Dr. Stanley M. Howard (1945 – 2021)

Inspiring Metallurgical Educator

2023 Inductee from Mining’s Past

Stanley M. Howard was born on September 5, 1945 in Torrington, WY where he graduated from high school. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Metallurgical Engineering in 1967 and his Doctorate Degree in 1971 from the Colorado School of Mines.

He then began a distinguished 50+ year career at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in teaching, mentoring, research and contributions to science and engineering. He served as the chair of the Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering from 1994-2000. He was awarded the campus Presidential Award in recognition of excellence in teaching, scholarly activity, and community service in March 1994.

Dr. Howard was an active member of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) and The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) since 1966 and held many volunteer TMS leadership positions including serving as Director of Publications, Financial Planning Officer, and as a trustee of the Foundation. In 2016 and 2019, he served as President of TMS. In recognition of his volunteer service, he was awarded the 2021 Alexander R. Scott Distinguished Service Award in March of 2021. He was also a long-time Registered Professional Engineer.

His research activities have included chlorination processes for gold extraction, direct applications for geothermal resources, replacement alloys for beryllium alloys, thermochemistry of high-temperature liquid metals, carburization kinetics, and laser and friction-stir welding activities associated with the Advanced Materials Processing facility on the SDSM&T campus. He has numerous publications to his name.

In 1986 he co-founded Group V Metals, Inc which licensed technology to produce the purest tantalum and niobium compounds commercially available in the world with customers in Japan and Europe. He had temporary appointments at Stanford Research Institute, Kerr-McGee Technical Center, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory and served as a consultant for firms engaged in materials engineering.

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