Press Releases

From birds-eye views to seeing deep into the earth, new technologies are providing old industries with accurate data previously approached with an educated guess, albeit well-educated.

DULUTH, Minn. – Biological changes in microscopic organisms on the bottom of the Great Lakes food chain send up a big red flag to scientists of possible changes to come. To better understand the trajectory of stressors on this vast freshwater resource, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency upped its funding for ongoing research by the Natural Resources Research Institute at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

The five year grant of $2.5 million will continue monitoring of freshwater algae – an effort underway for the past decade.  But the research will expand to gathering data in the near-shore areas of the Great Lakes and deploying robots to collect data year-round, including under the ice in winter.

DULUTH, Minn. – The Supplemental Budget approved by Governor Mark Dayton Wednesday included $2.6 million for the Natural Resources Research Institute at the University of Minnesota Duluth. The applied research organization requested $3.6 million to develop advanced technologies to improve the long-term viability of Minnesota's mining industry.

DULUTH, Minn. -- It’s long been known that ilmenite – a high value iron-titanium oxide ore – is one of many valuable mineral deposits in northeastern Minnesota. The problem has been in developing a process that would remove impurities so it can be refined for the highest value applications. The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board approved funding Monday of $300,000 to the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Natural Resources Research Institute to conduct pre-feasibility, pilot-scale tests.

Research expertise in wood biomass conversion and geomicrobiology have been added to the diverse knowledge base of UMD’s Natural Resources Research institute in the past few months.