Energy abuzz at Colorado Mountain College

New faculty and integrated energy technology at CMC’s Rifle campus

This article was first published in the Rifle Citizen Telegram. By Nancy Genova

Nancy Genova
Nancy Genova, chief executive officer of Colorado Mountain College in Rifle and a college vice president

A new school year has started, marked by a new burst of energy from students and instructors alike. But there’s a different kind of energy bubbling at Colorado Mountain College – integrated energy.

Integrated energy technology has become the flagship program of Colorado Mountain College’s campus in Rifle. Under the umbrella of integrated energy, we continue to develop education and training in process technology, instrumentation, solar and biofuels. These fields of study have been developed to prepare our students to enter or to find better jobs in the marketplace of oil and gas and renewable energies.

We’ve recently hired new faculty and staff to help provide students with a top-quality, high-value education. Here’s a look at a few of them:

Dr. Dennis Zhang is our new associate professor of integrated energy. He brings considerable knowledge, skill and experience to our energy programs. Dr. Zhang earned his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Institute of Process Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. He won a teaching award in China and has taught at Washington State University, Clarkson University and North Carolina State University. He has served as senior chemical engineer at Solix BioSystems in Fort Collins, with a focus on biofuels and bioproducts, as well as on downstream processes such as biomass separation, lipid extraction and biocrude purification. This fall he is teaching Equipment and Systems for the process technology department.

Chris Ellis is our new full-time faculty member in solar and instrumentation. For a number of years he has taught for the college as an adjunct instructor in the solar field. His experience in solar energy benefits students and the community alike, as his classes recently installed solar panels on the new Garfield County Public Library in New Castle. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Colorado State University and an associate degree in renewable energy from San Juan Community College.

Dr. Shauna Kocman joins us with a rich background in sustainable water and energy infrastructure, including natural gas extraction and operations, renewable energy systems, air quality monitoring, water and wastewater treatment and storm water management. Dr. Kocman has also taught classes in our bachelor’s of sustainability studies program. She is an engineer for the Bureau of Land Management, where she oversees engineering design and operations of oil and gas development on federal land. She earned her Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Colorado, Denver.

Robert Wynn is the new grant coordinator for the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) grant, which allows us to improve our ability to deliver programs that prepare students for high-skill, high-wage jobs. He comes to us with vast experience as a teacher in secondary education, including a strong knowledge of grant coordinating and administration. He has an M.A. in school administration and supervision from the University of Phoenix and a B.S. in agricultural education from Colorado State University.

Art Scibelli is our new career coach and will coordinate with the Colorado Workforce Center on referrals, internships and job placement; provide career guidance; recruit and screen students; and coordinate students’ transitions from developmental studies into energy programs. He has an M.Ed. in counseling with an emphasis in career development and a master’s in public administration.

We invite you to stop by and meet our new faculty and staff. Also, we encourage you to think about enrolling in integrated energy! Please call for an appointment at 970-625-1871.

Nancy Genova is Colorado Mountain College’s vice president at the Rifle campus.