Mining and Minerals Engineering 2020 Outstanding Graduates

Alex Norris - Outstanding Senior

Alex Norris, senior in the Class of 2020, is the recipient of the department’s Outstanding Senior award. Alex was recognized for his academic achievements, as well as his contributions to research, his service to classmates and the department, and commitment to the industry.

Alex, who hails from Roanoke, Virginia, has thoroughly enjoyed his chosen field of study, which he learned about when he was 15 years old and attended a Virginia Tech College of Engineering open house. “Every mining engineer I met has only had positive things to say about the field and their jobs,” recalled Alex. “This feedback solidified my decision, and I began my journey to Virginia Tech.”

Since joining the program four years ago, Alex has capitalized on many opportunities for personal growth. As a sophomore, he participated in the department’s undergraduate research program, which allowed him to develop research skills beyond his normal required classwork. In this role he assisted department associate professor Emily Sarver with lab work, such as gathering and preparing field samples from mines, and analyzing samples with a scanning electron microscope. His work helped support Sarver’s ongoing research into characterizing and monitoring respirable coal mine dust.

In addition, Alex demonstrated exceptional service to his peers and the department. He was selected by his classmates to be the 2019-2020 president of the Burkhart Mining Society, the student chapter of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration. He served as both vice president and president of the student chapter of the International Society of Explosives Engineers, during his junior and senior years, respectively. And he was an active member of the Virginia Tech Mine Rescue team, recently serving as its president and also as its team captain during his junior and senior years.

Alex’s academic and service achievements earned him numerous awards during his time at Virginia Tech. He received the prestigious Copper Club Scholarship in 2018 for academic excellence and his desire to contribute to the industry. His leadership helped the Mine Rescue team win three awards during its last collegiate-level mine rescue competition. And more recently, Alex and his teammates won first place in the SME/NSSGA student design competition.

Alex was named the recipient of this year’s Old Timer’s Club award, presented each year to an outstanding engineering student. With over 700 members, the Old Timer’s Club consists of industry leaders and engineers dedicated to improving techniques and engineering practices in the coal mining industry.

Alex is the first to admit that the coursework and assignments have been very challenging, but he is quick to point out the many lessons learned and feels he and his classmates are well equipped for their futures. “Some of the biggest takeaways from my time here have been resiliency, organization, prioritization, teamwork, and how to enjoy life even things aren’t going great.”

One of his fondest memories is the time spent with his classmates and getting to know and work with each of them. “As a class we challenged one another to become better versions of ourselves,” he recalled. “And in Blacksburg, I’ve learned how important community is, especially the Hokie community.”

He is proud of his class’ efforts to keep up their momentum and finish their senior year given the circumstances surrounding a pandemic, but he’s been excited to begin his career as Hokie mining engineer.

Currently he is working as a field engineer with Frontier-Kemper, a leading underground and heavy civil construction company, and is involved in sinking a shaft and slope for a new metallurgical coal mine in Volga, West Virginia.

Nestor Santa - Outstanding Graduate Student (M.S.)

Nestor Santa is the Outstanding Graduate Student for the M.S. Degree, and was selected for his contributions to graduate research marked by his intitiative, independence, and service to his research group, peers, and the professional community.

Nestor came to Virginia Tech from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL) in Medellin, where he earned a B.S. in mining and metallurgical engineering. He was recruited by department associate professor, Emily Sarver, as a result of his interest in environmentally related work and the development of new technologies. Soon after he accepted a graduate research assistantship to work on a proof-of-concept project to demonstrate optical light microscopy and image processing as the basis for a respirable mine dust monitor.

Although Nestor did not arrive in Blacksburg to officially start his M.S. program until January 2019, he began reviewing the relevant literature ahead of time, and when he arrived, he hit the ground running. By May, he had collected enough data to present a poster at the Longwall USA Conference, where he took 1st place in the Graduate Poster Contest. Recently, he gave an oral presentation at the 2020 Annual SME Meeting in Phoenix, and he is currently working on two papers that will be submitted to peer-reviewed journals.

