The
Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc. (SME) is a national
professional society with the objectives of fostering standards of
professionalism, promoting technologic information exchange, providing
opportunities for comradeship and recognizing professional service and
accomplishment. In order to insure the
future of mining engineering as a professional discipline, SME sponsors
numerous student chapters at colleges and universities that offer mining
engineering, mineral processing, or geology in their curricula.
The
Norwood Student Chapter of SME at the University of Kentucky is named for
Charles J. Norwood, the first head of the State's mine safety agency who later
went on to become the head of the College of Mining at UK. Mr. Norwood was Inspector of Mines from 1884
to 1893, Chief Inspector of Mines from 1893 to 1896, and, again, from 1902 to
1919. All mining engineering students
are invited and encouraged to be part of this organization.
The
student organization meets regularly for technical presentations by industry
personnel and informal sessions geared toward planning and information
exchange. Several field trips are
scheduled each year. These include
trips to surface and underground mines in Kentucky and neighboring states and
attendance at regional SME meetings. Each
year a few students are selected to represent the student chapter at the SME annual
meeting. There are also numerous social
events such as picnics and an annual mining banquet that provide opportunities
for student and faculty to know each other better.
Students may also apply on-line at www.smenet.org/membership/