The Twentieth Pennsylvania Drilling and Blasting Conference Held

• Posted on Mar 14, 2024

On November 16 and 17, 2023, the Twentieth Pennsylvania Drilling and Blasting Conference was held at The Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center in State College, Pennsylvania.

The conference is directed to underground and surface blasters, engineers, suppliers, and other professionals associated with drilling, blasting, and explosives. This year’s conference involved over 400 people, 43 exhibit booths, and two outdoor large drill exhibits.

The conference program committee, which is comprised of university faculty, staff, and industry leaders, developed a program that highlighted a varied and impressive list of 31 speakers and range of useful subject matter. The conference also included two breakout sessions, which focused on relevant real-world practices and concepts in drilling and blasting.

This conference is sponsored by Penn State’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences and the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of ISEE, the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of ISEE, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. In addition, this conference had fifteen company sponsors.

The conference program committee is listed below:
– Jerry Brumbaugh, Wampum Hardware Company
– Christopher Catalano, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
– Aaron Christ, New Enterprise Stone & Lime
– Rachel Conaway, Penn State
– Mark DiFonzo, Orica
– John Farris, Penn State
– Dave Harrison, Terra-Mechanics
– Tom Hairhoger, Austin Powder Company
– Kristin Klemish, Vibra-Tech Engineers
– Daniel Ray Leach, Sales and Operations Consultant
– Dale Marker, Hanson Aggregates
– Scott Mueller, Blue Stone Drilling
– Mohammad Rezaee, Penn State
– Ron Ruby, Maurer-Scott
– Jeff Skovira, Keystone Drill Services
– Matthew Tomlin, American Rock Mechanics
– Kirk Whitaker, Dimension Supply
– Christopher Yackmack, Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection