SME-Pittsburgh Section NEWS

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October 25-26, 2008:  SME/PCMIA Annual Joint Meeting

This year's Joint Meeting was held at the Hilton Garden Inn in South Pointe, PA.  The facility offered more space for exhibits and excellent meeting facilities.

Keynote speakers were Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commissioner Dr. Stan Suboleski, Rita Bajura, Director of the National Energy Technology Laboratory in Pittsburgh and Morgantown, Colin Kelly, President of the Prairie State Generating Co. and Vice President of Peabody Energy and, continuing a long tradition, SME President Art Schweizer as the Friday luncheon speaker.

Colin Kelly with Kelvin Wu, Dave Kanagy and Art Schweizer and Stan Suboleski. 
Pictures courtesy of Dan Alexander (WVU), Coal News (Bill Reid) and Gretchen Horrell (MSHA).

Three technical sessions featured 12 presentations on Mine Emergency Response Planning, Preparedness and Mine Rescue, New Technology in Mining and Factors in Longwall Operation.  During the Thursday afternoon Student Session, the winners of the Student Design Awards took the opportunity to present their winning projects, and Penn State and WVU SME Student Chapter representatives gave updates to their recent activities.

Student Session.  Picture courtesy of Dan Alexander (WVU).

The following awards were presented:

The Stephen McCann Educational Excellence Award went to Dr. Greg Adel, Professor and Assistant Department Head-Mining Engineering at Virginia Tech for his exemplary contributions to minerals education.

John Murphy and Greg Adel. Picture courtesy of Coal News (Bill Reid).

Dr. Eugene Palowitch was awarded the Donald S. Kingery Memorial Award for significant contributions to the furtherance and improvement of mine safety and health.  Dr. Palowitch retired from the U.S. Bureau of mines as the Deputy Director of the Pittsburgh Mining and Safety Research Center after a long and successful career in mine safety and health research.

Gene Palowitch and John Murphy. Pictures courtesy of Coal News (Bill Reid).

Niccolle LaBranche is the 2004 recipient of the PCMIA-Donald S. Kingery Student Award. Ms. LaBranche is a senior in mining engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In addition to her academic achievements, Niccolle is recognized by her teachers and her peers for her high degree of commitment to the profession and as a mentor to young women beginning their studies in engineering.

John Murphy and Niccolle LaBranche.  Pictures courtesy of Coal News (Bill Reid).

The PCMIA/SME Student Design Awards went to Scott Smith at Mackay School of Mines, University of Nevada, Advisor Professor Pierre-Mousset-Jones, for his prefeasibility study on “Pogonip Resources Incorporated Treasure Hill", and to
Donald S. Swartz II at West Virginia University, on his study of “Swartz Mine Holding Company, Wabash Mine” that was guided by Dan Alexander.

Kelvin Wu, Don Swartz and Dan Alexander.  Picture courtesy of Dan Alexander.

PCMIA/SME Regional Science Fair Award Winner, Tyrelle Farris, an 8th grader at Pittsburgh's Prospect Middle School, attended together with his teacher, Vic DePasse.  Mr. Depasse was awarded a $500 scholarship for developing a science curriculum that incorporates mining.

Vic Depasse, Tyrelle Farris and Jürgen Brune.  Picture courtesy of Coal News (Bill Reid).

The 2004 SME Pittsburgh Section Student Grant Awards were presented by Dr. Kelvin K. Wu, MSHA, to Brandon Williamson of West Virginia University and Paul Vuljanic of The Pennsylvania State University.

Kelvin Wu, Paul Vuljanic, Chris Bise and Jürgen Brune.  Picture courtesy of Dan Alexander.

SME Chair Jürgen Brune recognized Mr. James G. Tilton as a 50-year member of SME Pittsburgh Section. Kevin W. Bloom, Clyde I. Borrell, Cas S. Bruniany, Kenneth K. Eltschlager, Robert V. Hidalgo, Gerald T. Homce, Kenneth W. James, James J. Schaeffer, Jr., Kevin Sheahen and  Renold D. Thompson, Jr. were recognized for their 25-year membership in SME and the Pittsburgh Section.

