Missouri University of Science and Technology will award the nation’s first master’s degrees in explosives engineering Dec. 18.
The program, which was officially approved last spring, is part of Missouri S&T’s mining and nuclear engineering department. The university offers 10 explosives courses at the graduate level, five of which are offered through distance education. Two more classes are expected to be added in the coming year. Missouri S&T started offering a minor in explosives engineering at the undergraduate level in 2005.
Fifteen graduate students are currently enrolled in the explosives engineering program at Missouri S&T, and applications are “rolling in,” according to Dr. Paul Worsey, professor of mining engineering and director of the explosives program. The following are the first to complete a master’s level education in explosives engineering:
— Buck Hawkins of Seaman, Ohio
— Nathan Rouse of Willow Springs, Mo.
— Charles Zdazinsky of New Albany, Ind.
Explosives engineers work in various industries, including mining, construction and entertainment. The military is also a major employer of explosives experts.