Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, our guest host Selena Gerace, Program Manager of the Energy Engagement, Leadership, and Careers Program, sits down with Dr. Dawn Wellman, Senior Fellow for Critical Minerals and Materials at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) and Science Integration Lead for the DOE’s Critical Materials Innovation Hub (CMI Hub) to break down the science, economics, and real-world deployment of mineral extraction. Drawing on her experience across national laboratories and global mining leadership, Dr. Wellman offers an insider’s perspective on how cutting-edge research is turning into commercial reality.

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, guest host Selena Gerace, Project Manager of the Energy Engagement, Leadership and Careers Program sits down with Dr. Charles Sims—the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Distinguished Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy, Director of the Center for Energy, Transportation, and Environmental Policy at the University of Tennessee, and University of Wyoming alumnus. Following up on his popular appearance a few years ago as part of the School of Energy Resources Distinguished Speaker Series, Dr. Sims returns to discuss the economic realities of building domestic critical mineral supply chains.

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, our guest host, Selena Gerace, Program Manager of the Energy Engagement, Leadership and Careers Program at the School of Energy Resources, sits down with industry veteran and UW alumnus Doug Brooks, a member of the Industry Advisory Board for the University of Wyoming’s Professional Land Management (PLM) program. Drawing from over 40 years of executive leadership across major E&P companies—including Marathon, Yates Petroleum, Oasis Petroleum, and Chord Energy—Doug breaks down the evolving role of the modern land professional.

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, Dr. Erin Phillips, Director of Cross Cutting Programs at the School of Energy Resources, sits down with Dave Green, Project Engineer at Western Fuels Wyoming’s Dry Fork Mine and 1991 University of Wyoming Geology alumnus. With over 35 years of experience in Powder River Basin surface mining, Dave shares insights into coal geology, reserve planning, and the day-to-day balance between high-volume pit operations and environmental compliance.

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, Dr. Erin Phillips, Director of Cross Cutting Programs at the School of Energy Resources, visits with Pete Obermueller, the newly appointed Executive Director of the School of Energy Resources. Listeners will remember Pete from his time as the head of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming (PAW), where he was a fierce advocate for the state's oil and gas sector. Now, he is bringing his deep background in private industry advocacy and public policy to the academic and research arena and sharing his vision for the future.

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, Dr. Erin Phillips, Acting Senior Director of Research at the School of Energy Resources, sits down with triple-degree University of Wyoming alumnus Paul Bonifas, Director of Business Development at Rare Element Resources. While Wyoming is historically recognized as a traditional energy powerhouse, the state is becoming a crucial hub for the nation's critical mineral supply chain. Throughout the conversation, Paul details Rare Element Resources' efforts to advance North America’s premier rare earth elements deposit at the Bear Lodge project near Sundance and highlights the crucial separation and refining testing underway at their Upton demonstration plant.

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, Dr. Erin Phillips, Acting Senior Director of Research at the School of Energy Resources, sits down with University of Wyoming professors Dr. Brian Leonard (Department of Chemistry) and Dr. Bryan Leonard (School of Energy Resources / Haub School) to explore the intersection of hard science and institutional policy.

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, Dr. Erin Phillips, Acting Senior Director of Research at the School of Energy Resources, visits with Kyle Summerfield to trace the remarkable decade-long evolution of the University of Wyoming’s 3D Visualization Center. From its early days, housed within a massive, room-sized 3D CAVE, to its modern-day reality as a lean, agile, and state-certified University Service Center, Kyle shares how his team has completely transformed the way researchers, students, and industries interact with complex spatial data.

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, Dr. Erin Phillips, Acting Senior Director of Research at the School of Energy Resources, sits down with Christine Reed, the Director of Outreach for the School of Energy Resources. While scientists and engineers are busy developing the next generation of energy technologies, Christine and her team are doing the vital work of connecting those innovations to the public, lawmakers, and industry stakeholders. We dive into the unique challenges and triumphs of energy communication, exploring how to build public trust, bridge the gap between complex science and community needs, and why "the human element" is the ultimate catalyst for a sustainable energy future.

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, Dr. Erin Phillips, Acting Senior Director of Research at the School of Energy Resources, visits with Greyson Buckingham, CEO and Co-Founder of DISA Technologies. Exploring the power of the Wyoming ecosystem, Greyson discusses how University of Wyoming competitions and collaborations catalyzed a global mineral-processing breakthrough, and shares insights on navigating federal regulations, the value of his dual JD/MBA, and why he continues to invest in Wyoming’s future.

