UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — George Luxbacher, deputy associate director for mining at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) will give the 2022 G. Albert Shoemaker Lecture in Mineral Engineering at Penn State. His talk, “Mining Safety and Health Research for a Rapidly Changing Industry,” will be held at 3 p.m. on Friday, April 29, in the Freeman Auditorium at the Hub-Robeson Center and online via Zoom.
A reception will follow the lecture at 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
About the lecture
The lecture will present an overview of the NIOSH Mining Program’s 26-year history of mining research and the future research needs of the mining industry. The presentation will touch on the significant changes within the industry and how the NIOSH Mining Program adapted in terms of workforce, technology and challenges.
The lecture will also focus on both the intramural research conducted in the mining research division’s world-class facilities and the robust extramural programs, which includes funding for research activities at Penn State and many universities.
About the speaker
Luxbacher joined NIOSH in 2016 to manage the extramural research portfolio within the Mining Program. He accepted the role of deputy associate director in 2018 where he is responsible for extramural research funding under the MINER Act program, as well as assisting in the management of the overall Mining Program.
He began his mining career underground as a union miner with Pittsburgh Coal Company, later working for Island Creek Coal Company in research, engineering, and mergers and acquisitions roles through 1993. Luxbacher’s work then focused on legacy mining issues in coal, copper and oil shale, as well as chemical and oil and gas production, at various subsidiaries of Occidental Petroleum until his retirement in 2014.
Luxbacher is a past president of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, serving in the role in 2008. He also served as president of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, a position he held twice, in 2008 and 2020. Luxbacher has served as a program evaluator in mining engineering for the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology Inc. (ABET) for many years and is on the Industry Professional Advisory Committee for the Penn State Mining Engineering program.
Luxbacher received his doctorate from Penn State, where he conducted research in the areas of mine ventilation and electrical systems.
About the G. Albert Shoemaker Lecture series
The G. Albert Shoemaker Lecture Series in Mineral Engineering was established in 1992 by Mercedes G. Shoemaker to honor the memory of her husband, a Pittsburgh civic and industrial leader dedicated to the support of higher education. G. Albert Shoemaker, a Penn State Distinguished Alumnus, had an eminent career in the mineral industries. He was for many years a leader of the coal industry, serving as president of the Pittsburgh Coal Division of Babcock & Wilcox, and later as president of Consolidation Coal Company from 1960 to 1966. Among many civic and philanthropic activities, he served as a member of the Penn State Board of Trustees from 1957 to 1978 and as board chairman from 1970 to 1972.
For more information about the G. Albert Shoemaker Lecture Series, visit https://www.eme.psu.edu/calendar/shoemaker-lecture.