Dr. Kwame Awuah-Offei, Union Pacific/Rocky Mountain Energy Professor in Mining Engineering and chair of mining and explosives engineering, has been named the interim director of the O’Keefe Center for Critical Materials. The center focuses on issues related to problems related to the supply of critical minerals and materials.

Awuah-Offei earned a Ph.D. in mining engineering from Missouri S&T and a bachelor’s degree in mining engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He has over 20 years of research, teaching and consulting experience. Dr. Awuah-Offei has extensive experience in modeling and optimization of mining systems for sustainability. He is the executive director of the Critical Minerals and Materials for Advanced Energy (CM2AE) Tech Hub, which is designated by the U.S. Department of Commerce as a regional technology and innovation hub. He has led several initiatives in the critical minerals research area, including a $15.52 million project funded by the Missouri Department of Economic Development to evaluate Missouri’s potential to become a national leader in critical minerals production.

Awuah-Offei is a nationally active member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME), a fellow of the West African Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum and a member of the Society of Mining Professors. “Dr. Awuah-Offei has done an outstanding job in advancing the research of critical minerals and materials. He is uniquely qualified to foster the center’s success and visibility,” says Dr. Kamal Khayat, vice chancellor for research and innovation. “I am pleased to welcome Dr. Awuah-Offei to this role, and I look forward to working with him to advance the CM2AE Tech Hub and the O’Keefe Center for Critical Materials.”