A good idea School of Mines professor works closely with Homestake lab planners

BY WENDY PITLICK, Black Hills Pioneer
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RAPID CITY - When a good idea pops up in the scientific community, Tech professor Bill Roggenthen just has to support it.

That's how he became involved in the effort to place a federally funded deep underground science and engineering laboratory in the former Homestake Mine. As the co-principal investigator in the project, working closely with principal investigator Dr. Kevin Lesko and the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority to get the job done, Roggenthen said it just seemed like a good idea.

"You've got to try on these things," Roggenthen said. "That's the point. If someone has a good idea then I think there is some obligation to do as much as one can to help support that. At some point you don't necessarily want to calculate the odds. You say, 'This is a good idea, we need to support it."

And Roggenthen has given his fair share of support for the overall project. As a geology professor at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, Roggenthen said he helps answer scientists' questions about the mine's capabilities for geosciences research.

These are questions that require a physical presence at the Homestake Mine, Roggenthen said, such as the levels that are available for various research, how to get to those levels, and what the infrastructure is like.

He also offers his expertise as a geologist to answer related science questions for the Homestake proposals.

"They (scientists) have ideas of what they would like to do, but at some point in order to become a reality you have to have more on-site presence," he said.

Roggenthen, who has been a geology professor at Tech since 1977, said he became involved with the DUSEL project after he helped author EarthLab, a 60-page brochure that outlines the geological possibilities for research in a dedicated underground national lab. After that brochure came out in 2003, Roggenthen said he met Lesko at a science conference at the School of Mines.

They hit it off right away and immediately began work on one of the biggest projects in South Dakota's history.

"He's a lot of fun," Roggenthen said of Lesko. "He is very easy to work with." That feeling is mutual.

"I would rate (our relationship) as one of the most collegial, friendly and rewarding collaborations I have ever been in," Lesko said. "I am looking forward to us working together for many more years."

But while their relationship has produced significant strides in the Homestake proposal to the National Science Foundation, Roggenthen was also quick to point out that the pair works with some equally important scientists, businessmen and other collaborators nationwide. The Homestake collaboration, he said stretches from officials at the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority, across the country from the University of California-Berkeley, to Pennsylvania. Not to mention, he said, all of the South Dakota citizens who contribute what they can.

"People can help, and certainly South Dakota has stepped up to the plate and helped tremendously on this thing," he said. "I think we, and that means everyone in the state, really deserve a lot of credit for this. It just amazes these folks that come in to hear what South Dakota has done to foster this. It really impresses people."

Also helping Roggenthen in his capacity as the co-Principal Investigator are Tech microbiologist Sookie Bang, Zbigniew (Ziggy) Hladyfz from the university's mining and engineering department, and Dr. Colin Paterson who also works in the geology and geological engineering departments at Tech.

As far as working on government projects that involve a great deal of scientific research and management, Roggenthen said this isn't his first rodeo. He is proud to report that in the late 1980s and early '90s he was also involved in the creation of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plan Project in southeastern New Mexico. That project involved disposing the nation's defense-generated radioactive waste 1,700 feet below ground in salt.

"I have to say it's very exciting to have been associated with a government project that appears to be working," he said. "They are taking in waste from the U.S. defense training."

Of course, if scientists are ultimately allowed to conduct experiments in the mine, whether at the 4,850 with an interim site or at 7,800 as the full DUSEL, Roggenthen said he wants to be right there with his fellow geologists. With a primary interest in engineering geophysics, he has already submitted a proposal to the NSF to conduct experiments relating to seismic rays. Those experiments, he said, can be done well above the 4,850-foot level and he is anxiously awaiting word from the NSF about funding for the project.

"They're things that we could probably get started on virtually immediately," he said of his proposal.

While his most recent focus has centered on the DUSEL, at the end of the day when Roggenthen leaves Tech he steps into a different role.

Roggenthen and his wife of 36 years are two of almost 200 residents in Keystone.

Together, they have a 19-year old son who attends Black Hills State University, majoring in general studies. When it comes to his son and other South Dakota students, Roggenthen said he is also very excited about the educational opportunities the DUSEL could afford youth in the state, and based on his work and the work of others nationwide, he is confident those opportunities are in South Dakota's future.

,"We have done everything that we could think of to do, ," he said. ,"We have tried our best and I think it's pretty good. ,"

Zonta International is a world-wide service organization of executives in business and the professions working together to advance the status of women. With a central goal to support and enhance math and science education from kindergarten through college and beyond, the Center for the Advancement of Math and Science Education has worked hand in hand with the authority since 2001. Saylor said the two entities often shared the same objectives. However, with a NSF decision about the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory on the horizon the authority wanted to step up its efforts for outreach and education, and formalize its relationship with BHSU.

"This is kind of a tentative time where nobody is quite sure what is going to happen, but it allows us to move forward and it allows the authority to move forward without having to hire a full time person and relocate them and all of that," Sayler said. Instead they are essentially partnering with us (BHSU) so that they can make progress with education and outreach but they're not (jumping the gun)."

While members of the authority and others remain optimistic that the NSF will choose Homestake as its site for the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory, the memorandum of understanding allows for an "out" if Homestake is not chosen. The agreement is for Jan. 1, 2007 through June of 2007, a time frame which extends beyond the time when officials expect the important NSF announcement, but ends right before the next fiscal year of July 2007.

If Homestake is not chosen, Sayler said the authority will reevaluate its agreement with BHSU to determine whether there are still education opportunities to be explored, or whether to dissolve the relationship. If Homestake is chosen, the agreement timeline allows the authority to evaluate its current contract with BHSU and make changes based on the level of support necessary for lab education.

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