In the fall of 2019, as the Landform Design Institute was starting up in Vancouver, Canada, Priscilla Nelson was organizing a likeminded organization in the United States. Launched in early 2020, The Tailings Center is an industry/university research and education collaboration between the Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, and the University of Arizona. The Center focuses on education, research, and outreach devoted to tailings and mine waste.

Host Mike O’Kane talks with Nelson — a professor at the Colorado School of Mines and one of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ “Geo-Legends” — about the state of female involvement in the engineering profession and the importance of being able to “pivot” throughout one’s career in pursuit of the many possible directions your ambitions might lead you. They also talk about the need to set “reasonable expectations” in the mining industry, why communicating clarity and creating trust are essential to successful mine closure, and the challenges of convincing the industry to recognize the value not only of immediate financial priorities but also the social and environmental considerations inherent to the industry’s work.

Resources

Landform Design Institute

The Tailings Center