Wendy Straub

Wendy enrolled in Montana Tech fall of 1991 with no major declared upon arrival.  Once established on campus, Wendy became drawn to the offerings within the Mining Department.   In a way, mining was a fit based upon Wendy’s upbringing.  Wendy spent countless weekends and family vacations as a kid, placer mining with her family on her dad’s mining claim in the Big Belt mountains near White Sulphur Springs, Montana.

Wendy enjoyed her time at Montana Tech, but really got serious about her career in 1995 when she secured employment with Montana Resources until she graduated from Montana Tech.

From there, Wendy’s professional career started as a mining engineer working for Stillwater Mining Company. Responsibilities included roles in operations, engineering, and project management.   With the birth of her son Jake in 2004 Wendy stepped away from mining engineering to raise her young family.

In July of 2009 Wendy accepted a job as a project mining engineer at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota. Wendy and her son Jake moved away from Montana and made South Dakota home for the next four years.  She provided engineering and survey support to excavate laboratory spaces and move large scientific equipment underground to establish a world class science and engineering laboratory.

The urge to become more involved in production mining drove Wendy to accept the position of mine engineering superintendent in April 2013 for an underground trona mine in Green River, Wyoming.  Responsibilities included the monitoring and management of underground ventilation, rock mechanics and all general mine planning.  Wendy was promoted in May of 2014 to mine manager and fulfilled this role until January of 2021. Responsibilities included all underground operations including production, maintenance, and engineering for Ciner Wyoming.

Today Wendy is the Director of Hoists & Shafts for the Sanford Underground Research Facility. She returned to the lab in January of 2021 in a newly created role.  She is responsible for all operations and maintenance of the Ross and Yates Shafts and hoists that are the vital link between the surface and the underground spaces being developed to advance the United States as a leader in underground science.