Samuel Frimpong is Professor of Mining and Explosives Engineering, Director, Mining Industry of the Future Initiative, and Director, MERIT Research Center at Missouri University of Science and Technology. His research areas include mine automation and intelligent systems, formation excavation and machine dynamics, energy transitions and decarbonization, and mine safety and health. Frimpong is a Fellow of SME and UNESCO. He is a UNEP Expert on Sustainable Mining and Metals, and a Member of US Board on Natural Resources, College of Reviewers for Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs’ Program, and BIUST Council, Botswana. He is the recipient of the 2024 AMIME Minerals Industry Education Award and 2017 Daniel C. Jackling Award from SME, and a Member of the top 2% of researchers with career impact on the mining profession from Stanford University. He is a Professional Engineer and a Member of APEGA, CIM, SME, ASCE, and Society for Modeling and Simulation International.