The Committees

Membership Committee (2024-2025):

  • Secretary General: Prof. Vladislav Kecojevic, West Virginia University, USA
  • Deputy Secretary General: Prof. Serkan Saydam, UNSW, Australia
  • Deputy Secretary General and Treasurer: Prof. Elisabeth Clausen, RWTH Aachen, Germany
  • President: Prof. Elisabeth Clausen, RWTH Aachen, Germany
  • President-Elect: Assoc. Prof. Emily Sarver, Virginia Tech, USA
  • Immediate Past President: Prof. Serkan Saydam, UNSW, Australia
  • Director of IT and Membership: Prof. Zach Agioutantis, University of Kentucky, USA

Strategic Planning Committee (2024-2025):

SOMP Council Officers:

  • Secretary General: Prof. Vladislav Kecojevic, West Virginia University, USA
  • Deputy Secretary General: Prof. Serkan Saydam, UNSW, Australia
  • Deputy Secretary General and Treasurer: Prof. Elisabeth Clausen, RWTH Aachen, Germany
  • President: Prof. Elisabeth Clausen, RWTH Aachen, Germany
  • President-Elect: Assoc. Prof. Emily Sarver, Virginia Tech, USA
  • President-Elect Designate: Prof. Domingo Javier Carvajal Gomez, University of Huelva, Spain
  • Immediate Past President: Prof. Serkan Saydam, UNSW, Australia

SOMP Council Members:

  • Member for Oceania: Prof. Ismet Canbulat, UNSW, Australia
  • Member for South America: Prof. Oscar Jaime Restrepo Baena, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia
  • Member for Africa: Assoc. Prof. Harmony Musiyarira, Namibia University of Science & Technology, Namibia
  • Member(s) for Asia: Prof. Liu Li, Chongqing University, China; Assoc. Prof. Nga Nguyen, Hanoi University of Mining and Geology, Vietnam
  • Member for North America: Prof. Zach Agioutantis, University of Kentucky, USA
  • Member(s) for Europe: Assoc. Prof. Marilena Cardu, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
  • Co-Opted Member: Prof. Oliver Langefeld, TU Clausthal, Germany
  • Co-Opted Member: Prof. Ronny-Webber Youngman, University of Pretoria, South Africa

SOMP Members At Large:

  • Prof. Michael Karmis, past Secretary General, Virginia Tech, USA
  • Prof. Bruce Hebblewhite, past Secretary General, UNSW, Australia
  • Prof. Jürgen Kretschmann, Hainan Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences

Education Committee (2024-2025):

  • Ms. Sandra Nowosad, TU Clausthal, Germany, Coordinator
  • Prof. Oscar Jaime Restrepo Baena, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia
  • Prof. Biljana Kovacevic-Zelic, University of Zagreb, Croatia
  • Prof. Jürgen Brune, Colorado School of Mines, USA
  • Prof. Ronny Webber-Youngman, University of Pretoria, South Africa
  • Dr. Angela Binder, TU Clausthal, Germany
  • Dr. Gabriela Paszkowska, Wroclaw University of Technology, Poland
  • Prof. Liu Li, Chongqing University, China
  • Assoc. Prof. Patrick Foster, University of Exeter, United Kingdom
  • Assoc. Prof. Simit Raval, UNSW, Australia
  • Prof. Navid Mojtabai, New Mexico Tech, USA
  • Dr. Sakshi Anderson, Curtin University, Australia
  • Dr Ghislain Bournival, UNSW, Australia

Research and Development and Industry Committee (2024-2025):

  • Assoc. Prof. Veiko Karu, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, Coordinator
  • Assoc. Prof. Victor Wei Liu, University of Alberta, Canada
  • Assoc. Prof. Joung Oh, UNSW, Australia
  • Prof. Radoslaw Zimroz, Wroclaw University of Technology, Poland
  • Assoc. Prof. Rudraijt Mitra, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, USA
  • Assoc. Prof. Sergei Sabanov, Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan
  • Dr. Ke Hu, University of Alberta, Canada
  • Dr. Omer Faruk Ugurlu, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Türkiye
  • Assoc. Prof. Guangyao Si, University of New South Wales, Australia
  • Prof. Godfrey Dzinomwa, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia
  • Assoc. Prof. Binghao Li, UNSW, Australia
  • Mr. Andrew J. Scott, BHP Australia
  • Dr. Danqi Li , Curtin University, Australia
  • Prof. Diyuan Li, Central South University, Changsha, China

