The future of North Dakota

May 8, 2026

The 2026 UND ENGINEERING issue highlights the college’s impact on North Dakota through research, expanding education, and the workforce of North Dakota

A cover of the UND Engineering 2026 Magazine. The featured story reads: "The Future of North Dakota." On the cover, a student smiles as he works on a lunar mining robot. — The 2026 edition of *UND ENGINEERING* focuses on the impact that the UND College of Engineering & Mines has on its home state.

The UND College of Engineering & Mines has released the 2026 edition of UND ENGINEERING, an annual magazine showcasing news, stories and developments at the college.

This year’s issue centers on a theme close to the college’s mission: the future of North Dakota. Across its pages, the magazine highlights how CEM students, faculty, alumni and industry partners are advancing research, expanding access to education and preparing the workforce needed to support the state’s industries, communities and economy.

The issue opens with messages from Dean Ryan Adams and the CEM Executive Board, both reflecting on the college’s growing momentum — from increased enrollment and research activity to the start of construction on Phase I of the UND STEM Complex.

The magazine’s featured content is organized around three major areas of impact: research impacting North Dakota, expanding education in North Dakota and the workforce of North Dakota.

Research impacting North Dakota

From artificial intelligence and hypersonics to transportation infrastructure and critical minerals, the magazine shows how CEM research is tied directly to the needs and opportunities of North Dakota.

The issue highlights a growing research enterprise that includes $19.7 million in sponsored research expenditures in FY25, 190 active sponsored awards, 51 new awards in FY26 as of March 2026 and a more than 400% increase in external research expenditures over the past five years.

Featured stories include work in the Artificial Intelligence Research Center, where faculty and students are applying AI to areas such as cybersecurity, weather forecasting, ARTIC research, road damage detection and soil moisture estimation. The issue also covers AI work in process engineering scale-up research and cybersecurity for edge devices — research intended to support innovation, improve decision-making and strengthen the state’s growing technology ecosystem.

The magazine also looks to the skies through stories on space and hypersonics. Readers will find coverage of experimental hypersonics research, UND’s partnership with Grand Forks company SafetySpect Inc. on NASA’s “MoonLight” space agriculture project and the University’s growing role in UAS, space and defense innovation.

Closer to the ground, the issue features research connected to North Dakota resources and infrastructure, including culvert mapping in the Red River Basin, drone battery materials made with North Dakota-sourced inputs and water research related to Devils Lake flooding and agricultural hydrology.

Together, these stories show research not as an abstract pursuit, but as practical work with direct ties to energy, infrastructure, national security, agriculture, manufacturing and environmental stewardship.

Expanding education in North Dakota

The magazine also explores how CEM is creating more pathways for students to enter engineering, computer science and geology — and how the college is working to make those pathways more flexible, accessible and connected to real-world opportunities.

Stories in this section highlight educational partnerships such as 2+2 programs with Bismarck State College, Dickinson State University and Williston State College, along with Lower Cost Models for Independent Colleges Consortium partnerships that allow students at participating institutions to pursue dual-degree opportunities. New agreements with Dickinson State University, Valley City State University and Williston State College are also featured as part of UND’s effort to create expanded and flexible pathways for engineering degrees in North Dakota.

The issue also spotlights two Fulbright Scholars whose work connects UND to global research and cultural exchange. Ali Alshami’s Fulbright research focuses on developing reverse osmosis membranes for sustainable water desalination, while O’Dane McKoy’s story reflects the academic and personal impact of coming to UND and conducting doctoral research in geology and geological engineering.

Scholarships are another major focus of the education section. The magazine introduces the college’s new Pins of Philanthropy tradition, created to recognize students at the CEM Scholarship Award Ceremony who receive CEM scholarships and remind them of the ripple effect made possible through donor support. It also features student leader Ian Graves, a mechanical engineering major from Dickinson, N.D., whose scholarship support has allowed him to focus on building community and sharing engineering with others.

The section closes with the return of Karen Nyberg, a UND mechanical engineering alumna and retired NASA astronaut, who came back to campus to help launch UND’s partnership with the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.

The workforce of North Dakota

The third area of impact focuses on workforce development — how CEM helps North Dakota grow, retain and prepare talent for high-demand fields.

The magazine shows this work happening at every stage of the pipeline. For K-12 students, CEM’s outreach includes robotics programming, STEM events and opportunities such as the North Dakota FIRST LEGO League Robotics State Championship and BrainSTEM. These programs introduce young learners to engineering and science early, helping them see themselves in future STEM careers.

For current students, the issue highlights hands-on experiences that mirror industry needs. Collaborative Experiences (CoEx) connects students with industry-sponsored capstone projects, giving them the opportunity to work in interdisciplinary teams on real-world problems. The magazine also notes CoEx projects showcased at the 2026 CEM Senior Design Expo.

Industry partnerships also play a major role. The issue includes stories on UND’s partnership with Bulgarian Energy Holding around rare earth elements, conversations about geothermal energy in North Dakota, cybersecurity programming and the college’s work to retain regional talent.

Across these stories, the message is clear: CEM is not only educating students for their first job. It is helping build a workforce prepared to serve North Dakota’s long-term needs in engineering, energy, computer science, geology, national security, advanced manufacturing and emerging technologies.