Academic-career and Ph.D. grant

The University of Arizona campus. SME implemented these grant programs to address longterm challenges in academia for mining and minerals processing/ extractive metallurgy. The SME Academic Career Development Grant and Ph.D. Fellowship Grant programs were established in 2015 by the SME Foundation and the SME Board of Directors. 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. The Academic Career Development Grant is intended to provide newly employed, nontenured assistant or associate professors with the financial support needed to better participate in activities such as research, publication and professional service that are necessary to achieve tenure and promotion. To download guidelines and for more information, visit www.smenet.org/Professional-Development/ Academic-Career-Development-Program. The Ph.D. Fellowship Grant is available to qualified candidates with professional experience and a desire to pursue an academic career, who have the means of acquiring a doctoral degree in the field of mining or extractive metallurgy/ mineral processing at a U.S. accredited university. To download guidelines and for more information, visit www.smenet.org/Professional-Development/ PhD-Fellowship-Program. Grant recipients Since 2017, the academic-career development grant award has been named the Freeport- McMoRan, Inc. Career Development Grant. The Academic-career and Ph.D. grant recipients share roads to success and future plans 2022 recipients are Angelina Anani, associate professor with the Department of Mining and Geological Engineering at the University of Arizona and Taghi Sherizadeh from Missouri University of Science and Technology. Three candidates are awarded the 2022 Shoemaker Ph.D. Fellowship Grant: Lynette Hutson of the University of Arizona, Amy McBrayer of South Dakota School of Mines and Elham Rahimi of Pennsylvania State University. The following are excerpts from interviews Mining Engineering conducted with the grant recipients: Angelina Anani University of Arizona, 2022 Freeport-McMoRan, Inc. Career Development Grant Angelina Anani ME: How has the grant helped your career? Anani: It will support activities such as research, publications, teaching and professional service — all necessary to achieve tenure and promotion. ME: What are your plans for the future? Anani: I hope to help develop technologies that contribute to sustainable and zero-entry mining in the future. I pursued mining because it gave me the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others by providing resources that are essential to human survival. ME: What are your areas of research? Anani: My research areas are in mine planning, production schedule optimization, immersive analytics, automation, mine sustainability and safety. ME: What do you teach? Anani: I teach surface mine planning and design, underground mine design, and a course on the application of discrete event simulation in mining. I am also developing new courses. ME: What is unique or special about the program at your university? Anani: Unlike other engineering fields, the uncertainties in mining make it challenging and intriguing. The mining program at the University of Arizona is unique because it offers students the opportunity to learn directly from the field, and provides learning opportunities in other fields through the new school of mining and mineral resources. Taghi Sherizadeh Missouri University of Science & Technology, 2022 Freeport-McMoRan, Inc. Career Development Grant Taghi Sherizadeh ME: What drew you to the field of mining? What kind of work do you do and hope to do in the future? Sherizadeh: My hometown has many views of exposed rock and mountains in the distance, and I have many memories from an early age of examining rock outcrops in the fields there. I have always found mining and tunneling fascinating, and as an adventure to further explore new rocks and new places that no one has ever seen before. That’s what started my career in mining and geomechanics. Currently, I’m focusing on geomechanical modeling and working to develop new ways to monitor rock mass during the mining process. In the future, I aim to study rock mass on a deeper, more fundamental level through the development of new constitutive models and an enhanced ability to measure rock mass in the field. ME: What do you teach? Sherizadeh: I teach several courses, for undergraduate students (surveying and rock mechanics) as well as for graduate students (computational geomechanics). In addition, I work side by side with my students on their research projects and mentor them. My aim in any teaching is not to give away the answer too quickly; sometimes the best learning happens when we struggle. ME: What has surprised you about mining? What is something new that you are learning about that has intrigued you? Sherizadeh: I’ve always been surprised by the people in mining and how much pride they take in their work. When I have a chance to visit a new mine site and meet the people there, they usually share a story about what makes their mine different from the rest. Maybe it is a unique ground condition, a problem area, or a checkered mining history, but there is always something new. What I’ve learned is that no two mines are the same, and each project may require some unique solution that hasn’t been thought of before. ME: What is unique