By Jennifer T. Allen
Dave Moecher, professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Riley Grove, graduate student, use an SEM scanning electron microscope to analyze rare earth minerals.
What do battery-powered devices (phones, computers and electronic vehicles), air travel, wind-generated power and power transmission have in common?
They all rely on critical minerals derived from the Earth.
In fact, all battery-powered devices rely on these minerals and the reality is that they’re not readily available in the United States. According to two University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences professors, the United States relies heavily on foreign sources for these critical minerals, especially those containing the rare-earth elements (REEs).
Dave Moecher and Ryan Thigpen, professors in the Department of