The SME Academic Career Development Grant and Ph.D. Fellowship Grant programs were established in 2015 by the SME Education Sustainability Committee. The programs are designed to provide grants to assist new faculty to achieve tenure and promotion, and as graduate fellowships for Ph.D. students who are committed to pursuing academic careers in the mining and minerals field. SME implemented these programs to address the long-term challenges that threaten the sustainability of U.S. mining as well as mineral processing and extractive metallurgy academic degree-granting programs, as well as the looming future labor deficiencies associated with retirements over the next two decades.