or special about the study program at your university? Sherizadeh: Missouri S&T is a great place for research. We take special care to ensure that students from all levels are involved in our ongoing research projects. I like to expose students to new topics and allow them to discover what their interests are for themselves. Students at Missouri S&T are engaged and enthusiastic, and the industry takes notice. Lynnette Leila Hutson University of Arizona, 2022 Shoemaker Ph.D. Fellowship Grant Lynnette Leila Hutson ME: What drew you to the field of mining? What kind of work do you do and hope to do in the future? Hutson: I initially started working in the industry after pursuing a master’s of geoscience degree at the University of Arizona. It was the start of a mining super cycle and a great time to enter the industry because there were so many job opportunities. I knew just enough about economic geology to know it was a really interesting subfield of geology. My work now relates to data analytics and mining, with a focus on developing tools that can assist with the long-term strategic decisions companies face. This can involve either the technical or business aspects of a mine. For my current research, I am working on a geometallurgy data mining project at a large copper porphyry operation. In the future I hope to be able to give back by teaching students in miningrelated fields to understand the mining operation as an integrated system, and to give them solid technical skills, including how to use and interact with big data in a way that is practical and drives results. ME: When do you expect to complete your Ph.D. and what is the focus of your dissertation? Hutson: My main area of research is a geometallurgy data mining project, and I am working with staff at a large copper porphyry deposit. The idea is that by linking the available data on the geologic characteristics of the ore to the eventual processing outcomes, we can investigate the performance of the operation in more detail than was previously possible. This will in turn lead to other opportunities for further investigation, experimentation and performance optimization, although much of that follow-up work may be out of scope for my own dissertation. I expect to complete it in May 2024. ME: What has surprised you during your studies? What is something new that you are learning about that has intrigued you? Hutson: This is the first chance I have had to really learn metallurgy in any degree of detail. It is great to know more about the specific chemical processes involved rather than just being aware of the production metrics associated with the plant, for example. It is another layer of depth to my understanding. ME: What is unique or special about the study program at your university? Hutson: One of the great things about the University of Arizona is the quality of faculty across a number of departments and colleges and the range of mining-related options available. There are several environmental and sustainability-related majors, for example, that smaller schools may not offer. Another example is that some of the mining and geoscience faculty have research collaborations with professors in the anthropology department, which I think is really cool. I am working on a minor in management information systems for my own research. I think this breadth is one of the key aspects that the new School of Mining and Mineral Resources is able to build on, and that work is exciting as well. Amy McBrayer South Dakota School of Mines, 2022 Stantec/ McIntosh Ph.D. Fellowship Grant Amy McBrayer ME: What drew you to the field of mining? What kind of work do you do and hope to do in future? McBrayer: I was drawn to mining in high school after completing a report on the field of mining engineering. I was attracted by the diverse opportunities for mining engineers in the United States and abroad. I initially was interested in reclamation and remediation but found a passion for mine design and planning, as well as operations management, through internships during my undergraduate years. Prior to returning to academia, I gained experience in engineering, logistics and operations management. This led to my interest in mine planning and production scheduling optimization and has fueled my research. I hope to continue developing scheduling tools for the industry, publish journal articles and teach the next generation of mining engineers after graduation. ME: When do you expect to complete your Ph.D. and what is the focus of your dissertation? McBrayer: I anticipate the completion of the requirements for my Ph.D. in May 2023. My dissertation focus is mine planning and production schedule optimization for largearea mines. ME: What has surprised you during your studies? What is something new that you are learning about that has intrigued you? McBrayer: The transition back to academia was more difficult than I anticipated. Recalling knowledge from nearly a decade prior and reintegrating into academia challenged me early on in my Ph.D. I have been able to develop a more global understanding of the mining industry and expanded my knowledge of mining techniques through my time at South Dakota School of Mines. Understanding the implications of culture, environmental, social and governance demands, and the variety of challenges miners are impacted by globally has intrigued