Members Development Committee (2024-2025):

  • Dr. George Barakos, Curtin University, Australia, Co-Coordinator
  • Ms. Natalija Pavlovic, University of Belgrade, Serbia, Co-Coordinator
  • Ms. Alexandra Radl, RWTH Aachen, Germany
  • Dr. Chengguo Zhang, UNSW Sydney, Australia
  • Ms. Mareike Schubert, TU Clausthal, Germany
  • Dr. Sela Akdag, UNSW, Australia
  • Mr. Md Ariful Islam, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany

Capacity Building Committee (2024-2025):

  • Prof Godfrey Dzinomwa, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia, Co-Coordinator
  • Assoc. Prof. Seher Ata, UNSW, Australia, Co-Coordinator
  • Assoc. Prof. Harmony Musiyarira, Namibia University of Science and Technology
  • Prof. Jürgen Kretschmann, Hainan Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences
  • Prof. Domingo Javier Carvajal Gomez, University of Huelva, Spain
  • Prof. Helmut Mischo, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany
  • Dr. Nga Nguyen, Hanoi University of Mining and Geology, Vietnam
  • Assoc. Prof. Jorge Soto, National University of San Marcos, Peru
  • Prof. Hermogenes Edgard Gonzales Zenteno, Universidad Nacional de San Agustin de Arequipa, Peru
  • Honorary Prof. Angel Tobar, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
  • Mr. Georg Meissner, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany

Mining and Minerals Programs Sustainability (2024-2025):

  • Assoc. Prof. Emily Sarver, Virginia Tech, USA, Coordinator
  • Dr. Jannie Maritz, Senior Lecturer, University of Pretoria, South Africa
  • Ms Stefanie Walter, Senior Communications Advisor, Lots* Society for Changing Communication, Germany
  • Prof. Oscar Jaime Restrepo Baena, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia
  • Dr. Micah Nehring, University of Queensland, Australia
  • Prof. Ismet Canbulat, UNSW, Australia
  • Ms. Claudia Mueller, Program Director, York University, Canada

IT  Committee (2024-2025):

  • Director of IT and Membership: Prof. Zach Agioutantis, University of Kentucky, USA, Coordinator
  • Prof. Domingo Javier Carvajal Gomez, University of Huelva, Spain
  • Assoc. Prof. Steve Schafrik, University of Kentucky, USA

Honorifics Committee (2024-2025):

  • Prof. Vladimir Pavlovic, University of Belgrade, Serbia, Coordinator
  • Prof. Christoph Dauber, TH Georg Agricola University, Germany
  • Prof. Pierre Mousset-Jones, University of Nevada - Reno, USA

Guenter Fettweis Award Committee (2024-2025):

  • Prof. Michael Karmis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, USA, Coordinator
  • President-Elect: Assoc. Prof. Emily Sarver, Virginia Tech, USA
  • Member at Large: Prof. Zach Agioutantis, University of Kentucky, USA
  • Member at Large: Prof. Helmut Mischo, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany

Ludwig Wilke Award Committee (2024-2025):

  • Prof. Bruce Hebblewhite, University of New South Wales, Australia, Coordinator
  • President: Prof. Elisabeth Clausen, RWTH Aachen, Germany
  • Immediate Past President: Prof. Serkan Saydam, UNSW, Australia
  • Member at Large: Prof. Oscar Jaime Restrepo Baena, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia

Tim Shaw Award Committee (2024-2025):

The Tim Shaw Award is administered by the Education Committee, currently chaired by Ms. Sandra Nowosad, TU Clausthal, Germany.

Michael Karmis SOMP PhD Fellowship Award Committee (2024-2025):

  • Zach Agioutantis, University of Kentucky, USA, Coordinator
  • Assoc. Prof. Emily Sarver, Virginia Tech, USA
  • Prof. Elisabeth Clausen, RWTH Aachen, Germany
  • Prof. Oscar Jaime Restrepo Baena, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia

Bruce Hebblewhite SOMP Best Paper Award Committee (2024-2025):

The Bruce Hebblewhite SOMP Best Paper Award is administered by the session chairs at the SOMP Annual General Meeting and the SOMP Deputy Secretary General Prof. Serkan Saydam, UNSW, Australia.