UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Hannah Chop, a senior majoring in environmental systems engineering, was recently awarded the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America and the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Foundation (MMSA/SMEF) Presidential Scholarship.
Through this joint program, the annual scholarship is awarded to an outstanding student whose study program encompasses any aspect of the extractive minerals industry.
Chop said she was surprised and overjoyed to receive the recognition. She credited Penn State for helping her to discover her passion for mining. After enrolling in a mineral processing course taught by Barbara Arnold, professor of practice in mining engineering, Chop found her niche in environmental systems engineering.
“Professor Arnold taught us how important the mining industry is and how it works,” Chop said. “With Dr. Arnold’s help, I was able to get an internship at a coal mine in Wyoming and since then I have found a passion for mining.”
After discovering this newfound passion, Chop joined the Penn State Mining Society, a student chapter of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME), whose goal is to build a network of like-minded members and expand their knowledge of the mining industry. Chop currently serves as vice-president of the local student chapter.
“Penn State has helped me find what I am interested in and set up opportunities,” Chop said. “Joining the SME professional society has helped me as I have been connected with other people in the mining industry.”
Building on what she learned in the classroom, Chop now works under the direction of Arnold to study three-dimensional printing with fly ash.
“My research deals with using coal-related wastes to produce ceramic products,” Chop said. “This coal waste is fly ash from combustion, as well as mine tailings, that are the leftover waste after mining has occurred. This material is high in silica and other minerals that make up ceramic clays, so it can easily be turned into different ceramic products, like ceramic mugs. We are finding a beneficial use for the waste, making it more environmentally sustainable because we wouldn't have to have coal waste stored in landfills.”
Chop is enrolled in the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering’s integrated undergraduate-graduate degree program, designed to allow academically superior and research-focused undergraduate students to obtain both a bachelor’s and master’s degree within five years of study. Chop plans to continue this work in fall 2023, as part of her master’s thesis.
Interested in the intersection between energy and minerals, Chop said she hopes to continue to apply her knowledge through fieldwork in the mining industry.
“Mining gets a justifiably bad reputation for being unsustainable, but there is progress that can still be made,” Chop said. “With my background, both in environmental energy and mineral engineering, I have a solid foundation for solving those issues that relate sustainability to the mining industry. After I get my master’s, I hope to go into the industry and find a company that I can make a difference in.”
MMSA/SMEF Presidential Scholarships are awarded to students that have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50, are an SME student member in good standing, attend a university with programs that are ABET-accredited, and demonstrate a desire for and a probability of success in a career in the minerals industry. All five engineering programs in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology (ABET).