Published: November 15, 2021 |

Dr. Richard Gowen
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Dr. Richard Gowen, who played a key role in bringing the Sanford Underground Science Laboratory to the Homestake Gold Mine, died Friday at age 86.

Gowen served as president of the university from 1987 to 2003. He was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 2012.

“Dr. Gowen was among the most passionate supporters of South Dakota Mines and his enthusiasm was contagious,” said James Rankin, current South Dakota Mines president, in a statement to the Journal.

“He inspired many and he dedicated much of his life to the advancement of the institution. He was instrumental in shaping the university we all know today. He will be greatly missed,” added Rankin.

In 2017, Gowen was honored along with the local steering committee of the International Collegiate Programming Contest by Mayor Steve Allender and the Rapid City Council.

“Dick led an exemplary life and everything he did, he approached with a tireless commitment to excellence. He approached projects as he did life, with a head-on approach and a full-speed dedication to giving it all he had and then some and expecting those around him to do the same,” Allender said in a statement.

Gowen came to South Dakota Mines from Dakota State University in Madison where he was president from 1984 to 1987.

He previously taught for 15 years at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was also director of the joint NASA-Air Force Space Medical Instrumentation Project and a member of the NASA Astronaut Medical Research Launch and Recovery Team. He worked on the Apollo and Skylab space programs.

Gowen graduated in 1962 from graduate school at Iowa State University as the first Ph.D. in the nation in the new research area of biomedical engineering. He helped develop an engineering model of the cardiovascular system, according to his Hall of Fame biography.

Gowen was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1935.

Source: Rapid City Journal

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