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PEM 2025

8:00 am

Seminar Introduction

Carolyn McCannon, P.E., PEM Chair, RESPEC

Zach Agioutantis, Chair, UK Department of Mining Engineering

8:15 am

National Leadership of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) and Member Societies

  • Steve Gardner, 2024 AIME President and 2015 SME President
  • Barbette Barlow, AIME Executive Director

Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST)

  • Ron Ashburn, AIST Executive Director
  • Ron O’Malley, AIME President Elect & AIST Past President 2019-2021

Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)

  • Simon Seaton, SPE Executive Director
  • Shauna Noonan, AIME President Elect Designate & 2020 SPE President
  • Terry Palisch, 2024 SPE President

The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS)

  • Jim Robinson, Executive Director
  • Brad Boyce, AIME Trustee & 2023 TMS President
  • Daniel Miracle, 2025 TMS President

Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME)

  • Dave Kanagy, Executive Director
  • Bill Hancock, 2025 SME President
10:15 am Networking Break (15 minutes) Alumni picture-meet in the front of the room
10:30 am Highwall Mining in Thick Seams - Case Histories - Dave Newman, Appalachian Engineering
10:55 am Converting UG Mines to Storage – Key Mining and Engineering Considerations – Mark Haddock, RockSmith Geoengineering
11:20 am Mineral Reserves Reporting, Seriously. - Brian Groff, Groff Engineering & Consulting
11:45 am AI Applications in CAD Drafting, Tyler Faulkner, Carlson Software
12:10 pm Networking Lunch (50 minutes)
1:00 pm

Kentucky Regulatory Environmental Roundtable

  • Gordon Slone, Commissioner, Dept. for Natural Resources
  • Jim Cable, Director, Division of Abandoned Mine Lands
  • Sheri Mullins, Director, Division of Mine Reclamation and Enforcement
  • Wes Jones, Director, Division of Mine Permits
  • Morgan Freeman, Executive Director, Office of Reclamation Guaranty Fund
  • Tim Fugate, Director, Division of Mine Safety
  • Dennis Hatfield, Director, Division of Oil and Gas
2:30 pm State and Federal Legal and Regulatory Update: Industry Perspective, R. Clay Larkin, Dentons
2:55 pm Networking Break (15 minutes)
3:10 pm Autonomous Shuttle Car Development, Changes for In-Mine Testing, Steven Schafrik, University of Kentucky
3:35 pm Estimating Groundwater Inflow for Longwall Operations, Zach Wedding, University of Kentucky
4:00 pm Mine Planning Considerations for Large Development Projects – Kristin Floyd, Rogers Group Inc.
4:25 pm Adjournment

PEM 2024

8:00 a.m.

Seminar Introduction

Kristin Floyd, P.E., PEM Chair, Rogers Group Inc.

Zach Agioutantis, Chair, UK Department of Mining Engineering

J. Steve Gardner, on behalf of SME Foundation

8:15 a.m.

Kentucky Regulatory Environmental Roundtable

Gordon Slone, Commissioner, Department for Natural Resources

Courtney Skaggs, Acting Director, KY Reclamation Guaranty Fund

Justin Adams, Director, Division of Mine Reclamation and Enforcement

James Cable, Director, Division of Abandoned Mine Lands

Tim Fugate, Director, Division of Mine Safety

Wes Jones, Director, Division of Mine Permits

10:15 a.m. Networking Break (15-Minutes)
10:30 a.m.

Sustainable Intelligent Mining: From Considerate Strategic Planning to Operational Excellence

Ali Moradi, Assistant Professor, UK Department of Mining Engineering

10:55 a.m.

The impending solar PV waste tsunami: a critical materials opportunity

Jack Groppo, Professor, UK Department of Mining Engineering

11:20 a.m.

Design of Rib Support (DORS) Tool

Khaled Mohamed, CDC/NIOSH, Pittsburgh, PA

11:45 am

S-K 1300 – Results as of 2023

Justin Douthat, P.E., Executive Vice President, Marshall Miller & Associates, Inc.

12:10 Lunch (50-Minutes)
1:00 p.m.

Seismic Forecasting, Evolving from Empirical Methods to a Numerical Approach

Yuting Xue, CDC/NIOSH, Pittsburgh, PA

1:25 p.m.

Revisiting Stress Distribution in Underground Pillars

Zachary Wedding, UK Department of Mining Engineering

1:50 p.m.

Illuminating the Dark: SLAM LIDAR Mapping Underground

James Kenney, PMP, CMSL, Wingfield Scale & Measure, Chattanooga, TN

2:30 p.m.

Board of Licensure Updates

Kyle Elliott, PLS, Executive Director, KYBOELS, Frankfort, KY

2:55 p.m. Networking Break (15 minutes)
3:10 p.m.

Limestone Highwall Assessment

David Newman, President, Appalachian Mining & Engineering

3:35 p.m.

Engineering Ethics - The Crandall Canyon Disaster

Dana Howard, Member, Stoll Keenon Ogden, PLLC

John Feddock, P.E., Consultant, Lexington, KY

4:00 p.m.

Factors `in Two Deep Cover Coal Mine Disasters

John Feddock, P.E., Consultant, Lexington, KY

4:25 p.m. Adjournment