On the morningof October 18th, Dr. Syd S. Peng, a member of the National Academy ofEngineering and the Distinguished Professor of Henan Polytechnic University,who made an academic presentation in room 201 of School of Energy Science andEngineering. The topic was “U.S. Longwall Mining Technology – Evolution from anUnknown World to the World Stand”. The college teachers and graduate studentsattended and listened to the report.

Dr.Syd S. Peng detailed the development and technological revolution of theLongwall Mining Technology in America and the world from 1980 to the present,especially about the evolution, strengths, weakness and technical status of theelectro-hydraulic control of the support, the lead-forward system of theshearer leading support, the soft start (SS) and tensioning technique of scraperconveyer, and the remote control technology of the automatic shearer equippedwith the coal-rock interface identification sensor .etc. Meanwhile, somereasonable suggestions about “Intelligent Mining Personnel Cultivation Program”were put forward by Dr. Syd S. Peng.

   This academic communication helped us tounderstand the world long-wall fully mechanized mining technology, and provideda good reference for the development of China’s intelligent mining technology.

Syd S. Peng (1939), a member of the National Academy of Engineering, was born in Tanwan. Hereceived his undergraduate diploma in mining engineering in Taiwan and hisPh.D. in mining engineering from Stanford University in 1970. He was the Chair of Department of Mining Engineering, West VirginiaUniversity, for 28 consecutive years. As the founder of the longwall mining andground control research field, Dr. Syd S. Peng enjoys a high reputation in theinternational mining community. He has authored and coauthored four miningengineering textbooks and 330 journal and proceedings articles, and obtainedthe international, federal and state awards. He initiated the annual international conference on ground control inmining that has been successively held for 37 times, since 1981. In view of hisoutstanding contributions and achievements, the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgy established the “Syd S.Peng Ground Control in Mining Award”. He became a member of the West VirginiaCoal Hall of Fame in 2007. Dr. Syd S. Peng employed the Distinguished Professorof Henan Polytechnic University, and has made an outstanding contributions tothe talent training, discipline construction, and scientific research of theChina mining discipline.