D. R. Nagaraj

Nagaraj joined the faculty in May 2020 as a Professor of Professional Practice with a goal to develop, in collaboration with other faculty, an educational and research program in Sustainable Mineral Resource Management to prepare the next generation of engineers and leaders to transform this critically important field.

Nagaraj brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from the industry and a strong vision grounded in mines-of-the-future thinking that integrates advanced extraction, separation and purification technology with sensors, smart molecules and materials, data analytics, water-energy efficient processing, and improved legacy in a holistic way. A digital platform facilitates such integration.

Mineral resources are the backbone of our civilization. Their extraction from earth’s crust is critical to sustain economic development, meeting the demands of a growing population, and to address the great climate change challenge. But today the mineral resource industry itself faces several big and pressing challenges: declining ore grades and quality, increasing ore complexity and variability, safety and health risks; environmental impacts; high energy and water consumption; waste management risks; and eroding education and research. Although many of these challenges are not new, their severity and complexity have increased significantly. It is widely recognized that the current paradigm in mining is not sustainable, and that a major transformation is necessary. There is also consensus that the traditional “economies-of-scale” solutions, which served the industry well in the past, are not adequate. Nagaraj has argued strongly that merely cutting costs is not a viable strategy, but rather that innovative technological solutions, both engineering- and chemistry-based, and a holistic or systems approach, are the key to environmentally responsible and sustainable development. Ultimately, nothing we do will be sustainable until earth mineral resource production is sustainable.

Nagaraj started his career at American Cyanamid in 1979 after his doctorate from the Henry Krumb School of Mines (the first school of mines in the US) of Columbia University, and held various positions in Cyanamid/Cytec/Solvay over the years, but never far from science, research, and education which are his passions. Nagaraj has degrees in chemistry, mineral engineering, and metallurgy. He has a strong background and expertise in mineral processing and extractive metallurgy, mineral aquatic chemistry; organic/inorganic/coordination chemistry; water soluble polymers; applied surface and colloid chemistry; applied electrochemistry; data analysis. His skills and research interests have always straddled the interface between academia and industry, and between science and engineering.

Nagaraj has over 100 publications and 35 patents and has written many highly influential and critical papers. He served as an Editor for the International Journal of Mineral Processing for many years. Nagaraj is passionate about mineral industry education and has been a part-time educator throughout his career. He has collaborated with most of the global mining companies, has spent time in operating plants around the world to bring new technology and troubleshooting, has conducted education workshops in various aspects of minerals resource recovery, and has earned a reputation for seamlessly bridging theory and practice. He was an adjunct professor and visiting scholar for 5 years at the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre at the University of Queensland in Australia. Nagaraj was elected into the International Mining Hall of Fame in 2016 and elected into the National Academy of Engineering in 2006. He has received numerous other awards in his career including the prestigious awards from SME and AIME, and several scientific achievement awards in Cyanamid and Cytec. He has contributed significantly to the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) for over 40 years in various capacities, particularly in education and dissemination of knowledge.

Nagaraj obtained his doctorate from Columbia University in Mineral Engineering & Applied Surface Chemistry in 1979; a MSc in Electro-hydrometallurgy and a BEng (Metallurgy) from Indian Institute of Science in 1974 and 1972; and a BSc (Chemistry) from Bangalore University, India in 1969.

Research Areas

• Artificial Intelligence
• Data Science
• Materials
• Modeling & Simulation
• Systems
• Mines-of-the-future Technologies for Minerals Resource Recovery
• Integrated Processes for Extraction of Critical Minerals/Metals
• Novel Chemistry - Safer, Bio-degradable, Tunable, Switchable – Including Bio-based and Multifunctional
• Water-Soluble Polymers