Symposium of the Rockies on Energy Materials and Critical Minerals

May 27-28, 2026 - University of Wyoming Conference Center, Laramie, Wyoming

The Center for Energy Materials (CEM) at the University of Wyoming invites a gathering of researchers, engineers, and scientists with an interest in the science and technology of energy materials and critical minerals from universities, national laboratories, and industry. Please register by May 18.

Undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to participate in the poster session on Wednesday, May 27. Best poster awards will be given.

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SYMPOSIUM AGENDA

Parag Chitnis- Vice President for Research and Economic Development, University of Wyoming (UW)

John Lee, Chief Operation Officer, DISA Technologies, Wyoming

"The Cowboy State Advantage: Building the Future of Critical Minerals Through Education, Enterprise, and Innovation"

Jing Zhou and John Hoberg, Directors of the Center for Energy Materials

Jinke Tang, Director of the UW Science Institute

Dr. Travis McLing, Chief Geologist and Directorate Fellow, Idaho National Laboratory

"Why is sourcing critical minerals so difficult?"

Dr. Caleb Hill, Department Manager, Mineral & Molecular Separations & Analysis, Idaho National Laboratory

"Separations for Critical Materials Production: Challenges and Opportunities"

11:00 - 11:20 AM - "Energy Minerals in Wyoming" - Tyler Brown, School of Energy Resources

11:20 - 11:40 AM - "Criticality-Guided Materials Development for Energy Storage Systems" - Juhyeon Ahn, Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering

11:40 AM - 12:00 PM - "Transforming Byproducts to Innovative Construction Materials" - Kam Ng, Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management

1:00 - 1:20 PM - "Investigation of TbCu7-Type SmFeN Rare-Eearth Permanent Magnet" - Jinke Tang, Department of Physics

1:20 - 1:40 PM - "Investigation of Novel Rare Earth Magnetic Materials" - Brian Leonard, Department of Chemistry

1:40 - 2:00 PM - "Mechanistic Origins of Lanthanide Binding in Lanmodulin: Insights from Molecular Simulations" - Utkarsh Kapoor, Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering

2:20 - 2:40 PM - "Reveal Atomic Scale Elemental Identity in High Entropy Materials with STM" - TeYu Chien, Department of Physics

2:40 - 3:00 PM - "Advanced Raman Spectroscopy Suite: Probing Symmetry, Spin, and Spatial Heterogeneity in Energy Materials" - Yu-Tsung Tsai, Department of Physics

3:20 - 3:40 PM - "Growth and Activity of Metal Catalysts Supported over Ceria from Single Crystal Thin Films to Nanomaterials" - Jing Zhou, Department of Chemistry

3:40 - 4:00 PM - "Modeling Guided Design of 2D Metal–Organic Frameworks for Thermoelectric Applications" - Laura Rita de Sousa Oliveira, Department of Chemistry

4:00 - 4:20 PM - "Interpreting Structure-Property Relationships of COFs from Multiple-Kernel Ridge Regression" - Alathea Davies, School of Computing

4:20 - 4:40 PM - "Infrared Investigations of CeO2-based Catalysts for Dry Reforming of Methane" - David King, Department of Chemistry

Program Organizers: Juhyeon Ahn, Kam Ng, Jing Zhou

Session Chairs: Juhyeon Ahn, Kam Ng

Poster Presentation Judges: Brian Leonard, TeYu Chien, Kam Ng, Utkarsh Kapoor, Laura Rita de Sousa Oliveira, Juhyeon Ahn

Contact Us

Science Institute

Science Initiative Building

1000 E. University Ave
Laramie, WY 82071
Dept. 4325
Email: SI@uwyo.edu
Phone: (307) 766-4415

The University of Wyoming has earned its Research Level 1 (R1) status from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, placing Wyoming's only four-year university with the top research universities in the United States.