The Howard L Hartman Award, an honour bestowed by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) to a distinguished individual in the field of underground ventilation engineering, was given to the 11th symposium’s co-chair, Dr Jan Mutmansky.
A Penn State graduate recruited to the school by the award’s namesake, Mutmansky has worked at the university since 1977 and is the author of more than 75 publications, most of which are in the area of mine ventilation. Past recipients of the award include Pramoud Thakur, Malcolm McPherson and Mutmansky’s fellow chairman for this year’s event, Dr Raj Ramani.
Awards for outstanding papers in the conference were given to two groups: David Loring and Brad Nelson for “Transition of the Henderson Mine Ventilation System to the New Lower Levels”, and “Predicting Methane Emissions from Longer Longwall Faces by Analysis of Emission Contributors” by Robert Krog, Steve Schatzel, Fred Garcia and John Marshall.
The appreciation award went to John Kelleher for his longstanding commitment to the biennial event.
An equal highlight of the evening was an anecdotal presentation by Virginia Tech Emeritus Massey Professor of Mining Engineering Malcolm McPherson. His speech, “Reflections of a Mine Ventilation Consultant”, was a recollection of experiences throughout his professional career.
The third generation of his family in the industry and with a career spanning decades, McPherson offered encouragement to everyone who he said continues to progress mining into the future.
“Be proud of what you do. The earliest or the very latest methods of underground mining wouldn’t be possible without an adequate flow of air.
“Walk into the future with confidence, holding your heads up high. They cannot do without us.”
Before adjourning, the announcement of the 12th US/North American Mine Ventilation Symposium was announced. Winning the hosting honours out of all submitted nominations was the University of Nevada-Reno, in conjunction with California firm Mine Ventilation Services. The event is scheduled for June 9-11, 2008.
