Awards & Scholarships

Raja V. Ramani, presently Professor Emeritus of Mining Engineering, was the inaugural holder of the Deike Chair in Mining Engineering, the first endowed Chair in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, where he served on the faculty for 31 years. A graduate of Indian School of Mines in Mining Engineering, Ramani holds M.S. and Ph.D. in Mining Engineering from Penn State. He is certified as a Mine Manager, a Professional Engineer, and a Mine Safety Professional. During a professional career spanning 45 years, Ramani has worked in underground coal and metal mines, researched on problems of health, safety, productivity and environment in the mining industry, and taught courses in mining, mineral engineering management, industrial health and safety and geo-environmental engineering programs. He has directed over 80 graduate students to advanced degrees, conducted 20 continuing education programs in the U.S. and abroad and has over 250 publications. He was Head of the Department of Mineral Engineering from 1987 to 1998, during which time the Industrial Health and Safety, and the Geo-environmental Engineering undergraduate majors were created in the Department. He directed the Penn State Miner Training Program from 1992 to 2001, developing a special emphasis on small mines safety. Ramani, who joined the Society of Mining Engineers, Inc. [SME] of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers [AIME] in 1966 as a student member, was the 1995 President of SME and the 2001-04 President of the SME Foundation. He has been a consultant to the United Nations, the World Bank, the National Safety Council, and the Minerals Industry worldwide. He has served on several expert panels for the National Research Council, Federal Government, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Ramani was appointed the Chairman of the Governo's Commission on Abandoned Mine Voids and Mine Safety, following the Quecreek mine incident in July 2002. Raman's contributions and services to the cause of Mining Sciences and Engineering, and Minerals industry have been recognized with awards from academic, industrial and professional institutions. He is the recipient of SM's Distinguished Member [1987], Howard N. Eavenson [1991], Robert Stefanko Best Paper [1993] and Howard L. Hartman [1996] awards, and of the AIM's Environmental Conservation [1990], Percy W. Nichols [1992], Henry Krumb Lecturer [1994] and Mineral Industry Education [1999] awards. He was chosen for the JSPS Eminent Scientist Fellowship [Japan] in 1983 and was a Fulbright Scholar to the Soviet Union in 1989-90. He is also the recipient of the Educational Excellence Award [1986] of the Pittsburgh Coal Mining Institute, the Wilson Outstanding Teaching Award [1987] of Penn States College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, and the Thornton Medal [2000] from the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy [London, U.K.]. His alma mater, the Indian School of Mines, awarded him the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1978, and an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 1997. Dr. Ramani lives in State College, PA., and is married to Geetha [Chalam] and has two sons, Deepak, Ph.D., and Gautam, M.D.