Remembering Ken Reid

We are sad to report the passing of Ken Reid on February 5, 2025, at the age of 90. Ken was a professor in CEGE from 1979 until his retirement. When he first came to the department, he was director of the Mineral Resources Research Center (MRRC), focusing on research to advance and benefit the mineral industries within Minnesota and beyond. Following the closure of MRRC in 1990, Ken joined CEGE’s environmental engineering group, teaching a variety of courses in the areas of engineering economics and management. 

Ken had a stellar career in both academia and industry. He completed his Ph.D. in chemical engineering at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom. While there, he developed foundational models to describe the breakage of large particles into smaller fractions, a process that cuts across a wide swath of engineering and science disciplines. Ken’s interest was directed at how large rocks could be broken down to liberate the minerals they contained. From Cambridge he joined Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the Australian scientific civil service. There he further developed breakage models, producing key insights into the energy requirements for industrial mineral processing operations. Following his stint at CISRO, he took on several industrial and academic appointments across the globe before coming to the university in 1979.

Throughout his time in CEGE and well into his retirement, Ken continued to work on innovative projects focused on enhancing and optimizing the potential of resources in Minnesota. He leaves behind a substantial legacy, a first-class body of research, and an impressive group of former students and postdocs, many placed in leadership roles in both industry and academia. 

Ken was a kind and genuinely nice person, with an endless enthusiasm to get things done. He was a terrific mentor to his younger colleagues in the department and a vital member of the department’s retired professor group, he will be sorely missed by all. 

Submitted by Vaughan Voller, colleague and friend