Researcher 3 – Computational Fluid Dynamics

Adam Duran recognized with KEEN Rising Star Award. October 27, 2026 By Emilie Rusch Adam Duran, teaching assistant professor of mechanical engineering, has been honored with the 2026 KEEN Rising Star Award from the Kern Family Foundation. The award is given to junior faculty members who have gone above and beyond to equip undergraduate engineers with an entrepreneurial mindset. Duran was one of three engineering faculty members across the U.S. to earn the distinction this year from the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN). "Technical skill tells you whether you can build the thing. It tells you nothing about whether the thing is worth building," Duran said. "What separates a graduate who thrives is the ability to walk into an ill-defined situation, figure out who is affected, find the connections nobody drew, and create something of value under ambiguous conditions. That is the entrepreneurial mindset, and it is not a business skill bolted onto an engineer. It is what it means to be an engineer." With the institutional funding from the Kern Family Foundation that accompanies the award, Duran plans to build a library of short stand-alone online modules that teach the entrepreneurial mindset without taking time away from technical instruction. Each 10- to 15-minute module pairs a short video built on a real engineering case with interactive scenarios in which students make decisions, compare their choices against expert responses and get immediate feedback. The modules will import directly into standard learning management systems, so faculty at Mines and elsewhere can add them to any course, from first-year design through capstone. "In my experience, students learn the technical material more deeply when they understand who it serves and why it matters," Duran said. "That is what the entrepreneurial mindset gives them. These modules are built to complement what faculty already teach. A student works through one before class and brings that thinking into the lecture, lab or design review. I want any engineering instructor at Mines or anywhere else to be able to add one to a course with very little effort." At Mines, Duran directs large-scale experiential learning programs that integrate technical rigor with hands-on, team-based projects as a core faculty member in the Mechanical Engineering Department's automotive track. In collaboration with Polina Brodsky, teaching associate professor of mechanical engineering, he leads Mines' involvement in the U.S. Department of Energy EcoCAR Innovation Challenge and co-advises Mines' Formula SAE team. He also serves on the Mines Capstone Leadership Team, helping guide curriculum development and instruction for annual cohorts of more than 700 engineering students. Before joining Mines, Duran served as a Program Director and Research Engineer at the National Laboratory of the Rockies, where he led major initiatives in advanced vehicle technologies and fuels. While at the lab, he also launched and directed a startup accelerator that helped early-stage energy technology companies move their innovations toward market. He is a licensed Professional Engineer, certified Project Management Professional and holds three degrees from Mines: an M.S. in Engineering and Technology Management, an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. An initiative of the Kern Family Foundation, the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) is a network of 69 universities across the United States committed to instilling the entrepreneurial mindset in undergraduate engineering students. The Kern Family Foundation's mission is to empower the rising generation of Americans to build flourishing lives anchored in strong character, inspired by quality education, driven by an entrepreneurial mindset, and guided by the desire to create value for others. Duran joins KEEN leadership team at Mines. Mines is also excited to announce that Duran will join the Mines KEEN Leadership Team, alongside Provost Stefanie Tompkins; Jack Bringardner, Ben L. Fryrear Chair for Innovation and Excellence; Megan Sanders, director of the Trefny Innovative Instruction Center; and Dean Nieusma, associate professor and department head of Engineering, Design, and Society. In this expanded leadership role, Duran will be instrumental in advancing Mines' institution-wide initiative to scale character education, integrate the entrepreneurial mindset across engineering curricula, and expand faculty development. His leadership will help empower faculty to prepare students to identify opportunities, create meaningful value and bring ideas to reality. Since joining the Mines faculty full time in 2022, Duran has been highly engaged with Mines' partnership with KEEN. His growing list of national leadership roles and recognitions include serving as an Engineering Unleashed Community Catalyst, joining Team Crescendo, being named a 2026 Engineering Unleashed Fellow, and now receiving the prestigious KEEN Rising Star Award. Duran was also recently selected for the 2026-2027 Entrepreneurial Mindset Future University Engineering Leaders (EM-FUEL) cohort. About Mines Colorado School of Mines is a public R1 research university focused on applied science and engineering, producing the talent, knowledge and innovations to serve industry and benefit society - all to create a more prosperous future.