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, Dr. Erin Phillips, Acting Senior Director of Research at the School of Energy Resources, explores the intersection of international diplomacy and domestic resource security with Melissa Sanderson, a former senior U.S. diplomat, Director at American Rare Earths, and Co-Chair of the Critical Minerals Institute. As the United States races to secure a reliable supply of rare earth elements, Sanderson discusses why Wyoming’s Halleck Creek project is a vital strategic asset and shares her unique perspective on navigating geopolitical shifts, building "social license" in the mining sector, and mentoring the next generation of leaders tasked with securing the American energy frontier.

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, Dr. Erin Phillips, Acting Senior Director of Research at the School of Energy Resources, chats with Dr. Brian Mealor, Interim Director of the Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station and Director of the Sheridan Research and Extension Center about solving the complex puzzles of high-altitude reclamation.

In this episode of Energy Frontier, we sit down with one of the most influential voices in global geoscience, Dr. Brian Horn. As Managing Director of Hatteras Energy Group and the current President of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), Brian brings a holistic perspective to the conversation, moving beyond the polarized debates of the energy transition to focus on what he calls the Energy Evolution.

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, Dr. Erin Phillips, Acting Senior Director of Research at the School of Energy Resources, visits with Dr. Peng Li, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Standford University. A proud UW alumnus, Dr. Li discusses how his Wyoming-based research prepared him for a postdoctoral role at one of the world's top institutions.

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, we explore the shifting view of coal solely as a fuel source to recognizing it as a critical raw material for the 21st-century economy. Joining us fresh from a site visit to the Center for Carbon Capture and Conversion (CCCC) in Gillette, Dan Connell, President of CONSOL Innovations, which is the innovations arm of Core Natural Resources, discusses the industrial transformation taking place in the Powder River Basin in a conversation with Dr. Erin Phillips, Acting Senior Director of Research at SER.

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, guest host, Selena Gerace, Program Manager of the Energy Engagement, Leadership and Careers Center at the School of Energy Resources, visits with Wyomingite and former state legislator Cyrus Western. Now serving as the Regional Administrator for EPA Region 8, Cyrus oversees a massive and diverse territory that includes six states and 28 Tribal Nations. Western discusses his experience at both the state regional levels of leadership and provides a deep dive into what it truly means to be a public servant in the American West.

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, Dr. Erin Phillips, Acting Senior Director of Research at the School of Energy Resources, visits with award-winning SER Professor of Geology and Geophysics Dario Grana, who is also a Wyoming Excellence Chair and Nielson Faculty Fellow. Dario takes us inside his research to explain how he uses high-level mathematics and geology to decode the subsurface.

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, Dr. Erin Phillips, Director of Cross Cutting Programs and Acting Senior Director of Research at the School of Energy Resources (SER), sits down with Dr. Simon Pimblott, a world-renowned authority in nuclear science. From his award-winning work at the University of Manchester to his current role at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Dr. Pimblott has seen the evolution of nuclear energy from every angle. We dive deep into his new role as the newest member of the Advisory Committee for SER’s Nuclear Energy Research Center, and Dr. Pimblott shares why he believes Wyoming is uniquely positioned to lead the next generation of energy production and how the partnership between INL and UW will cultivate the workforce of tomorrow.

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, Dr. Erin Phillips, Acting Senior Director of Research at the School of Energy Resources, sits down with legal scholars Tara Righetti and Scarlett Forrest in SER’s Jurisprudence of Underground Law and Energy (JOULE) research group to talk about why the accompanying legal scholarship is so critical in emerging energy technology development and opportunities, and delve into a prime example, spent fuel storage.

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, Dr. Erin Phillips, Acting Senior Director of Research at the School of Energy Resources, visits with Dr. Ashli Tomisich the Director of Student Success and Experiential Learning in SER’s Academic Program, and the Assistant Director at the University of Wyoming’s Ellbogen Center for Teaching and Learning (ECTL) to talk about the value of experiential learning and mentorship opportunities in higher education. Drawing on over a decade of career counseling experience and her personal scholarship in experiential learning, Ashli delves into the transformative power of industry mentorship, and why the next generation of energy leaders is being built through peer-to-peer support.