UW Professor Wins NSF-Funded Award in Partnership with DISA Technologies to Improve Critical Minerals Recovery
Published July 10, 2026
Jordan Dick, of DISA Technologies Inc. (background), explains the HPSA equipment to UW’s Kam Ng (foreground) at the DISA plant in Mills. (Chooi Kim Lau Photo)
University of Wyoming Professor Kam Ng, in the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management, has been selected for a Seed Translational Acceleration of Research (STAR) Project Award in partnership with Wyoming-based DISA Technologies Inc.
Tim Lundquist, DISA’s vice president of business development-mineral processing, is serving as co-principal investigator on the project; Jordan Dick, DISA’s technical sales manager-mineral processing, is supporting the effort. Chooi Kim Lau, a research scientist in UW’s Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management, who also is an MBA candidate, will serve as project assistant.
STAR Project Awards are distributed under the Accelerating Research Translation initiative at UW, which is funded through the National Science Foundation (NSF).
“Dr. Kam Ng’s collaborative project with DISA Technologies perfectly encapsulates the core mission of ĂŰŃżTV’s Accelerating Research Translation program: bridging the gap between academic innovation and commercial application,” says Owen Funk, project manager for the NSF ART Award.
The $150,000 STAR Project Award funds one year of research for Ng to optimize and validate DISA’s patented HPSA technology for a variety of ore types.
The HPSA process uses high-pressure slurry ablation -- mixing water with ore -- to break mined ore into its component minerals, simply using the force of impact. This method has the potential not only to dramatically improve recovery rates for the extraction of critical minerals, but also to realize substantial gains in energy efficiency, environmental impact and cost-effectiveness over current methods of critical minerals recovery.
While the existing HPSA system has been commercially deployed by DISA Technologies for a variety of ores, optimal parameters have yet to be established for the recovery of specific critical minerals applications found in Wyoming.
Ng says that the role of his lab in this project is to “identify the best operating conditions for different ore types and generate the scientific data needed to improve efficiency, reliability and commercial deployment.”
Ng’s research expertise includes sustainable geotechnical aspects of highway and energy infrastructure, innovative construction materials, hydrogen storage, soil/rock mechanics, geothermal energy and carbon sequestration. He is a co-founder of the UW Geomaterials Research Laboratory and has frequently aided the Wyoming Department of Transportation and other entities with materials assessments.
The collaboration with DISA Technologies Ng says, will provide “valuable research and training opportunities for our students while expanding UW’s collaborations with industry. Personally, I’m excited to apply our expertise in materials characterization and process optimization to help move a promising technology closer to commercial deployment.”
DISA Technologies was co-founded by two UW alumni -- Greyson Buckingham and John Lee -- and has since grown from a Wyoming startup into a global operation backed by some of the world’s leading energy producers and venture capital funds, including Constellation, BHP, Valor Equity Partners, Galvanize and Evok Innovations.
“This project is particularly meaningful because DISA is a homegrown success story, founded by UW MBA graduates Greyson Buckingham and John Lee after winning the Ellbogen Startup Challenge,” Funk says. “By bringing HPSA technology back to campus for advanced pilot-scale validation, this collaboration continues a proud legacy of translational research at ĂŰŃżTV.”
“Innovation happens when great research meets real-world challenges,” says Buckingham, DISA’s president and chief executive officer. “The University of Wyoming has played an important role in DISA’s journey from the very beginning, and it’s exciting to continue that partnership as we advance technologies that can strengthen America’s critical mineral supply chain. Together, we’re combining academic excellence with commercial experience to help unlock more domestic resources with greater efficiency, lower costs and a smaller environmental footprint.”
“This project is a true win-win: UW brings deep research and materials expertise that can help advance Wyoming’s critical minerals supply chain, while DISA gains additional technical validation, as we continue scaling HPSA for commercial mineral processing applications,” Lundquist says. “What we learn in Wyoming can help support broader domestic critical mineral recovery, not only from new ore bodies, but also from existing operations, tailings and legacy waste streams.”
Ng and DISA’s work optimizing mineral recovery technology comes at a critical juncture for national security and economic stability, as the United States prioritizes domestic critical mineral extraction and Wyoming works to position itself as a leader in meeting this need.
“Partnerships like this one with DISA demonstrate the power of connecting university expertise with industry innovation to accelerate solutions that have real-world impact,” says Angela Ver Ploeg, senior director of corporate engagement and executive director of UW’s Office of Industry and Strategic Partnerships. “Our role is to help build relationships that move promising research beyond the laboratory, creating opportunities that strengthen Wyoming’s economy while addressing national priorities.”
To learn more about the STAR Project Award Program, visit www.uwyo.edu/research/economic-development/technology-transfer-office/accelerated-research-translation/star-grants/index.html.
To learn more about DISA Technologies, Inc. visit .
The University of Wyoming has earned its Research Level 1 (R1) status from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, placing Wyoming's only four-year university with the top research universities in the United States.