The objective of the UCA of SME is to produce the best professional products available to the industry through T&UC (Tunneling & Underground Construction) magazine, the George A. Fox Conference, The North American Tunneling conference, and The North American Tunnel Demand Forecast. Additionally, members will have complete access to all SME products and services including the RETC, Mining Engineering and T&UC magazines, SME short courses and topical conferences, more than 100 other publications and proceedings, web and career services, and much more. The volunteers provide critical industry and technical knowledge to provide premier educational and professional development opportunities for practitioners across the globe.
WTC 2013
The World Tunnel Congress 2013 is coming closer – in less than a month the international tunnel industry will meet in Geneva! The Swiss Tunnelling Society takes pride in hosting the WTC 2013 and the 39th General Assembly of ITA and welcomes everyone very warmly to Switzerland and to Geneva.
ITA Deminar - Spray Applied Membranes
Water proofing is a challenging topic in all underground constructions. For a number of years spray applied membranes have been available which have enabled new options for the design of tunnels and the installation of water proofing systems. The DEMINAR combines presentations - as they are known from a SemINAR - with the unique possibilities at Hagerbach Test Gallery to DEMonstrate the application in real tunnel condition in a real scale. Specially the real scale application demonstrations will give a full understanding of the system of spray membranes and the boundary conditions of application and testing. Please click on the following link for more information. ITA Deminar - Spray Applied Membranes.
SME Issues Technical Briefing on Importance of Coal in the US and Global Energy Supply
SME has issued its latest technical briefing paper, “Coal’s Importance in the U.S. and Global Energy Supply.” All energy sources, including nuclear, hydro, wind, solar and other renewables, have some role to play in contributing to the global electrical power grid. However, for the foreseeable future, base load power generation through the use of fossil fuels, and especially with coal, is the most cost-effective way to provide affordable, safe and reliable electricity at the scale that is needed to achieve genuine access to modern electricity services world-wide. Coal is, and will continue to be, the backbone of global electricity generation. Export of U.S. coal to energy resource-poor countries will contribute significantly to reducing global energy poverty. Further, in the U.S., distinct environmental, economic and social challenges to the continued use of coal must be balanced with an acknowledgment by policymakers that coal is still a viable energy source, is essential to national security, and should be included in any discussion of a long-term “all of the above” energy policy. This SME paper, and others on a variety of mining related topics, can be found at www.smenet.org/gpac.
New in the eLearning Course Catalog - Amalgam and Electrometallurgy
This course outlines the historical background of electrometallurgy, defines the scope of this domain, and recalls the basic theories of electrochemistry and some general engineering aspects. The course then discusses electrometallurgical processes conducted in aqueous solutions and fused salts, either for metal recovery or metal refining. You will learn how amalgam metallurgy has some points in common with electrometallurgy (use of mercury cathode), but also it is of special historical interest since mercury was used for many centuries for recovery of gold from its ores. However, due to its toxic nature and the difficulties in handling, its use has been greatly curtailed in industrialized countries. It is still, however, used in most tropical countries with tremendous environmental problems. This part constitutes about 10% of the volume.
2013 UCA of SME DUES BILL - PAY ONLINE!
Dues bills for UCA of SME are now available online! Make certain you are using all the valuable UCA of SME resources you are entitled to including:
SME values its members and we look forward to your continued membership.
Pay online and save time and money!
SME Annual Meeting Recorded Sessions
Since 2009 SME has been recording select Annual Meeting Sessions each year and sharing them with visitors on the SME website. These recorded sessions are available free of charge and open to the public for viewing.
SME WEBINAR SERIES
SME has concluded its SME SUMMER WEBINAR SERIES. However, it’s not too late to view these programs. The complete library of the summer webinar series is available via video download. SME developed this series to bring its technical information to members who are not able to attend Annual or regional/topical meetings and short courses. They are immediately available for $45 Member and $90 Nonmember. For complete details click here.
