Please join us this Wednesday at the Venue!
Mark Griep will be telling us about, “Nebraska's Niobium Nirvana,” the Elk Creek Critical Minerals Project located south of Lincoln in Johnson County, Nebraska. Led by NioCorp Development Ltd., the company plans to extract four different materials: niobium, scandium, titanium dioxide and magnetic rare earths. The materials have uses in the defense and aerospace sectors, steel infrastructure, medical uses, electric vehicles, wind turbines and more.Mark is an emeritus professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he was a chemistry professor for 35 years. His bench research was focused on the function of the enzymes that duplicate DNA in bacteria.
In his teaching and outreach, he developed new ways to make chemistry more engaging, including a partnership with Nebraska’s tribal colleges to connect chemistry laboratory experiments to tribal history, language, and culture. He also co-wrote a book about chemistry in the movies with his wife Marjorie Mikasen, and he managed the chemistry department’s NSF-funded summer undergraduate research experience for 13 years.
Dr. Griep received many awards, including the Hazel R. McClymont Distinguished Teaching Fellow Award from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Arts & Sciences, the Estée Lectureship in Chemical Education from the University of South Dakota Chemistry Department, the Champion of History Award from the Nebraska State Historical Society, and the Helen M. Free Award for Public Outreach from the American Chemical Society.