K. Marc Le Vier, President, SME Foundation and Director, Metallurgical Services, Newmont Mining notes the SME Foundation “was founded in 1991 as a philanthropic venture to give scholarships to student members. Since that time the SME Foundation has grown by leaps and bounds. It is the engine that helps move our industry and Society forward. SME is the leader in fostering, developing and mentoring industry professionals. The Foundation financially supports the following critical industry education and outreach programs and endeavors:
- SME Foundation General Fund & Endowment
- ABET Inc. (university accreditation program)
- GEM (Government, Education & Mining)
- Mineral Information Institute (Mii) (outreach to K-12 students and teachers)
- Professional Engineers Exam Program
- Syd S. Peng Ground Control in Mining Award and Scholarships
- MMSA/SMEF Presidential Scholarship
- McIntosh Engineering Scholarship Fund
- Rong Yu Wan Memorial Scholarship Fund
- George V. Weisdack Memorial Scholarship Fund.
“The Foundation will continue to address key professional and outreach issues for the mining and mineral community for many years to come. It is the vision of the Trustees to take this one step further and work on an endowment plan for all the program areas to ensure the longevity of the Foundation indefinitely.
“When you consider what SME has meant to your own professional and personal growth, I hope you will remember the Foundation and be as generous as possible during the coming years. Please think about ways you or your company can partner with the SME Foundation to make it strong for generations to come. The impact an individual member can make is enormous.
“I am sincerely grateful for your membership and your dedication to our profession, and the support you have given me during the past two years. As Barbara Arnold takes the reigns of the SME Foundation Presidency during the upcoming Annual Meeting, I know you will give her the same support and encouragement that I have enjoyed.”
Donations to the foundation can be made through https://www.smenet.org/foundation/foundationcontributions/
The Mineral Information Institute has a new look on its website. The illustrated and animated design promises to engage as well as deliver. The fresh and dynamic look was designed to appeal to students as well as teachers. The website enjoyed an all-time record of +145,000 visitors during the month of October 2010, and the organisers expect the new design to generate even more traffic!
Mii’s mission is to provide information and materials to teachers and students that result in an understanding that mineral and energy resources are essential to society and can be produced in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. It strives to achieve this goal by developing materials for classrooms and communities that present an accurate view of the mineral and energy resource industries, including mineral product use, supply and demand facts, facts about their occurrence in nature, how and where they are produced and their production following sound environmental practice.
More than 20,000 free packets are mailed each year to classrooms around the US. These packets are loaded with posters, classroom activities and materials that help teachers and students learn about mining, minerals and the environment. The new shopping cart also offers videos, CDs, DVDs and other teaching materials for purchase. Check its out at http://www.mii.org/
The SME/GEM Minerals Coalition participated in three NSTA regional conferences in 2010. The conferences were held in Kansas City, October 28-30, Baltimore, November 11-13 and Nashville, December 2-4. Each exhibit relied on a local committee to plan and run the booth with support from the National SME/GEM Committee. This year SME Student Chapters were recruited to chair two of the NSTA Conferences.
In Kansas City, Barbara Robertson, administrative assistant for the Mining & Nuclear Engineering Dept. at Missouri University of Science and Technology, recruited the president and secretary of the Women in Mining Student Chapter to serve as NSTA booth chairs under the guidance of Barbara. The students secured six mineral samples and created a mineral guide, as well as collected educational material pertaining to the area. The booth was visited by approximately 1,000 teachers.
The Baltimore NSTA was chaired by the Penn State SME Student Chapter led by Dr. Larry Grayson. The students worked very closely with the Pittsburgh Local GEM Section to co-ordinate the effort for the NSTA Booth. The Pittsburgh Section donated 1,500 mineral kits to the student chapter to be distributed at the booth. The show opened at 11:00am on Thursday, November 11th, where the students greeted the teachers, answered questions and handed out mineral kits to each of the visitors. The students ran out of mineral kits by 4:00pm on Friday and spent the rest of the time talking to teachers and handing out educational materials. About 2,000 teachers visited the booth.
Robert (Bob) Freas led the effort for the Nashville NSTA, December 2-4. Bob was joined in the booth by Dr. Wayne Lemier of Tennessee Tech and 10 engineering students from Tennessee Tech. Together they delivered 11 different rock and mineral samples along with educational material related to the area to some 1,500 teachers. The three NSTA Conferences were a huge success reaching nearly 5,000 teachers in six weeks. The volunteers also had teachers fill out approximately 3,000 Mii contact forms, which were given to Mii for processing. Mii also provided about 300 pounds of posters, classroom activities and other free hand-outs for the visiting teachers.