Dr. Samuel Frimpong, vice provost for graduate education at Missouri University of Science and Technology, was honored with the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration’s (SME) Mineral Industry Education Award during the 2024 SME Annual Conference and Exhibition in Phoenix.
“I am very grateful to SME for recognizing my achievements and impact in education, research and scholarship, and my contributions toward professional development in the mineral industry,” said Frimpong, who also serves as a professor of mining and explosives engineering.
This award was created by the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) in 1950 to recognize outstanding contributions related to mineral industry education. SME first gave the award in 2011.
The 2024 SME/AIME Awards Program notes that Frimpong was selected “for his outstanding contributions in graduate and undergraduate education, research initiatives in mining and minerals engineering, and his stellar contributions in industry professional development around the globe.”
Frimpong’s career in academia began in 1993 when he joined the faculty of the Technical University of Nova Scotia (now part of Dalhousie University) in Halifax, Canada, as an assistant professor. In 1996, he was hired by the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, as an associate professor, and he was promoted to professor in 2002.
In 2004, he joined Missouri S&T as a professor of mining engineering and the Robert H. Quenon Endowed Chair, and he was named vice provost for graduate education last year.
At S&T, he also oversees the Heavy Mining Machinery Research Laboratory and the Mine Escape Research, Innovation and Technology (MERIT) Center. His research interests include mine automation and intelligent systems; heavy machinery dynamics and interactions with geological formations; fossil fuels, synthetic and renewable energy transitions; and mine safety, health and hazards engineering.
Throughout his career, Frimpong has advised 48 Ph.D. and master’s degree graduates who are serving in industry and academia around the world. He has published over 350 journal and conference manuscripts, delivered over 30 keynote addresses and invited lectures to global audiences, and shared his expertise in industry professional development and academic partnerships in over 40 countries.
Frimpong is a member of the United Nations Council of Experts on Sustainable Mining and Metals, UNESCO Council on Emerging Energy Technologies, the College of Reviewers for the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs’ program, the U.S. Board on Natural Resources, and the Botswana International University of Science and Technology Council.
He also serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Powder Metallurgy and Mining and the WAIMM Journal of Earth Resources Engineering, as well as the CSIRO Surface Mining Handbook.
His graduate degrees include a Ph.D. from the University of Alberta in Canada and a master’s degree from the University of Zambia, both in mining engineering. He also earned a post-graduate diploma and bachelor’s degree in mining engineering from the George Grant University of Mines and Technology in Ghana and is now an honorary professor for the university.
He is a registered professional engineer and holds memberships with SME; the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta; the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum; and the Association of Computer Machinery.