Zach Agioutantis, Mining Engineering Foundation Professor, is the new chair of the University of Kentucky Department of Mining Engineering.
Agioutantis joined UK in October 2014 after serving as professor and the director of the Rock Mechanics Laboratory at the Technical University of Crete (TUC) in Greece for over 25 years. A prolific researcher and scholar, Agioutantis has secured research funds totaling over $3.9 million ($3.2 as PI and $700,000 as co-PI) with a personal share of approximately $2 million over the past five years.
In 2018, Agioutantis was awarded the prestigious Syd S. and Felicia F. Peng Award by the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) for his “ability, integrity, passion and perseverance towards the integration of software and ground control methodologies.” This is a lifetime achievement award that recognizes individuals who have demonstrated technical and scientific excellence in advancing the understanding of ground control technologies.