Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Departmental Overview

The Department is one of the five departments in the College of Engineering and presently offers a B.S. in Mining Engineering, a B.S. in Mining Engineering with a specialization in Geological Engineering, M.S. in Mining Engineering, and Ph.D. in Engineering Science degrees.

The undergraduate program is the only accredited Mining Engineering program offered in Illinois. The undergraduate curriculum is very strong in the fundamentals of science and engineering and emphasizes coal mining and the aggregates industry. The undergraduate and graduate programs, because of strong departmental research emphasis, have special strengths in rock mechanics and ground control, coal processing, surface coal mining, environmental problems related to mining and processing, and systems analysis with recent increasing emphasis on management (disposal/utilization) of coal combustion by-products. Currently, the Department has about 28 undergraduate students and 10 graduate students specializing in various disciplines. More information about the degrees can be found on the Program Information page.

Each year, the Department awards more than $50,000 in continuing and endowed scholarships with the help from industries and other agancies. For transfer students entering the program with a cumulative GPA above 3.4, the College of Engineering normally provides a $1,000 scholarship and the Department provides another $1,000 scholarship. For transfer students with a cumulative GPA from 3.0 to 3.4, the Department typically provides a $1,000 scholarship.

The Department has five well qualified faculty members and twelve staff members primarily engaged in research. The Department manages about $1,000,000 in external research funding annually. The research focuses on overcoming technical problems relating to the production and utilization of coal from the surrounding coal basin, such as sulfur content of typical Illinois coals, subsidence of undermined lands, utilization of coal combustion by-products such as fly ash, bottom ash, scrubber sludge, etc. The research activities of the faculty ensure that students are taught current, state-of-the-art mining engineering, science, and design. An Industrial Advisory Board and alumni group provide guidance to the Department and its mission of teaching, research, and service.

Most of the research projects are externally funded by industry, federal or state agencies. The Department has well equipped laboratories in the areas of geo-mechanics, mine ventilation, gas flow characterization, mining environment, coal and mineral processing covering over 9,000 sq. ft. of space in campus. In addition, the Department faculties and graduate students get to use a unique pilot-scale research facility out campus, which provides over 17,000 sq. ft of well equipped high-bay space. The laboratories and pilot-scale research facilities are used for undergraduate and graduate instruction, as well as, research. The faculties and students also have access to one of the nation's finest libraries (Morris Library) which houses over 1.6 million volumes and subscribes to 14,800 current periodicals. The library also provides direct access to the other libraries in the State of Illinois, as well as Internet access to libraries and other resources throughout the world.

The missions of the Department are:

To provide quality-engineering education at the undergraduate and graduate levels to meet current trained manpower needs for exploration of regional mineral resources in an environmentally acceptable manner; advance the state-of-the-art of the mining engineering discipline by engaging in basic and applied research, with emphasis on solving regional problems.
To transfer and apply new technical knowledge to enhance the competitive position of the state and national minerals industry.

The fundamental goal of the undergraduate program in Mining Engineering is to offer a high-quality education, designed to achieve the following specific educational objectives:

To provide students with the knowledge, skills and attributes necessary to allow them to successfully compete for quality jobs in all areas of mining engineering.
To provide students with communication skills, extensive design experience, familiarity with modern computer-aided design tools and classical techniques, and the ability to work effectively in a team environment. These will ensure their successful integration in the team-oriented workplace and advancement of their careers in the twenty-first century.
To provide students with the broad education necessary to understand the impact of environmental and engineering solutions in a global and societal context. To better accomplish this objective, the general education component of the curriculum places increased emphasis on exploitation of mineral deposits in an environmentally acceptable manner.
To equip students with lifelong learning skills, which will allow them to successfully adapt to the evolving technologies throughout their professional career.
To provide students with a solid foundation in mathematics, basic science and engineering science, which will allow them to successfully pursue graduate studies in mining engineering, or other professional degrees, such as law, business, and medicine.
To provide students with high-quality laboratory training and experience in all areas of mining engineering. A heavy emphasis on summer internship is a distinct characteristic of the program, designed to provide the graduates with an advantage when competing for permanent positions.