UND College of Engineering & Mines Energy Studies (CEMES)

What UND College of Engineering & Mines Energy Studies (CEMES) does

The UND College of Engineering & Mines (CEM) is a public academic college within the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota, operating eight academic departments that offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering, computer science, and geology. Seven of its undergraduate programs carry ABET accreditation, including the only petroleum engineering degree program in North Dakota, and the college offers 28 online degree programs across engineering and computer science disciplines. CEM is embedded in the ND University System and channels graduates into regional and national engineering workforces, with reporting of 47 M.S. and Ph.D. graduates in the 2022-23 academic year and 72 undergraduate petroleum engineering enrollees in Fall 2024.

The college operates an extensive research enterprise spanning petroleum engineering, energy systems, hypersonics, critical minerals and rare earth elements, battery technologies, water resources, and advanced materials characterization. Specialized facilities include the DRACOLA full-scale drilling and completion laboratory, the Hess Virtual Reality drilling training lab, a 10,000 ft2 rare earth elements pilot-scale processing plant (500 kg/hr ore throughput), battery fabrication and testing laboratories, and an Advanced Materials Characterization Lab housing WDXRF, FE-SEM, AFM, XRD, and NMR instrumentation. The college generated $19.7M in sponsored research expenditures in 2025 across 190 active awards from 72 unique sponsors, with funding from DOE, DoD, AFRL, ONR, NASA, and state agencies.

Revenue is generated through four primary streams: tuition and fees, sponsored research grants, industry partnerships and capstone sponsorships ($7,500 per CoEx project), and the broader UND financial aid distribution exceeding $100M annually. Go-to-market is split between centralized UND admissions for student recruitment and direct industry engagement through the annual Senior Design Expo (~100 student projects) and capstones that create employer-employee connections. Major federal partners include AFRL, ONR, and NASA; industry partners include AmeriCarbon, Microbeam Technologies, Barr Engineering, Rare Earth Salts, North American Coal, and Envergex across energy, critical minerals, battery, and defense technology programs.

Name

UND College of Engineering & Mines Energy Studies (CEMES)

Legal name

University of North Dakota

Website

https://engineering.und.edu

Company type

Public

Founded year

1883

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UND College of Engineering & Mines is a public academic college within the University of North Dakota operating eight departments that offer ABET-accredited engineering and computer science degrees. It conducts $19.7M in annual sponsored research across petroleum engineering, hypersonics, rare earth elements, and battery technology, serving students, federal agencies, and industry partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Engineering Education & Applied Energy Research

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Polytechnic & Applied Sciences Universities (EDAHAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Technical Universities with Architecture, Built Environment & Design Engineering (EDAHAEAJ)

Keywords

• Engineering education
• Petroleum engineering
• Hypersonics research
• Rare earth elements
• Critical minerals extraction

Headquarters

HQ city

Grand Forks

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Revenue from undergraduate and graduate student tuition and fees for engineering and computer science degree programs.
2. Sponsored Research (Federal/State/Industry): Research funding from federal agencies ($19.7M in sponsored research expenditures in 2025), state government programs, and industry partners. Includes grants from DOE, Department of Defense, AFRL, ONR, and private sector.
3. Industry Partnerships and Contracts: Direct industry funding for collaborative research projects, capstone sponsorship ($7,500 per project), and technology development partnerships with energy and manufacturing companies.
4. Financial Aid Distribution: UND awards over $100 million annually in financial aid through scholarships, grants, and loans, which flows through the institution to support student enrollment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

UND College of Engineering & Mines (CEM) delivers undergraduate and graduate engineering education across eight academic departments, including ABET-accredited bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs in disciplines such as petroleum engineering. It supplements classroom instruction with applied, sponsored research in hypersonics, rare earth element processing, critical minerals extraction, carbon capture, and water resources, supported by dedicated facilities such as the DRACOLA drilling lab and the Materials Characterization Laboratory. The college also offers online graduate degree pathways and partners with federal agencies and industry on funded research projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ABET-Accredited Petroleum Engineering Programs (BS, MS, PhD) ABET-accredited undergraduate and graduate degree programs in petroleum engineering, including on-campus and online delivery options, designed to prepare students for careers in the oil, gas, and energy industries.
• Online Graduate Engineering Degrees Online master's and doctoral degree pathways in petroleum engineering, electrical engineering (including cyber security and energy concentrations), and engineering management, providing flexibility for working professionals and remote students.
• Undergraduate Engineering Degree Programs Bachelor of Science degree programs across the college's eight academic departments, providing foundational engineering education for entry into industry or graduate study.
• Sponsored Applied Research Services Faculty-led applied research services funded through federal grants, contracts, and industry partnerships, including a portfolio of approximately $25 million in active research with sponsors such as NASA and the Air Force Research Laboratory.
• Hypersonics Research Program Applied research program in hypersonics conducted in collaboration with university partners and federal agencies, advancing high-speed flight and propulsion technologies.
• Rare Earth Element Processing Research Applied research into the processing of rare earth elements (REEs), supporting domestic critical minerals supply chains and advanced manufacturing.
• Carbon Capture Research Collaboration Industry-partnered research collaboration on carbon capture, including work with AmeriCarbon to advance carbon capture technologies.
• Materials Characterization Laboratory Services Laboratory services for the characterization of materials, supporting academic research, sponsored projects, and industrial users needing specialized materials analysis.
• DRACOLA Drilling Laboratory Dedicated drilling research and teaching laboratory supporting petroleum engineering education and industry-relevant drilling research.
• Senior Design Capstone Projects Industry-sponsored senior design capstone projects in which student teams solve real engineering problems for external clients, showcased at the annual Senior Design Expo.

