Mining students, professor earn top honors at regional conference

Flying WV

Several mining engineering students and a professor from West Virginia University were recognized at the Pittsburgh Coal Mining Institute of America/Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration’s annual meeting.

Recent graduates Aaron Beam (Summersville), Zachary Saylor (Frostburg, Maryland) and Smith Shresha (Beckley) won first place in the PCMIA/SME Senior Design contest. The trio, which designed a room and pillar coal mine in Southwestern Pennsylvania, earned a $2,000 prize. This is the fourth consecutive year students from WVU have won the award.

Freshman Samuel Chmelik from Ijamsville, Maryland, received the SME West Virginia Student Grant, an annual award presented to a student pursuing an undergraduate degree in mining engineering at WVU. He was awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

Keith Heasley, C.T. Holland Professor of Mining Engineering, received the SME Pittsburgh section Distinguished Member Award. The award is presented to individuals in the section who have demonstrated significant and sustained contributions to the mining industry and SME.

"The abundance of honors received at this event testifies to the hard work, knowledge and skills of WVU’s mining engineering students and showcases the high quality of our program," said Heasley.

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