More than 1,400 people from around the world met Feb. 1-4, 2015, in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the 41st Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique, the world’s largest conference on explosives engineering.
And for the third consecutive year, the SEE Education Foundation live auction on Tuesday, Feb. 3 raised more than $17,000. Big-ticket items included a one-of-a-kind, handmade Education Foundation quilt; a lifetime membership to ISEE; and a helicopter ride for two at the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska.
The money raised through the auction will go to the Education Foundation ISEE Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships to college students from across the globe who are pursuing a career in the blasting industry.
Awards Banquet
The annual awards banquet, also on Tuesday, honored people who made outstanding contributions to the explosives engineering industry.
William A. Hustrulid, Ph.D., was honored with the Distinguished Service Award for his more than 35 years of work with the ISEE and in the mining industry. Hustrulid was instrumental in the review of the 17th and 18th editions of the Blaster’s Handbook, and he has been an indispensable resource to the mining industry.
Ron Mask was this year’s Industry Service Award winner, whose personality, background and work ethic helped develop Instantel into a worldwide leader in monitoring instrumentation. He has always been a support of ISEE, local ISEE chapters and industry conferences.
The ISEE President’s Award, which is given to those who have unselfishly given their time and talents to the society, was awarded to Brad Brown, Cloud Peak Energy Resources LLC; Lawrence Mirabelli, Buckley Powder; and Enrique Munaretti, Ph.D., Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.
William Hissem, Sandvik Construction, was awarded the ISEE Driller’s Leadership Award for the extraordinary amount of time and knowledge he has given to help drillers. And James H. Redyke, Dykon Explosive Demolition Corp., was honored with the Blaster’s Leadership Award. Mary Spena-Bosch, ISEE, was also recognized for her 10 years of service with ISEE.
Moving Forward
The next Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique will be from Jan. 31 – Feb. 3, 2016, at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Stay tuned for more information.
Register now for the 28th annual Best in the West Drill and Blast Conference held April 22-24, 2015, at the Spearfish Holiday Inn Convention Center in Spearfish, South Dakota.
The conference is an intensive three day event that brings together mining companies, drilling and blasting suppliers and government agencies. The focus is innovation, safety and government regulation.
One of the biggest highlights of the conference is the scholarship benefit auction. The money raised from Best in the West goes to fund scholarship programs. The Best in the West has raised more $100,000 for scholarships throughout the past 20 years.
Lodging
The Spearfish Holiday Inn Convention Center has special room rates of $95.99 per night for a single/double or $125.99 a night for a suite. For an additional $10, rooms can be poolside. To get the special room rates, use the group code BIW when booking. Reservations can be made at www.holiday-inn.com/spearfishsd or by phone at 605.642.4683.
It’s that time of year to apply for SEE Education Foundation Scholarships. Qualified students will be considered for an award among 26 funds. To be eligible to apply for a scholarship you must be pursuing technical, undergraduate, graduate or doctorate degrees in fields of education related to the commercial explosives industry; and able to demonstrate financial need.
Students will be assessed on their financial need, academic and professional achievements and goals related to the industry.
Visit the students section of our website to download the 2015 application. Only complete application packets emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. will be considered. The deadline is June 1, 2015.
The SEE Education Foundation is a nonprofit organization created in 1996 to serve the long-term education interests of the explosives industry through the development of education and training materials, championing the inclusion of explosives instruction in engineering curricula and awarding scholarships to eligible students.
Learn what makes a great blast design and hear about the latest safety techniques and technology from the best in the business. The Blasters Training Seminar is included in the Blasters Weekend Package. It's also offered as a separate sign up for those who can't make the full Blasters Weekend.
This popular and highly regarded one day seminar will take place on Saturday, Jan. 31. It was designed and presented for blasters by the best in the business to help plan and execute efficient blast designs, hear updates on regulations and safety and more. The seminar is included as part of the Blasters Weekend Package or sign up separately. The topics and speakers include:
- Introduction, Larry Mirabelli, Blasters Training Committee Chairman
- Critical Communications – Blast Design Layout Through Detonation, Scott Scovira
- Critical Rules for Safe and Effective Drilling, Dave Bijolle
- Critical Rules for Bulk Explosives, Dennis Schulz
- Initiation Systems – Safety, Accuracy and the Importance of Proper Timing, William Reisz
- Blast Movements Fundamentals, Will Hunt
- Choosing the Right Delay Timing for Surface Blasting Applications to Optimize Blasting Results, Frank Chiappetta
- Pushing the Split Around the Bend – Highwall Control!, Simon Tose
- Blasting Misfires – Common Causes, Prevention and Safe Handling, Larry Mirabelli
Blasters training registration fee includes lunch, coffee breaks and course materials. The seminar runs from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Registration opens Friday from 3-5 p.m. and Saturday morning starting at 7 a.m. A certificate of attendance will be issued. The states of Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming have accepted retraining credit hours in the past. Check with your state officials for more information.
Visit the 41st Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique page to sign up today.
ISEE Quilt
Chapter and Industry Quilt, hand stitched from t-shirts donated by ISEE members and chapters, courtesy of Tom Watts and ISEE staff.
Atlas Powder Company Collection
Includes the 1985 Handbook of Electric Blasting, a vintage Atlas Blaster's Multimeter and a 1987 Explosives and Rock Blasting book, courtesy of Dale Ramsey.
ISEE Reference Library Book Collection
Includes Explosives Engineering, Paul Cooper; Rock Blasting and Explosives Engineering, Persson, Holmberg and Lee; Explosives, Kohler and Meyer; Explosions in Air, Wilfred Baker, courtesy of ISEE.
Parrot AR. Drone 2.0 Elite Edition
This quadricopter is controlled intuitively using a smartphone or tablet. View the Earth from above, in high definition and share your experience with other AR Drone pilots all around the world. Includes a built-in high definition camera capable of shooting 720p at 30 frames per second, courtesy of Instantel.
Trailer Hitch Guard with Pin
Friends of Coal trailer hitch guard with pin. Crafted by Ron Boling of Tread, courtesy of BE Consultants.
Model Drill
A model drill with Furukawa Rock Drills USA logo, courtesy of Furukawa Rock Drills USA.
IMESAFR Package
Includes IMESAFR training software and one voucher for the 3-day training course, courtesy of APT Research.
IME Bundle
A full set of Safety Library Publications, IME Complete Explosives Video Library, One Dozen Titleist Pro V1 Golf Balls, Mini-Mag Lite, Flash Drive 2GB and Mini-Blaster, courtesy of IME.
18th Edition Blasters' Handbook Special
One-of-a-kind 18th Edition ISEE Blasters handbook autographed by the authors, courtesy of Nobel Insurance Services.