Biosketch

Vlad Kecojevic is a Professor of Mining Engineering at West Virginia University (WVU). He served first as the Interim Chair and then as the Robert E. Murray Chair of the Department of Mining Engineering from 2017 through 2023, and the Interim-Chair of Wadsworth Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering from 2022 through 2023. He joined WVU’s Department of Mining Engineering in 2010. Kecojevic started his academic career with The Pennsylvania State University (PSU) as an Assistant Professor in 2001. He earned tenure and he was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 2007. Kecojevic held the Centennial Career Development Professorship in Mining Engineering at PSU from 2005 through 2009, and the Massey Foundation Professorship at WVU from 2012 through 2018 . Prior to joining PSU, he was employed with Krupp Canada (ThyssenKrupp) from 2000 to 2001 and he was responsible for the design of mining equipment. He was also involved in planning and design of coal, bauxite and limestone mines in Serbia and Montenegro from 1992 through 2000. He earned his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mining engineering from the University of Belgrade in 1991, 1996, and 2000, respectively.

His research areas of expertise include surface mining, surface mine safety, information technology and environmental issues in surface mining. Kecojevic's research has been funded by the mining industry, equipment manufacturers and governmental agencies. He has published his research work in a leading mining- and safety-related peer-reviewed journals.

Kecojevic is the Secretary-General of the Society of Mining Professors/Societät der Bergbaukunde (SOMP), and he was 2015-2016 SOMP President. He currently serves as the chair of the SOMP Council; member of SOMP Strategic Planning Committee and SOMP Nominating Committee. Kecojevic was chair of the SOMP Members Development Committee, member of the SOMP Guenter Fettweis Award Committee, SOMP Ludwig Wilke Award Committee, and SOMP Honorifics Committee.

Kecojevic was the 2015 Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (SME) program chair; 2013 chair of the SME Coal and Energy (C&E) Division; chair of the C&E Division Executive Committee; chair of the SME Distinguished Member Award Committee; chair of the C&E Division Distinguished Service Award Committee; chair of the C&E Division Nominating Committee; chair of the SME Mineral Economics Award Committee; the 2011 program chair for the C&E Division; chair of the SME Stefanko Best Paper Award Committee; chair of the C&E Division Environmental Committee; chair of the SME Robert E. Murray Innovation Scholarship Committee; chair of SME Howard N. Eavenson Award Committee; and he was a member of dozens of the SME committees. He was on the Board of Directors of the SME Pittsburgh Section, and the 2020-2022 President of West Virginia Cal Mining Institute . He is currently Co-Chair of the SME Education Council, chair of SME Ivan B. Rahn Education Award and a member of SME Mineral Industry Education Award committee.

Kecojevic was the editor-in-chief of the "International Journal of Mining and Mineral Engineering" (2008-2012); an associate editor on the SME peer review board for "Mining Engineering Journal and SME Transactions" (2006-2013), and guest editor for the "International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management" (2005). He currently serves as the member of editorial boards for dozen international journals.

He has been appointed by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to serve on the Safety and Occupational Health Study Section of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a four-year period (2014-2018). He has also served as a member of review boards/panels for the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; and National Science Foundation.

Kecojevic's awards and honors include: 2022 SME Fellow, 2019 SME Coal and Energy Division Distinguished Service Award; the Medal of Honor by TH Georg Agricola University, Germany; 2017 Erskine Ramsay Medal Award by the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME); the Honorable Medal by the University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB), China; the Prazen Award for serving as the 2015 SME Program Chair; the 2016 WVU Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources Outstanding Advisor Award; the 2015 and 2016 WVU SME Student Chapter Award, which is given to a faculty member in mining engineering who has demonstrated superior dedication to the mining profession and offers a challenging atmosphere for student growth and development; the 2013 SME Coal and Energy Division Chair Award; the 2013 Stephen McCann Award for Excellence in Education by the Pittsburgh Coal Mining Institute of America; the Massey Foundation Professorship at WVU; the 2011 and 2017 WVU SME Student Chapter Award for outstanding faculty member in mining engineering; the SME Henry Krumb Lecturer, Centennial Career Development Professorship in Mining Engineering at PSU; George H. Deike, Jr. Research Award at PSU; and Wilson Research Program Award at PSU.