me. I am also enjoying learning more about the history of the Powder River Basin in the United States and the challenges surrounding mine planning and production scheduling for this region. ME: What is unique or special about the study program at your school? McBrayer: I have found many of my colleagues and professors at South Dakota Mines have significant industry experience and strong relationships with industry. From chief executive officers of junior mining companies to engineers working in a variety of underground and surface mining roles, I have been challenged by other students with experiences in the United States and abroad. Professors with experience in both industry and academia have been crucial to my successful transition back to academia. They have helped me to understand the theory behind the practical application I experienced throughout my career, and rounded out my knowledge of the mining industry. South Dakota Mines has provided me with significant opportunities to teach and develop a research focus that differs from those I have seen at other universities, as well as the opportunity to work with professors recognized by SME, industry and academia. Elham Rahimi Pennsylvania State University, 2022 SME Ph.D. Fellowship Grant Elham Rahimi ME: What drew you to the field of mining? What kind of work do you do and hope to do in future? Rahimi: I believe mining is one of the most fascinating and dynamic majors that embraces new technologies. I was inspired to study mining engineering when I had a geology class in high school, which helped me to understand the role of minerals in industries and downstream. I decided to play a role in this field and my desire to become an innovative researcher as well as a model in education led me to the point where I could do research on a broad spectrum of challenges in the mining industry. I worked on challenges of rare earth elements (REE) enrichment from iron-apatite deposit. Currently, the United States is heavily reliant on imports of these elements. Thus, it is important to prospect all viable resources of these elements from primary and secondary resources. I also had a chance to do research on the challenge of respirable coal/ silica mine dust to investigate the effects of various factors contributing to coal worker’s lung diseases. For my Ph.D. research, I am focusing on biocoal conversion in the United States, lower-coal-rank resources to produce methane as a source of energy and potentially carbon sequestration. ME: When do you expect to complete your Ph.D. and what is the focus of your dissertation? Rahimi: My Ph.D. program started in the spring of 2021 and is expected to be completed in four to five years. Currently, I am working on methane production as a source of energy from low- to medium-quality coal reservoirs using bacteria (biocoal conversion), and potentially carbon sequestrating to enhance methane recovery from coal beds, which eventually reduces greenhouse gases. To this aim, a preliminary step is conducting laboratory experiments using coal powder, wastewater (sludge) and chemicals to produce methane and monitor carbon dioxide release. The short-term objectives in my research are to develop more ex situ experiments to find a reliable, optimal solution, then apply this knowledge to in situ conditions for enhancement of coal-bed methane recovery. ME: What has surprised you during your studies? What is something new that you are learning about that has intrigued you? Rahimi: While the academic courses helped me to understand the fundamentals of the research and build my scientific background, the technical and analytical training in unconventional geomechanics laboratory and bioengineering research laboratory surprised me in my learning and helped widen my perspective on the available techniques/methods for the long-term objectives and challenges. This Ph.D. research project was a big step for me in terms of scientific background to understand innovative techniques of bioconversion and apply them in the mining industry. I first needed to learn multiscale rock characterization techniques under replicated in situ pressure and temperature conditions, then narrated down my studies on methanogens to build a bridge with mining engineering, and how to increase methane release from immature coal by developing nutrient solution-containing methanogens. ME: What is unique or special about the study program at your university? Rahimi: The Energy and Mineral Engineering Department at Penn State has a unique multidisciplinary program in which great professors and mentors provide exceptional opportunities to prepare students for their future. Collaboration with a variety of research groups helps students to broaden their horizons to venture into wide areas of the profession in this field. I was impressed by Shimin Liu, a motivated academic who enthusiastically teaches theoretical and practical experiences, and established a broad multidisciplinary research group where we can collaborate efficiently by sharing knowledge and cooperating by providing services/facilities to proceed with the speed of the research. The department provides cutting-edge research from a variety of disciplines that help students flourish in their areas of interest.

Academic-career and Ph.D. grant

Authored by:
Nancy Profera

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