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ISEE 49th Annual Conference
 
 
 
The Annual Conference was a BLAST! 
 
Over 125 exhibitors and close to 1,600 people joined us from over 50 different countries at the world’s largest conference on explosives and blasting
technique at the Grand Hyatt Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio, TX.
 
The conference schedule was packed full of technical sessions, poster sessions, workshops, socials, fun spousal events and MORE. We are already working on ideas to make the 50th Anniversary an even greater experience.
 
 
Awards & Accolades
 
The Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter was awarded the Chapter Membership Award;
Paul Sterk, Underground Consultant, was awarded the Distinguished Service Award;
Bill Necker, Maurer & Scott, was awarded the Blasters Leadership;
Steve Harris, retired, received the Industry Service award;
Mick Martin, Newmont, won Driller of the Year, Australasia;
The President's award was awarded to: Ryan Brogden, Frontier Safety, and Seth Burns, Nelson Brothers;
Special Recognition was given to Larry Mirabelli, Dyno Nobel;
Mark Herman, graduate student at Missouri S&T, Paul Couceiro, Maxam, and Scott Scovira, BME, garnered Top 3 Technical Papers.
 
 
 
Board Announcements
 
Brian Lewis, Respec, was elected to the Board and begins his term March 9, 2023 (as of the Membership Committee Meeting).

The following Directors were re-elected: Kristie Allen-Bishop, HTA; Travis Davidsavor, Barr Engineering; Mark Dean, Texcel; Thomas Palangio, Jr., Wipware Inc.; and Matthew Spina, CT Explosives Co.
 
2023 Photo Contest 
 
Congratulations to Ron Gilbert, who's photo “Coal Fired Boiler Building, Boardman, Oregon” won both the People’s Choice Award and Best of Show. Winning photo displayed below.
 
Project Description: Coal Fired Boilers, PGE Power Station, Boardman, Oregon fell Spetember 15th 2022. This steel structure was engineered, prepared, loaded with AES Y230 LSC, NG dynamite kicker charges, det cord and Orica Unitronic 600 electronic detonators. Only because this structure was in an asset protection - less - location, we were fortunate not to apply additional protective curtains. Typically, exterior perimeter curtains made of geofabrick and chain fencing obscure/blind a clean, clear digital capture. This "openness" allowed for visually capturing, on digital video, from several vantage points. This very rare digital video frame photo capture shows and confirms the high degree of electronic 0ms firing accuracy prior to the next firing delay echelon. It proves the advantages of electronic dets v/s commercial conventional pyrotechnic delays.
 
 
 
 

The 2023 ISEE Conference is just around the corner!

Head over to your App Store and download the 49th Annual ISEE Conference App to see a full list of sessions, receive instant notifications of updates, see upcoming events and personalize your ISEE conference experience!

New app onboarding video linked here

Join us at the 49th Annual ISEE Conference! We will be offering fun and engaging events for spouses and guests including Yoga with Baby Goats, an Ice Cream Sorbet Making Class sponsored by Sayre Associates, Wine Glass Painting, the ISEE Merch store, PB Boutique, a whiskey tasting and MORE | to top it all off....its FREE!

Register HERE!

First off, we would like to thank all the authors from around the world who took the time to submit abstracts and papers for the 49th Annual ISEE Conference. We would also like to thank our reviewers who worked hard to review all the papers that were submitted. It was a rigorous peer review process with over 140 abstracts and papers reviewed by 26 dedicated reviewers across 4 continents, 61 papers were chosen for presentation.

We are pleased to announce the top 3 papers by merit:

1st-Anisometric Blast Wave Propagation of Geometric Charges in Breaching Applications by Mark Herman
Summary: Minimum safe distance (MSD) calculations are used widely in military applications. These calculations are often based on spherical charges in open air. However, some applications, including explosive breaching, use other geometries. These other geometries exhibit a shock wave profile that has different values when measured in different directions, thus making the current spherical models inaccurate.

2nd-Mining Cost Optimization Strategy Based on Adaptive Blast Design by Paul Couceiro
Summary: This paper describes the application of a heuristic cost optimization approach, where blast parameters are used as decision variables to evaluate the potential impact of several blasting scenarios on subsequent operations. This can be done while continuously modelling, measuring and calibrating the resultant operational performances throughout the mine cycle.

3rd-Encounter with Potentially Acidic Sulphate Soils (PASS) and Bulk Emulsion Reaction in a South Africa Iron Ore Mine by D. Scott Scovira
Summary: Recently a mine reported a decline in blast performance: the bulk emulsion was breaking down inside blast holes that had been left to sleep while the rest of the blast was loaded. Tests conducted with a mixture of the bulk emulsion and mine water from the bench, along with the inclusion of drill hole cuttings, revealed a new mechanism for bulk emulsion breakdown driven by a reaction with Potentially Acidic Sulphate Soils (PASS).

 

Congratulations to all three who will be recognized at the ISEE conference in San Antonio! 

Reminder: Please get your release forms and videos submitted to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. no later than Nov. 30th 2022 to be included.

If selected, your video will be part of the overall 2023 Blaster’s Round-Up Video program on Sunday, February 5, 2023 showcasing the excellent work taking place in the field.