The following article appeared on The Guam Daily Post:
The Applied Science and Technology Research Organization of America has formalized partnerships with Colorado School of Mines and the University of Guam to establish a Colorado School of Mines satellite campus on Guam focused on additive manufacturing to be co-located with the University of Guam.
The program, part of the broader Guam Additive Materials & Manufacturing Accelerator initiative, will allow students to complete a four-year mechanical engineering degree focused on additive manufacturing and advanced production methods.
“This collaboration between a top-tier mainland university and a leading Guam institution brings a premier engineering program to the island while supporting a strategic workforce need for the U.S. Navy’s maritime industrial base and beyond,” said Neal Orringer, president of ASTRO America, in the release.
The announcement marks a significant expansion of educational opportunities on an island where aspiring engineers have historically been forced to relocate to the mainland to pursue their degrees.
Under the agreement, UOG will provide the first two years of engineering coursework while Colorado School of Mines faculty will teach the final two years on island, with students receiving a Mines degree upon graduation. Classes are expected to begin in Fall 2026.
“This partnership marks an important step for our island and the University of Guam,” UOG president Anita Borja Enriquez stated in the release. “With the addition of mechanical engineering through Colorado School of Mines and our established civil engineering program, students can now earn two key engineering degrees without leaving the island.”
The program addresses both immediate defense needs and longer-term economic diversification goals for Guam. The Navy is supporting the initiative through its Maritime Industrial Base Program, recognizing the strategic importance of developing advanced manufacturing capacity in the Indo-Pacific.
John Bradford, vice president for global initiatives at Colorado School of Mines, said the partnership fits the school’s mission of building economic prosperity through science and engineering.
“Supporting Department of Defense and the needs that they have in such a strategically important part of the world, along with helping build the economy in Guam, all of those things together make it just an amazing project,” Bradford said in an interview with The Guam Daily Post on Thursday.
Colorado School of Mines, ranked in the top 40 public universities by U.S. News & World Report, has a 151-year history of maintaining strong connections with industry. The school is recognized as a national leader in additive manufacturing education and research.
The mechanical engineering program will focus heavily on additive manufacturing, the advanced technology that allows components to be designed, fabricated and tested where they’re needed. This capability is particularly valuable for military operations and maintenance in remote locations.
Sharleen Santos-Bamba, senior vice president and provost at UOG, said the partnership grew from discussions that began in 2023 when university officials traveled to Colorado to explore collaboration opportunities.
“It’s purely academics,” Santos-Bamba told the Post. “It is instruction and research. And so that’s where we are – research and development. And then we leave the industry experts to use the research that we have to use the individuals that we are preparing to grow their businesses.”
The program is expected to attract students not only from Guam but also from across the Pacific region and the continental United States. Bradford said the school anticipates interest from countries with established advanced manufacturing industries, including Japan, South Korea and Australia.
For local students, the financial benefits are substantial. By offering the degree as a partnership program, tuition will be significantly below what students would pay for four years on the Colorado School of Mines campus, and they avoid relocation and travel expenses
“The opportunity is there, but also the cost is lower,” Bradford said.
UOG’s civil engineering program has shown strong demand since receiving accreditation, with enrollment growing quickly. The university now has close to 300 engineering majors, according to Santos-Bamba.
“Our School of Engineering is just growing exponentially,” she said. The school is also launching a construction management program in Fall 2026.
The educational partnership is a key component of the GAMMA initiative, which ASTRO America is developing with Navy support to strengthen additive manufacturing capacity on Guam. The Navy is evaluating a planned expansion that could provide additional funding to support curriculum rollout, laboratory infrastructure, equipment procurement and student recruitment.
Orringer said ASTRO America plans to hold industry forums in coming months to encourage U.S. companies to establish a presence on Guam as part of the initiative.
The partnership between the two universities extends beyond the mechanical engineering program. Bradford said Colorado School of Mines sees opportunities to collaborate with UOG in other areas, including marine biology and civil engineering research, particularly around environmental challenges.
“We see potential for many others,” Bradford said. “And we do think that there’s going to be interest from some of our students to come on short-term visits to Guam to work with the students and faculty there.”
For Santos-Bamba, the partnership represents UOG’s commitment to supporting economic growth from within.
“We really do hope that there are other companies also that are interested in this,” she said. “We’re in the early stages. And so, we’re going to continue to reach out and talk with folks, talk with the government leaders, talk with the legislature, private industry especially.”
The university plans to offer a summer preparatory program in 2026 to help the first cohort of students transition into the Mines program.
Paul C. Johnson, president of Colorado School of Mines, said the partnership benefits all parties involved.
“The students receive the opportunity to earn a Mines degree in Guam, and the University of Guam and Colorado School of Mines benefit from the investment in state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing facilities and closer ties to the U.S. military and supporting industries in the Pacific,” Johnson said in the release.