Chad Ronish retires following decades of dedication to student success

Chad Ronish’s long career in education is defined by a dedication to students and a continuous effort to improve hands-on learning opportunities and real-world examples that connect students with the value of STEM in their lives.

Early on, Ronish recognized the educational value the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) could bring to his students. He was a science teacher in the central Black Hills town of Hill City when SURF first opened its doors.

“I was instantly sold,” Ronish said. “I knew this was going to be cool and I knew this was going to be big for South Dakota. I knew for my science students—and any kid that wanted to study physics—SURF was it.”

Ronish graduated from high school in Fort Pierre, South Dakota. As a student at Black Hills State University, he toured Homestake’s underground operations before the mine’s closure. By 2009, as a seasoned science teacher, he joined Quarknet and later a Research Experiences for Teachers program that brought him to SURF during the summer months to engage in research alongside physicists. This further empowered his own return to pursue a graduate degree in physics at South Dakota Mines. 

“All of this was about continuing to push my own learning to make sure that what I was taking back to the classroom would resonate with students,” Ronish said. “I did not want to just tell the students why they should be studying physics, I wanted to show them why they needed to be doing it. These opportunities at SURF and elsewhere gave me a great understanding of what was expected of them when they left my classroom,” he said. 

In 2021, when a job opened for a full-time science education specialist at SURF, he jumped at the opportunity. 

“I really wanted to come here. I wanted to be a part of teacher professional development. I wanted to guide tours. I wanted to talk about the cool science that's happening up here. So, this has absolutely been a dream job,” Ronish said. 

SURF’s education and outreach team is always on the move. Each year they provide hands-on learning opportunities to about 22,000 students while leading professional development workshops for about 400 teachers.  Ronish hit the ground running at SURF helping lead teacher workshops a few weeks after starting—and he went on to develop highly engaging curriculum units and lessons that have impacted thousands of students to date.  An example of one of the units he helped create, called Star Stuff includes tiny radioactive sources and Geiger counters. 

“We wanted to come up with some activities that engage kids in real-world activities. So, we have real radiation sources, real Geiger counters, they do real radioactivity measurements, they get to do real shielding activities, which get to the core of what we do here at SURF,” Ronish said. 

“Chad is a dreamer, with insatiable curiosity and a constant welcoming smile that includes everyone,” said Nicol Reiner director of education and outreach at SURF. “He has helped us to expand our programs in ways that have connected us to new partners and new audiences. For example, Chad has worked to connect SURF’s fascinating operations and engineering work to career and technical students and programs in South Dakota, and now we host classes each year for an on-site experience as well as a chance to talk to a career panel of folks that showcase the broad diversity of STEM careers here at SURF.”

For Ronish, seeing students connect with the science through activities is among the most rewarding parts of his career.

“I love coming up with ways for people to access the science at SURF on their own terms. Our curriculum units do that.  They present concepts that anyone, kids or adults can have fun learning.  They get to understand the concepts and then they get to see how it applies to what we're doing up here at SURF. “

The success of any teacher is measured in their students. Dozens of Ronish’s former students have pursued STEM degrees and careers after taking one of his classes—among them is Alex Geffre, who took his high school chemistry class in 2006. Today, Geffre is an engineering technician at SURF working on the world’s leading dark matter experiment, LUX ZEPLIN.

“I didn't care much for chemistry. But his enthusiasm and depth of knowledge as a teacher kept me engaged and brought me through the semester with an A,” Geffre said.  The next year, Geffre found his aptitude in an independent study electronics course with Ronish.  The course included building a remote-control car kit and modifying it for competition with other schools.

“Ronish helped me work through a Frankenstein's monster of multiple RC cars glued together and electronics forced to mate with the basic control system. It was a monstrosity, and Ronish was excited to see what it could do at the competition where I and the other Hill City student took 1^st and 2^nd place. His support and excitement through that entire project reinforced my passion for trying new ideas, no matter how crazy, if only to see if they can be done,” Geffre said. “I'll miss catching Ronish around site or on the cage.  But I'm excited for him to move on to a well-earned retirement.”

That well-earned retirement will not take him far from SURF. Ronish is starting a restaurant, brewery, and winery in his hometown of Hill City. The establishment, named The Woods Brewery and Wines will open by the spring of 2027.  He plans to include outreach activities at SURF like livestreams of the Deep Talks events in Lead. The same curiosity and enthusiasm he brought to the classroom will now go into building something new in Hill City.