Brève biographie
Professor Kaufman is the current Director of Materials and Energy Initiatives at the Colorado School of Mines where he reports to the Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer. He came to Mines in 2007 as a Professor in the George S. Ansell Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering (MME) where he served as the department head from 2009-2014. He then became the dean of the College of Applied Science and Engineering from 2014-2018 and stayed on as the dean when Mines restructured and created the Energy and Materials Programs portfolio where he served until 2021 before stepping into his current role.
Before joining Mines, Mike served on the faculty at three different universities, including the University of North Texas (2004-2007), the University of Florida (1989-2004), and the University of Washington (1989-1989). He began his post-PhD career at the National Institute of Science and Technology in Gaithersburg, MD.
As a faculty member, Mike has mentored or co-mentored 34 PhD students and 34 MS students, as well as numerous undergraduates and post-docs. His research has been focused on the structure-property-processing relationships in metals, intermetallics, and composites with an emphasis on conventional and novel processing (liquid-solid and solid-solid) methods and on their characterization using advanced microanalytical tools. He co-founded the Center for Advanced Non-Ferrous Structural Alloys (CANFSA) in 2011, which is a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) and currently serves as co-Director. He has published over 160 archival papers and directed both small and large research programs funded by both federal agencies (NSF, DOE, DoD, NASA, etc.) and non-federal entities (companies, foundations, etc.). He has also been frequently recognized for his contributions in the field, giving numerous invited talks at national and international meetings, and receiving various awards in the process.
He earned his BS and PhD in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and worked for one year after completing his BS degree at the United Technologies Research Center where he developed a passion for pushing the frontiers of advanced metallic alloys including nickel-base superalloys, titanium alloys, aluminum alloys, etc. In his spare time, he enjoys all things outdoors, spending time with family and friends, traveling, experimenting with cooking, etc.
