Dr. Jerry Downey has been named the Hazen Research Professor of Extractive Metallurgy at Montana Tech. Downey is an Associate Professor in the Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department and serves as the Campus Director of the new Materials Science Ph.D. Program.
This past spring, Hazen Research, Inc., an employee-owned firm performing industrial research and development for clients in the mineral, chemical, energy, and environmental fields, donated $35,000 to Montana Tech. The gift was used to establish the professorship in the Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department at Montana Tech.
"I am truly grateful to receive the honor of this professorship,” said Downey. “It is particularly meaningful in light of Hazen Research’s half-century history of pioneering and advancing extractive metallurgical technologies. The research funding attached to the professorship has had an immediate impact on my research program, enabling me to add two graduate students this summer.”
“We are pleased that Dr. Downey has been selected as the Hazen Research Professor of Extractive Metallurgy,” noted Nick Hazen, President of Hazen Research, Inc. “We believe that research programs under his guidance have particular relevance to advancing extractive metallurgy because of his combined industrial and academic experience. His high standards for technical competence and integrity will benefit his students. We are proud to support Dr. Downey and Montana Tech in these endeavors.”
One of Downey’s primary research interests is the extraction and refining of metals through pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes. A member of the Montana Tech faculty since 2006, Downey earned his bachelor and master of science degrees in metallurgical engineering from Montana Tech and completed his Ph.D. in metallurgical and materials engineering at the Colorado School of Mines.
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ABOUT HAZEN
Hazen Research has provided R&D services to mining, energy, environmental, and chemical industries worldwide since 1961. Hazen’s services range from chemical and mineralogical analyses to continuous pilot plant demonstrations and field services. The company is owned by its 200-plus employees and operates in 17 buildings on 11 acres in Golden, Colorado.