Quantifiable outcome

• $19.7M in sponsored research expenditures (2025)
• +3 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding partner for hypersonics research. Provides grants for hypersonics initiative including Flight-Matched Hypersonic Engine Optical Measurements ($240,000) and Kinetics of Ice Object Nucleation and Erosion ($1,600,000).
• Office of Naval Research (ONR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding agency for hypersonics research. Provides grants for investigating ice crystal aggregates and their impacts on hypersonic vehicles ($750,000).
• NASAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNASA partners with UND on hypersonics research and hosts the NASA BLiSS trailer at UND for research on living on other worlds. Students have opportunities for NASA internships in robotics.
• University of GlasgowcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner in the Hypersonics Initiative for academic collaboration and research advancement.
• University of ManchestercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner in the Hypersonics Initiative for academic collaboration and research advancement.
• Texas A&M UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner in the Hypersonics Initiative for academic collaboration and research advancement.
• Embry-Riddle UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner in the Hypersonics Initiative for academic collaboration and research advancement.
• Auriga Space, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partner in the Hypersonics Initiative for technology development.
• Microbeam Technologies Incorporated (MTI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in pilot-scale rare earth element recovery from lignite project. MTI provides technical expertise and cost-share support for the $7.16M project demonstrating REE recovery technology.
• Barr Engineering Co.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering consulting partner in the rare earth element pilot project providing technical expertise for the demonstration facility.
• Rare Earth Salts Separation & Refining LLC (RES)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in rare earth element recovery project focusing on separation and refining processes for the pilot-scale demonstration.
• North American Coal CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partner providing cost-share support and lignite feedstock for rare earth element recovery and silicon-carbon anode battery materials projects. Also partner in AmeriCarbon McLean Plant project.
• AmeriCarboncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in lignite-to-synthetic-graphite commercial-scale facility project. AmeriCarbon's patented Liquid Carbon Pitch (LCP) process will be used to manufacture Eco-Pitch for battery-grade graphite production in McLean County, ND.
• Envergex LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry affiliate and partner in CO2 mineralization project ($1.25M total) and biomass-based hydrogen production (CH2P) project ($2.12M total). Provides commercial outlet for new technologies.
• Singularity Energy Technologies LLCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry affiliate partner in CPER, specifically involved in biomass-based hydrogen production (CH2P) technology demonstration.
• H-Quest Vanguard Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry affiliate partner in CPER working on DOE-funded research for natural gas conversion technology.
• Turtle Mountain Band of ChippewaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTribal partnership through CWR for water resources research. Partners include Agriculture Department and Department of Natural Resources.
• Standing Rock Sioux TribeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTribal partnership through CWR for water resources research through the Water Resources Department.
• Karuk Tribe of CaliforniaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTribal partnership through CWR for water resources research collaboration.
• Clean RepublicminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in silicon-carbon composite battery anode project for producing anode materials for lithium-ion batteries from lignite-derived carbon feedstock.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology - School of Engineering: Elite broad research engineering school. Comparable as a top-tier research-intensive college with significant federal sponsorship in energy and materials.
• Texas A&M University College of Engineering: Large public engineering college and active Hypersonics Initiative partner. Comparable on hypersonics and energy research, and an existing research collaboration peer rather than a head-to-head enrollment competitor.
• University of Texas at Austin - Cockrell School of Engineering: Top-ranked public engineering school with one of the largest U.S. petroleum engineering programs. Overlaps with UND CEM on energy research and ABET-accredited petroleum curriculum.
• Stanford University School of Engineering: Premier broad research engineering school. Comparable on scale and breadth of sponsored research and graduate output, though with a much larger research footprint.
• Georgia Institute of Technology - College of Engineering: Top-ranked public engineering college with extensive research centers and online master's programs. Comparable on research volume, federal sponsorship, and online engineering scale.
• Purdue University College of Engineering: Large public engineering college with strong ABET-accredited programs and significant online degree offerings. Comparable on online engineering reach and federal research base.

Direct peers

• Missouri University of Science and Technology: Public polytechnic university with petroleum engineering, geological engineering, and materials research. Closely comparable in mission and scale to UND CEM as a state technical university with applied energy research.
• Colorado School of Mines: Specialized public research university focused on earth resources, mining, and petroleum engineering with applied industry partnerships. Strongest direct comparable to UND CEM given overlapping petroleum, critical minerals, and energy research scope.
• South Dakota School of Mines & Technology: Regional technical university offering petroleum engineering, geological engineering, and materials programs. Comparable as a smaller-state public technical school in the Northern Plains with similar industry/applied-research focus.

Emerging players

• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University: Specialized aerospace/defense-focused university and active Hypersonics Initiative partner. Comparable in aerospace/aerospace research focus rather than competing for general engineering enrollment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UNDCEM
• Facebookfacebook.com/UNDCEM
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/und-cem-energy-studies

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about UND College of Engineering & Mines Energy Studies (CEMES)