Coal & Energy Division Awards

Coal & Energy Division Distinguished Service Award to J. Eric Shereda J. Eric Shereda The Coal & Energy Division Distinguished Service Award is presented to J. Eric Shereda “for his outstanding service and dedication to the Coal and Energy Division along with his contributions and commitment to the SME National Organization.” Shereda is the manager of Technology and Innovation at CONSOL Energy Inc., where he has worked for more than 30 years. In his current role, Shereda leads the company’s continuous improvement and digital transformation efforts leveraging data and analytics to create actionable information. He also participates on several projects and initiatives focused on the development of sustainable carbon products and materials. A licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) in four states, Shereda holds a B.S. in mining and minerals engineering from Virginia Tech, with a minor in geology. He is also a graduate of CONSOL’s Leadership Education and Development Program. Actively engaged in professional mining organizations, he currently serves as treasurer of the Pittsburgh Coal Mining Institute of America. He is Past Chair of the Pittsburgh Section of SME, a member of the SME Industry Workforce Strategic Committee, a trustee of the SME Foundation and vice chair of the SME Foundation Individual Fundraising Committee. J.W. Woomer Young Engineer Award to Rohit Pandey Rohit Pandey The J.W. Woomer Young Engineer Award is presented to Rohit Pandey “in recognition of exceptional contribution to mining engineering, innovative practical solutions and excellence in both industry and academia.” Pandey is an assistant professor in mining and minerals engineering at Virginia Tech, bringing a diverse background in academia, research and industry. He earned his Ph.D. in engineering science from Southern Illinois University, where he received the university’s Outstanding Dissertation Research Award for his work on coal bioconversion. In industry, Pandey served as a mining engineer with Nevada Gold Mines and Peabody Energy, leading projects that improved operation safety, productivity and profitability. At Virginia Tech, he teaches courses in mine water engineering, ventilation engineering and rock mechanics, and is deeply committed to mentoring students in research and career development.Pandey’s research focuses on flow-coupled geomechanics to enhance subsurface engineering, with major funding from agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Energy. His work is widely published, contributing substantial advancements to the field of mining and geoenergy engineering. Stefanko Best Paper Award to Daniel Wen Su and Peter Zhang Daniel Wen Su The Stefanko Best Paper Award is presented to Daniel Wen Su and Peter Zhang “in recognition of the presentation and technical quality of the paper entitled “NIOSH Gas Well Stability Research: Investigation into the Causes of An Anomalous Shale Gas Well Casing Deformation at A Deep Longwall Mine.”Su received his Ph.D. degree from West Virginia University in 1982. Upon graduation, he joined the Mining Engineering Department of West Virginia University as an assistant professor. In 1985, he joined CONSOL R&D and later became manager of geomechanical engineering, responsible for both coal and gas operational engineering. In 2015, Su joined CDC/NIOSH Pittsburgh Mining Research Division as a senior service fellow, where he initiated two gas-well stability research projects. Peter Zhang Zhang is a general engineer with NIOSH Mining System Safety Branch in Pittsburgh, PA. He worked for Foundation Coal and Alpha Natural Resource as a senior geotechnical engineer from 2005 to 2016 and joined NIOSH in 2016. His current technical focus includes gas-well stability in coal and stone mine pillars, mining-induced subsurface ground movements, roof support under high horizontal stress, and numerical modeling. Zhang received his B.S. and M.S. in mining engineering from Taiyuan University of Technology, China, and Ph.D. in mining engineering from West Virginia University.

Coal & Energy Division Awards

Authored by: Staff

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