2011 Spring - WVU College of Engineering and Mineral Resources ...

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STUdent NEWSWVU students engagedwith international peers inresearch programAnnual Pumpkin Drop asmash hitBy Cate MihelicSpring 2011 ENGINEERINGWVBy Cate MihelicIn September, two WVU students spent a week in Sweden taking part ina graduate program in Boundary Lubrication and Tribo-Chemistry at LuleaTechnological University.The course was part of the annual Swedish Research School in Tribologythat brings together top doctoral students from Sweden and Europe foradvanced study under the direction of world experts from academia andindustry.Aaron Kessman and Nick Morris are doctoral candidates in mechanicalengineering at WVU and both are recipients of prestigious graduatefellowships from the National Science Foundation.These awards include a $30,000 annual stipend and a $10,000 cost ofeducation allowance that enabled them to take part in this program, alongwith 35 students from Sweden, Portugal, and the Netherlands. The coursewas led by world-renowned professors and practitioners from the UnitedKingdom, Sweden, and Japan.“This program was a wonderful opportunity to be on the cutting edge,”Morris said. “It gives you a different perspective to study with other peoplefrom around the world.”Both Morris and Kessman are supervised by Dr. Darran Cairns, assistantprofessor in mechanical and aerospace engineering.“We have some superb graduate students at WVU who have made a choiceto study here despite offers to study elsewhere,” said Cairns. “The ability totake part in global programs like the Swedish Tribology School help to enrichtheir graduate school experience and prepare them for productive careers ininternationally competitive fields.”•More than 1,000 participants weathered the cold to watch pumpkins drop from the roofof the Engineering Sciences Building as part of the 23rd Annual Pumpkin Drop.The event, which is sponsored by the West Virginia University student chapter of theAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers, challenges teams to create a contraption thatwould help a pumpkin survive an 11-story drop onto a target. More than 160 pumpkinswere launched off the roof.First place went to a team from Suncrest Middle School with pumpkin number 157,submitted by Sami Kanj and Sebastion Bravo. Their pumpkin landed intact and within 2feet 7 inches of the target.Second place was awarded to Morgantown Learning Academy’s “The Pumpkings.” Thepumpkin was submitted by Sevanna Kisko, Emily Ward, Nico Toro, Olivia Sidwell, and EllisWorks. It landed 3 feet 7 inches from the target.The third place winners were the “Skittle Ninjas” from Doddridge County Middle School.Submitted by Ty Edgeworth, Dustin Jones, Michael Blankenship, and John Wyckoff, thepumpkin landed 3 feet 10 inches away from the target.“This was one of the largest contests we have had,” said Pat Goldie, one of the event’scoordinators. “We had more than 1,000 students participate from all over the state. Itwas cold, but everyone stuck around.”•Proceeds from the Pumpkin Drop’s entry fees benefited Morgantown’s Ronald McDonald House.WVU President James ClementsThird annual Trunk-or-Treat sponsored by IIE By Cate Mihelic20This past Halloween, monsters, ghosts, and superheroes haunted theWest Virginia University Shell Building next to the Coliseum in searchof candy. The third annual Trunk-or-Treat was hosted by the studentchapter of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE).Despite cold, rainy weather, students from various organizations acrossthe University handed out candy from the trunks of their decorated carsto more than 2,500 costume-clad children, nearly tripling last year’sattendance of 900.“IIE organizes this event to give local children a safe and central locationto come out and ‘Trunk-or-Treat,’” said IIE President Daniel Norris. “It’salso a great opportunity for student organizations to get involved in thelocal community.”IIE is the world’s largest professional society dedicated solely to thesupport of the industrial engineering profession and individuals involvedwith improving quality and productivity. Founded in 1948, IIE is aninternational, nonprofit association that provides leadership for theapplication, education, training, research, and development of industrialengineering.
