October 23 - 24, 2003:  SME/PCMIA Joint Meeting

Honor for the Enlow Fork Mine Rescue Team 

CONSOL Energy’s Enlow Fork Mine Rescue Team captain Rod Henry members Bob Gross and Dennis Cole were in attendance as Pennsylvania State Senator Barry Stout and Sue Germanio, a staff member representing State Representative H. William DeWeese, read proclamations honoring the Enlow Fork Mine Rescue Team.  In September 2003, the Enlow Fork Mine Rescue Team won the National Mine Rescue championship in Louisville, KY. They are repeat champs having won first place at this event in 2001 as well. They also participated in the events surrounding the Quecreek Mine rescue efforts in 2002.

The members of the Enlow Fork team then participated in a presentation to students by Dr. Kelvin Wu of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) on the “Quecreek Mine Rescue Operation.”  The team members demonstrated to the students the specialized gear they use during mine rescue competitions and actual mine emergencies.  Other mine rescue exhibits will be displayed for the students, as well. The exhibits include the actual rescue capsule from Quecreek, a seismic signal processing truck and geophone array, plus the MSHA permissible robotic explorer.  

Participants in the proclamation ceremony,

Jim Szalankiewicz, Elizabeth Chamberlin,  Gary Slagel, Dave Hudson,

Sen. Stout, Rod Henry, Bob Gross, Dennis Cole and Sue Germanio.

Pittsburgh Section Service Award

The SME Pittsburgh Section Service Award was presented to Michael A. Trevits, Past Chairman, SME Pittsburgh Section.  We thank Michael for his leadership and hard work that made our section successful during his chairmanship.

2003 SME Pittsburgh Section Distinguished Member Awards

The 2003 SME Pittsburgh Section Distinguished Member Awards were presented to Mr. James F. Kvitkovich, and to Mr. Michael A. Trevits.   John Murphy  presented the awards  for "Notable and Significant Contributions to the Technology and Professional Activities of SME Pittsburgh Section

John Murphy, Mike Trevits, Jim Kvitkovich and Jürgen Brune

50 Year Membership Awards
Award plaques for 50 years of membership in SME were sent to Mr. David S. Jamison  and Mr. James D. Smith

25 Year Members
The following members were honored for 25 years of  membership in SME:

Mr. John M. Ackerman, Mr. Michael J. Brnich, Mr. Frederick G. Crack, Dr. Maurice Deul, Ms. Diane M. Doyle-Coombs, Mr. Richard E. King, Mr. Robert P. Kudlawiec, Mr. Thomas P. Lyons, Mr. John A. Organiscak, Mr. George L. Pizoli, Mr. James S. Poland, Dr. Richard C. Schmidt, Mr. John R. Stoehr and Mr. Arthur B. Sullivan. 

Rick King, Bob Kudlawiec, Diane Doyle-Coombs, Dick Schmidt, Maury Deul, Jürgen Brune and Mike Brnich

Congratulations and thanks to all awardees for your continued loyalty to SME.

2003 SME Pittsburgh Section Student Grant Awards

The 2003 awards went to Zachary J. Hershey from The Pennsylvania State University, Adviser Prof. Chris Bise, and Leonard Michael Roman, III from West Virginia University, Advisor Prof. Keith Heasley.  The award includes a check for $1000 for each student.  Dr. Kelvin Wu presented the awards.

Kelvin Wu, Jürgen Brune, Zach Hershey and Chris Bise

Leonard Roman and Keith Heasley

PCMIA/SME Student Design Awards

The 2002 PCMIA/SME Student Design Gold Awards were presented to Rebecca J. Hardy and Hilaria E. Ireland from West Virginia University, Advisor Prof. Dan Alexander, for their Project titled "Jewell Mine Conceptual Study”.  The award includes a check for $500.
 

Ms. Ireland and Ms. Hardy with Professors Keith Heasley and Dan Alexander

The Silver Award went to Bart Chevreaux, University of Nevada - Reno, for his study on the "BFD Mining Company Shangri-La Project", Advisor Pierre Mousset-Jones.  Congratulations to these students and their advisors for an outstanding effort in the preparation of their Senior Design Project!

John T. Boyd Young Engineer Award
 

The 2003  SME Pittsburgh Section Inaugural John T. Boyd Memorial Young Engineer Award was presented to Robert J. Farmer of J. T. Boyd Co.  This award is given to bring recognition of engineering professionalism to young people working in the coal industry.  As the award winner, Mr. Farmer was nominated for the nationally significant J. W. Woomer Award.

Mr. Farmer is a Senior Engineer/Director – Computer Modeling with John T. Boyd Company.  He is an experienced mining engineer with extensive computer training in geologic modeling, resource estimation, underground and opencast mine design, and production scheduling.   He is a recognized expert in computerized geoscience modeling and has published several professional papers.
Mr. Farmer is a Professional Engineer licensed in Ontario, Canada, and holds a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering from Queen’s University at Kingston.
 

Rob Farmer receives the Award from Jürgen Brune

Appreciation Awards
 

Appreciation Awards from SME Pittsburgh Section were presented to the following members for their contributions to the Section:
Dan Alexander, Tom Barczak, Dana Butchley, Mary DelRosso, Tom Gray, Rick King, Jim Kvitkovich, Kevin Luster and Donna Opfer

Jim Kvitkovich, Dan Alexander, Jürgen Brune, Tom Gray and Rick King