In February, faculty and students from the University of Kentucky Department of Mining Engineering received several awards at the Society for Mining Engineering's annual MINEXCHANGE conference in Denver, Colorado.Jack Groppo, professor and director of undegraduate studies in the Department of Mining Engineering, was named the winner of the 2025 Frank F. Aplan Award, which recognizes contributions that further the understanding of the technology of coal and/or mineral engineering.
Recently, students in the Department of Mining Engineering formed a new student chapter of the National Sand, Stone & Gravel Association (NSSGA) at the University of Kentucky. The NSSGA represents the aggregates industry, which includes companies involved in producing stone, sand, and gravel.
Zach Agioutantis, department chair and professor for the department of Mining Engineering, was named University Research Professors for the 2025-26 academic year.
Born and educated in Fayette County, Kentucky, Samuel M. Cassidy received his Bachelor of Science in metallurgical engineering in 1925. After graduation, he accepted a position with Allen and Garcia Company, consulting and construction engineers, in Chicago, Illinois, where he received valuable experience in the field of coal mining. While employed at Allen and Garcia, he completed the requirements for a masters degree in mining engineering (’28). In 1946, he became president of Consolidation Coal Company (KY) in Jenkins, Kentucky.
By his own description, Louis Ware’s career was a planned one which, “with tenacity, the help of other competent people, a good health record and, of course, a goodly portion of luck, worked out as planned.” Following receipt of a Bachelor of Mining Engineering degree from the University of Kentucky College of Mining Engineering in 1917, Mr. Ware headed for the mines to become miner and underground boss for Old Dominion Copper Company in Globe, Arizona. His plan included getting experience in all types of mining, and he did just that.
UK Pigman College of Engineering researchers in the Department of Mining Engineering Ali Moradi (PI), Zach Agioutantis (Co-I), Pedram Roghanchi (Co-I) and Steven Schafrik (Co-I) have received a $1,250,000 grant over five years from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health for their project, "Strategic Health and Safety Optimization in Transition from Open Pit to Underground Mines."
Harry Washburn was one of those rare people who saw the big picture and the crucial details. With that combination, he was both an inspirational executive and an outstanding engineer. As president of The North American Coal Corporation, Mr. Washburn saw and acted on new opportunities, leading the company’s successful transformation from an Eastern underground mining company to a Western surface mining company. His influence remained strong throughout his career.
B.S. Mining Engineering 1981 Determined. That is the word that best describes L. Stanley (Stan) Pigman. From humble beginnings in Knott County in eastern Kentucky, he was determined to attend University of Kentucky, determined to be a successful engineer and remains determined that students like him will also attend UK. That determination earned Mr. Pigman a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering in 1981.
UK Pigman College of Engineering researchers in the Department of Mining Engineering Pedram Roghanchi (PI), Zach Agioutantis (Co-I), Ali Moradi (Co-I) and Steven Schafrik (Co-I), Muhammad Abu Bakar Siddique (Co-I) in the Department of Computer Science and Sarah Wilson (Co-I) in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering have received a nearly $442,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for their project, "IGE Track 1: Integrating Artificial Intelligence Technologies into Mining Education."
UK Pigman College of Engineering researchers in the Department of Mining Engineering Zach Agioutantis (PI), Steven Schafrik (Co-I) and Joseph Sottile (Co-I) and Matt Beck (Co-I) in the Department of Chemical and Material Engineering have received a nearly $250,000 grant from the Alpha Foundation for the Improvement of Mine Safety and Health Incorporated for their project, "Automated Sensing Module for Enhancing Miner Safety."
