Since May 2017, Dr. Wilson has been Secretary of the United States Air Force. Earlier in her career, she was president of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. From 1998 to 2009, Dr. Wilson served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Mexico.
Wenzhao Wei is not only the first woman, but the first person, to earn a Ph.D. in physics in the state of South Dakota. She earned her degree in the joint program of the University of South Dakota and the South Dakota School of Mining and Technology.
Heather Wilson is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives. She is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and was a Rhodes Scholar, earning a master's degree and a Ph.D. in international relations at Oxford University.
The Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, has been named the 2013 Mines Medalist by the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology for her work with advanced polymers.