The main focus of his research has been using optical microscopy as a tool for semi-continuous coal mine dust monitoring. This work is aimed at demonstrating how the technology can be used with image processing as a new way for developing a device which can count and classify and classifying coal mine dust particles, which has the potential to positively impact the health and safety of miners. Some of his most notable accomplishment have been determining how differences in color intensities (RBG values) can be used under various lighting conditions to classify key minerals in dust samples.

“What I like the most about my research is that it involves the use of technology and engineering to create a positive impact on underground miners that are vulnerable to health risks,” explained Nestor. “I also learned things that I never expected to learn, such as light microscopy, image processing, and statistical modeling.”

According to Sarver, Nestor’s accomplishments are most impressive since he is working in areas, such as optics and image processing, that were completely new to him before beginning the MS program. “He has met these challenges with a lot of enthusiasm and initiative, and demonstrated time and time again his ability to independently learn and problem solve,” said Sarver.

Outside of his research and coursework, Nestor is also an active research group member. He is known by his peers for his willingness to help out and his contagious positive attitude. He actively participates in department organized events such as recruiting, and he is also involved on campus. He is a member of SalsaTech where he participates in regional dance competitions and gives free dance lessons for the Virginia Tech community. Moreover, Nestor is active in the SME and clearly demonstrates an appreciation for the value of professional service.

A native of Medellin, Nestor appreciates living and studying in a tight-knit community such as Blacksburg. “What I’ve enjoyed the most is getting to know great people and such a lovely community that is now like my family.”

Currently Nestor is planning to continue his studies and pursue a Ph.D. in mining engineering.

Ming Fan - Outstanding Graduate Student (Ph.D.)

Ming Fan is the Outstanding Graduate Student for the Ph.D. degree and was selected based on his excellent publication record, outstanding research quality and productivity, collaboration experience with national laboratories and the oil and gas industry, and his leadership and communication capabilities.

Ming joined the department in 2015 as a member of department associate professor Cheng Chen’s research group. Originally from Heilongjiang, in the northernmost province of China, he earned his B.S. degree from the China University of Mining and Technology and his M.S. degree from West Virginia University.

According to his advisor Dr. Chen, Ming quickly established himself “as an outstanding researcher who demonstrated hands-on expertise in advanced numerical modeling, machine learning, and laboratory experimentation.”

The focus of Ming’s Ph.D. research was primarily on the discrete element method (DEM) and its application for simulating proppant particle movement, compaction, and embedment in fractures. His knowledge of lattice Botzman (LB) numerical modeling for single and multi-phase flows in proppant-supported fractures has been recognized by his advisors and colleagues. He is known for his hard work and self-motivation, and he independently developed a Particle Flow Code (PFC) application and in-house MATLAB code to convert PFC simulation results to the input geometry data for LB modeling.

According Ming, Virginia Tech was a great choice for pursuing his Ph.D. and provided him with numerous opportunities for pursuing a high level of research, such as studying at the University of Nottingham for a semester “The Nottingham experience exposed me to the research culture in Europe, which is beneficial for expanding my own horizons and developing a continued and wide-ranging partnership with universities at other countries,” said Ming.

He also was able to intern with Aramco Services Company at their Houston research center, which complemented his engineering and research skills.

Ming’s research and dissertation focuses on fundamental mechanisms and applications in geologic carbon sequestration and hydraulic fracturing. “My work is mostly about how the study of small-scale (e.g. pore-scale) influences the entire reservoir scale behavior,” explained Ming. “Therefore, what I like most about my work is the importance of small things in big applications!”

Ming has accepted a position as a Post-Doctoral research associate with Virginia Tech’s mining and minerals engineering department and plans to stay for at least a year while pursuing opportunities for a tenure-track faculty position at other universities.