017, where he participated in activities advocating for increased development of the Earth science workforce. Riggs received a Ph.D. in geological sciences from the University of California, Riverside.
Antonio Arribas is professor and inaugural Kenneth F. and Patricia Clark Distinguished Chair in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences at The University of Texas at El Paso. He is an independent member of the board of directors of Tier One Silver and Coppernico Metals and advisor to the board of Torq Resources. Previously, he taught at Akita University (Japan) and worked for two decades with the mineral exploration industry, including vice president geoscience (BHP), senior manager geosciences (Newmont), and exploration manager South America (Placer Dome). Arribas conducts research in geology and geochemistry of mineral deposits and is also interested in the history and teaching of economic geology and exploration. He is a member of numerous professional societies, including the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, Society of Resource Geology, Société Géologique aux Gites Minéraux, and the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG). He was SEG’s vice president of regional affairs, inaugural chair of the Education and Training Committee, and president. Arribas was SEG-Thayer Lindsley Lecturer and co-recipient of the 2023 Brian J. Skinner Award. He has published on the teaching of economic geology, including Making the Case for More, and More Practical, Economic Geology Education and Appreciating and Teaching Economic Geology for the Society of Economic Geologists and National Association of Geoscience Teachers, respectively. Dr. Arribas received a B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the University of Salamanca, Spain, and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.
Kwame Awuah-Offei is Union Pacific/Rocky Mountain Energy professor in mining engineering and chair of the Department of Mining & Explosives Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology. He has served as a mining engineering academic fellow for the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission and as an alternate member of the Department of the Interior’s Royalty Policy Committee. His research revolves around improving the understanding of the effects of mining on the environment and society in order to develop sustainable mining practices. He is a fellow of the West African Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum, the recipient of the 2023 Environmental Distinguished Service Award of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, and a past Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow. He holds a Ph.D. and B.S. in mining engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology the and University of Mines and Technology, respectively.
Saskia Duyvesteyn is chief advisor of research and development at Rio Tinto Copper product group. She manages the portfolio of innovation projects across the entire value stream, including ore body knowledge, underground and surface mining, mineral processing, metallurgy, and tailings and digital projects. She has worked in several commodities in the mining industry, including copper, gold, silver, borates, molybdenum, and other critical minerals. Before working in industry, she was assistant professor in the Metallurgical Engineering Department at the University of Utah. Her research areas included ion exchange and carbon adsorption, bioleaching, flotation, and online education. She holds three patents in precious metal processing. Duyvesteyn received a B.S. in materials science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.S. in minerals engineering and Ph.D. in extractive metallurgy and mineral processing from the University of California, Berkeley.
Simon Jowitt is tenured director of the Ralph J. Roberts Center for Research in Economic Geology and Arthur Brant chair of exploration geology at the University of Nevada, Reno. He was previously associate professor of economic geology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and a research fellow and lecturer at Monash University. His research focuses on the use of geochemistry to unravel geological processes to understand mineralizing systems, petrology, mineral exploration, global tectonics, and the links between magmatism and metallogeny. He has also undertaken research on mineral economics, global metal resources, the security of supply of critical elements, the “economic” side of economic geology, the environmental impact of mining, and the potential uses of mining and other wastes for metal production and carbon dioxide sequestration. Jowitt is currently vice president for student affairs for the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG) and received SEG’s Waldemar Lindgren Award in 2014. He was an entrepreneurial faculty scholar in 2022–2023 at UNLV, was given the Distinguished Lecturer Award by the AusIMM Geoscience Society in 2022, and was the Rocky Mountain Federation of Mineralogical Societies Honorary Scholarship Awardee in 2022. Jowitt served as an invited expert for a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Meeting of Experts on Critical Minerals in 2023. He received a B.Sc. with honors in geology from the University of Edinburgh, an M.Sc. in mining geology from the Camborne School of Mines, and a Ph.D. from the University of Leicester.
John Metesh is director and state geologist of the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology (MBMG). He was previously a research hydrogeologist and assistant director/research division chief for MBMG. His 32-year association with MBMG and the Montana university system has provided opportunities to explore groundwater–surface water management under a wide variety of hydrogeologic settings. Metesh has published more than 50 reports, articles, and abstracts related to hydrogeology and geochemistry, as well as many unpublished reports relied upon for critical decisions related to legislation, natural resource damages, mine permitting/reclamation, and water rights. He is a registered professional geologist (Wisconsin) and is presently president of the Association of American State Geologists (2023–2024). Metesh received an M.S. in geological engineering from Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology and a Ph.D. in geology from the University of Montana.
Priscilla P. Nelson is professor of mining engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. Her work focuses on geological, civil, and tailings engineering. She is a distinguished member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), former president of the Geo-Institute of ASCE, a lifetime member and first president and fellow of the American Rock Mechanics Association, a Mole (https://themoles.net), and a Tau Beta Pi eminent engineer. Nelson received the Kenneth Andrew Roe Award from the American Association of Engineering Society, and the Henry L. Michel Award from ASCE. She was named a Global Inspirational Woman in Mining (by Women in Mining UK) and received the Outstanding Educator award from the Underground Construction Association of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration. In 2020, Nelson founded the Tailings Center as a collaboration with Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, and the University of Arizona. She received a B.S. in geology from the University of Rochester, master’s degrees in geology from Indiana University and structural engineering from the University of Oklahoma, and a Ph.D. from Cornell University.