ALUmni NEWSStatler Inducted Into Academy ofDistinguished AlumniNancy DiPaolo, chair, WVUAlumni Association Board ofDirectors, welcomes BenjaminM. Statler to the WVU Academyof Distinguished Alumni.Retired coal executive and College of Engineering and Mineral Resourcesgraduate Benjamin M. Statler was one of three members inducted into theWest Virginia University Alumni Association Academy of Distinguished Alumni.The ceremony, which took place on February 4, honors graduates who haveattained national or international distinction in their profession or discipline.Statler was born and raised in Monongalia County. A third-generation coalminer, he received his bachelor’s degree in mining engineering from WVU in1973. While at WVU, Statler began his career at CONSOL Energy as a laboreron the night shift.“I can remember how he would drag himself into the classroom afterworking the night shift at the coal mines,” said Sam Ameri, professor andchair of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering at WVU and a classmate ofStatler’s. “He worked hard throughout his time at WVU and brought his workethics to every undertaking in his life.”For 30 years, Statler held various positions at CONSOL Energy before retiringas senior vice president of mining in 1999. He then started his own miningcompany, PinnOak Resources LLC, serving as president and CEO until hesold the company in 2007.“Under his leadership, PinnOak grew in production capacity, exceeding 7million tons of metallurgical coal annually,” said Gene Cilento, Glen H. HinerDean of the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. “His companyemployed the latest technology available to the industry, resulting in cleaner,higher-quality coal that is more efficient and safer to mine.”“During my career, I have seen a lot of engineering and technology advancesin mining that have made the U.S. coal industry safer and more productive,”said Statler. “Many of those advances were the result of work done here atWVU by a group of distinguished and accomplished faculty in our engineeringschool. Other advances were achieved by engineers who trained here andthen went on to hold significant leadership positions in many of this country’sgreatest mining or mining equipment companies.“Based on my 40 years of experience, I can say, without fear ofcontradiction, that West Virginia University has produced some of the bestmining engineers in the world.”Today, Statler and his wife, Jo, are successful entrepreneurs and theymaintain strong ties to their community and to WVU. In 2007, the Statler’sannounced a $25 million gift to WVU, the single largest gift to the University.The gift has provided cancer research, academic enhancements, and athleticimprovements for the University and its students.Their generous contribution to the WVU Alumni Association helped the newalumni center became a reality. In recognition of their support, Statler WilsonCommons now serves as the official home of The Erickson Alumni Centerand Raymond J. Lane Park.“You know, being able to maintain a relationship with the Universitythroughout my career, and now to be in a position to give back to it, hasbeen one of the great joys in my life,” Statler said. “Jo and I have tried tosupport several aspects of University life, from academics, to athletics, to thefacilities of this Alumni Center,” Statler said. “Others will choose differentthings—things of interest to them. But regardless of what they support or thelevel to which they can support it; and regardless of whether they give theirmoney or just their time, it is the act of giving ... this continued connectivitybetween Alumni and the University that will keep WVU strong.”“He is a proud alumnus of the College and he has served his alma materin many ways over the years,” Cilento said. “He has actively served on theDepartment of Mining Engineering Visiting Committee and has providedsignificant advice and counsel to me as dean. Ben currently serves on theWVU Foundation Board of Directors, and he has taken leadership roles inseveral professional organizations within the coal mining community.”Statler has received awards from the Department of Mining Engineering andwas a distinguished Poundstone Lecturer in 2006. He and Jo were named“Most Loyal West Virginians” in 2007 and “Outstanding Philanthropists” in2008, and were granted a WVU honorary doctoral degree in 2009.“It is my hope that I will always be a part of WVU and be able to help theUniversity achieve its vision for scholarship, research, and outreach,” Statlerconcluded. “Just as the University is leading the way in Health Sciences, myhope is that WVU will also become recognized as THE energy engineeringcollege in the country—producing engineers with the skills and abilities tohelp meet the challenges we face as a state, nation and world, and also whocarry in them the unquenchable desire to make a difference.”Joining Statler in this year’s class were the Al Zamil family of Saudi Arabiaand Bahrain and Dr. Kimberly Weaver, an astrophysicist at NASA’s GoddardSpace Flight Center.•Volume 7 Issue 121
Page 2 and 3: Message from the DeanDear Friends:
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