UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Jeffery L. Kohler, professor of mining engineering and undergraduate program chair of mining engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, has been appointed the George H. Jr. and Anne B. Deike Endowed Chair in Mining Engineering.
“Dr. Kohler’s return to Penn State provides wonderful learning opportunities to our students as he brings in years of academic and industrial experience to our classrooms and research programs. Furthermore, Dr. Kohler is uniquely positioned to lead our mining engineering program to new heights. We expect that under his leadership mining engineering at Penn State will regain its reputation as a premiere mining engineering program in the nation,” said Turgay Ertekin, professor of petroleum and natural gas engineering, and head of the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering.
The Deike Chair was endowed by the late Anne B. Deike, widow of George H. Deike Jr. and a supporter of Penn State and the college, to provide a distinguished faculty member in mining engineering an opportunity to continue and further scholarly excellence. Kohler is the fourth person to hold the Deike Chair since its initiation in 1998.
The Deike family has been associated with the college since the turn of the century when George Deike Sr., a 1902 mining engineering graduate, was one of the early students in the Penn State School of Mines. Both father and son served for many years on the board of trustees and took a personal interest in the mining engineering program. In 1967, the Deike Building on the University Park campus was named in honor of the family.
Before his appointment this fall, Kohler was the associate director for mining and director of the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (OMSHR) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (CDC NIOSH), the federal agency responsible for conducting mine safety and health research. OMSHR is internationally renowned for its mine safety and health research, and under Kohler’s leadership the agency became known for its development of timely and effective solutions to some of the most pressing safety and health problems facing the industry, and for consistently meeting the needs of its congressional, industry, and labor stakeholders. Kohler also worked globally with governments, industry, and labor organizations to improve safety and health through research collaborations as well as transfer of best practices and safety interventions
Before joining the CDC NIOSH in 1998, Kohler was an associate professor of mining engineering and director of the Mine Electrical Laboratory at Penn State. While on the faculty, he taught courses and conducted research in several areas including electrical power, monitoring and control, materials handling, ventilation, quarry engineering and mining methods.
Kohler is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME), and past member of the International Society of Explosives Engineers (ISEE) and the International Society of Mine Safety Professionals (ISMSP). Kohler has served on the board of directors of the National Mine Rescue Association (NMRA), the Global Mining Research Alliance (GMRA), the International Directors of Safety (DS), and the Pittsburgh Coal Mining Institute of America (PCMIA). He has served on state, national, and international commissions including the Governor’s Commission on the Quecreek Mine Inundation, the U.S. Secretary of Labor’s Independent Panel to Assess Mine Safety and Health Administration’s Performance in the Investigation of the Upper Big Branch Mine Explosion, the National Commission on Mine Safety, Training and Technology, and the International Commission on Coal Research.
Kohler earned a bachelor's degree in engineering science, and a master’s degree and doctoral degree in mining engineering, all from Penn State.