UNR NEWS RELEASE
John Muntean has been named director of the Ralph J. Roberts Center for Research in Economic Geology at the University of Nevada, Reno. The research center, in the Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, collaborates with mining companies and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Muntean will lead the center in its mission to direct research in the field of economic geology, specifically on the deposition of gold deposits.
“I’m pleased to see John take the reins of this important research unit of the University,” said Russ Fields, director of the Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering. “The collaboration will continue to provide well-qualified professionals, along with high-quality research that’s relevant to the Nevada mining industry and the USGS.”
The center has been a successful collaboration for almost two decades.
“I look forward to working with the industry and agencies as the Center for Research continues to develop and grow as a world-class research unit in the formation and exploration for ore deposits,” Muntean said. “I have many ideas that I’d like to bounce off people.”
Muntean is a research economic geologist and associate professor with the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, a public service department in the College of Science’s Mackay School. He received his bachelor’s degree from Purdue University, his master’s degree from the University of Michigan, and his doctorate in geology from Stanford University.
Before joining the University of Nevada, Reno in 2005, he worked for 12 years in the mining industry for companies exploring for gold in Nevada. His research has been on epithermal, porphyry, and Carlin-type gold deposits in Nevada and Latin America. At the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, he has also been involved in mineral assessments, mapping projects, database compilations and reporting on mineral exploration activities in Nevada. He is an active member of the Society of Economic Geologists and the Geological Society of Nevada.
The Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering also recognizes Tommy Thompson for his leadership of the Center for Research in Economic Geology for approximately the last 16 years.
“I’d like to thank Dr. Thompson for his leadership at the center,” Fields said. “He and his graduate students have worked on many of the questions on gold deposition and have advanced our collective understanding. We wish him well as he continues to serve on the faculty of the Department of Geological Sciences and Engineering at Mackay.”