DOE selects 14 projects for Hydropower Testing Network vouchers. * 5 October 2026 * Edited By: Lauren Ernst The US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Hydropower and Hydrokinetic Office (H2O) selected 14 hydropower projects to begin negotiations on vouchers for in-kind support through the Hydropower Testing Network (HyTN). Working with one of HyTN's 21 testing facilities, voucher recipients will improve the readiness of their hydropower technologies. "By pairing industry innovators with leading US test facilities and technical expertise, HyTN accelerates the development of next-generation technologies that keep hydropower reliable and abundant," said H2O Director Nichole Fitzgerald. Hydropower remains an important pillar of America's energy mix, accounting for nearly 6% of the country's total utility-scale electricity generation. Modernizing existing hydropower plants and implementing new technologies will help the United States meet its growing energy demand and drive down energy prices. By providing access to a wide range of testing capabilities, HyTN accelerates the development of hydropower innovations and helps ensure the United States can maintain and grow its hydropower systems in accordance with President Trump's Executive Order 14154, Unleashing American Energy. This is the second round of selections from HyTN, which offers access to more than 65 specialized physical testing and modeling capabilities ranging from hydraulic and biological testing to techno-economic analysis. The technology developers selected for this cohort have been matched with these capabilities, pending negotiations, based on their testing needs. The 14 selected projects are: * Dry Surface Technologies, LLC, based in Guthrie, Oklahoma, will work alongside Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to scale up the production of a non-toxic antifouling coating to a pilot-scale manufacturing process, providing a less expensive, non-toxic alternative for preventing clogged components, and reducing facility repairs. * Emrgy, Inc., based in Atlanta, Georgia, will demonstrate the prototype of a low-head turbine technology platform designed to generate energy from man-made water infrastructure like irrigation canals. * GenH, Inc., based in Somerville, Massachusetts, will test a rapidly deployable, low-impact technology to generate electricity from existing non-powered dams at the University of Minnesota. Results will inform a predictive framework that will help quickly design custom systems for different dams. * Hydro Green Energy, LLC, based in Birmingham, Alabama, will work with the National Laboratory of the Rockies to develop a grid-focused economic analysis for a pumped storage hydropower project at an existing dam and reservoir, facilitating advancement towards licensing and construction. * Kingsbury, Inc., based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is investigating an advanced thermoplastic polymer as a possible bearing material for use in hydropower generators, continuing its work with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) from the first round of HyTN. * Nucleic Sensing Systems, based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, will validate its real-time environmental DNA (eDNA) sensor, which monitors water for the presence of fresh, dissolved eDNA and distinguishes it from stale or transported eDNA. * Prometheus Innovations, LLC, based in Lafayette, Louisiana, will continue their work from the first round of HyTN, collaborating with PNNL to assess a coating that prevents harmful aquatic growth like invasive mussels and brown algae. * Prometheus Innovations, LLC will also work with PNNL to test an underwater net coating that can attract or repel fish to prevent them from swimming into water intake structures. * Public Utility District No. 1 of Chelan County, based in Wenatchee, Washington, will evaluate self-lubricating, grease-free wicket gate stem bushings at PNNL's tribological test facility, determining its effectiveness for upgrading hydropower infrastructure. * Public Utility District No. 1 of Chelan County will also work with PNNL to validate a low-temperature "cold spray" technique to repair worn hydropower turbine components on-site without using heat. * Radmantis, based in Toledo, Ohio, will use Verdantas' Fish Passage Survival and Behavior Steel Testing Flume Facility to continue their work from the first round of HyTN, evaluating whether mechanically guided fish entrainment improves AI-based selective fish passage at hydropower facilities. * RCAM Technologies, Inc. DBA Sperra, based in Boulder, Colorado, will work with Polaris EcoSystems to advance a 3D-printed subsea pumped storage hydropower system that stores electricity in hollow concrete spheres on the seafloor. * University of Washington's Applied Physics Laboratory, based in Seattle, Washington, will collaborate with PNNL to assess the reliability and durability of a small, low-cost sensor designed to monitor water quality for hydropower and pumped storage facilities in a more economically feasible way. * VBASE Oil Company, based in Pendleton, South Carolina, will continue their work from the first round of HyTN, collaborating with ORNL to test a lubricant for use in hydropower facilities. The HyTN voucher opportunity is funded by H2O and managed by ENERGYWERX in partnership with DOE, a collaboration made possible through a partnership intermediary agreement set up by DOE's Office of Technology Commercialization. Don't miss the headlines. ON&T's top news, every week. More in Energy