The 2004 Pittsburgh Section Distinguished Member awards were presented by Dick Gray, GAI Consultants, Inc., to Mr. Frank J. Ucciardi, Consol Energy Inc., retired and to Mr. James J. Szalankiewicz, owner of T.J.S. Mining, Inc., for their outstanding contributions to SME Pittsburgh Section and the mining engineering community.

Frank Ucciardi and Jim Szalankiewicz.  Pictures courtesy of Coal News (Bill Reid).

The John T. Boyd Memorial Young Engineer Award went to Robert Krog, mining engineer with the NIOSH Pittsburgh Research Laboratory.

Jürgen Brune and Robert Krog.  Picture courtesy of Coal News (Bill Reid).

SME Pittsburgh Section Appreciation Awards were presented to Dan Alexander, Tom Barczak, Dana Butchley, Mary DelRosso, Dick Gray, Tom Gray, Rick King, James Kvitkovich, Lisa Krepps, Kevin Luster, Donna Opfer, Michael Trevits and Frank Ucciardi.

Pictures courtesy of Gretchen Horrell and Coal News (Bill Reid).

2004 Pittsburgh International Science and Technology Festival
65th Annual Pittsburgh Regional Science and Engineering Fair

The 65th annual Pittsburgh Regional Science and Engineering Fair and the Pittsburgh SciTech Festival were held at the Carnegie Science Center April 2 through April 10.  SME Pittsburgh Section PCMIA and  NIOSH were sponsors of both events.

As in the past years, SME and NIOSH Pittsburgh Research Laboratory shared a Festival booth at the Carnegie Science Center educating students and teachers about the utilization of coal and industrial minerals such as limestone, marble, iron  and gold ores, zeolite, galena, gypsum and rock salt.  During their tour through the booth, they learned about physical properties (hardness, color, specific gravity), origin of the materials and about the many uses of these mine products in everyday life.  Every visitor received their free personal SME/NIOSH Industrial Minerals Kit with 10 genuine specimens and a booklet with explanations.  The following pictures show impressions from the fair.  

(Click on thumbnails to enlarge)

Science and Engineering Fair Award Winner

Each year, SME Pittsburgh Section and the Pittsburgh Coal Mining Institute of America (PCMIA) sponsor a special award for science projects relating to the mining industry. 

Tyrelle Farris, an 8th-grade Student at Prospect Middle School in Pittsburgh, PA was awarded the 2004 sponsor prize from the SME Pittsburgh Section and PCMIA.  
In his project "Acid Mine Drainage", he studied the effect lime on the neutralization of mine drainage.  Tyrelle build an experimental setup to treat acidic water in several steps and varied the reaction time available for the limestone to neutralize the acid.   Tyrelle's teacher and advisor is Mr. Victor DePasse.  Jürgen Brune, Bob Kudlawiec and Frank Ucciardi presented the award on behalf of SME Pittsburgh Section.  The judges were impressed with the high level of presentation and the quality of research that Tyrelle performed for this project, and we would like to encourage him to continue and refine his research.  His experiment was well-designed and he has done an excellent job conducting his tests and presenting the results.  Congratulations, Tyrelle.

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

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

2003 SME Luncheon at Longwall USA

The traditional SME Luncheon at Longwall USA was held on June 4 at the Pittsburgh Convention Center.  Pete Lilly, COO of CONSOL Energy, was the keynote speaker.  Pete spoke about the "Future of Longwall Mining".  The presentation was enjoyable because Mr. Lilly shared long and diversified coal industry experience with most of the audience.  The challenges to longwall mining that he identified in his speech are common to all mining companies and need to be overcome though cooperation with both the equipment industry and government regulators. 

Jürgen Brune, Chair, SME Pittsburgh Section, thanks Pete Lilly for his presentation.

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