Two Missouri S&T professors, Drs. Kwame Awuah-Offei and Samuel Frimpong, have been elected to the 2026 class of Fellows of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME). 
 
According to the SME website, Fellows must have belonged to the organization for at least 15 years and have made significant and sustained contributions to both the minerals industry and the society. 
 
Dr. Kwame Awuah-Offei  

“It is a true honor and immensely gratifying to receive this recognition from SME,” says Awuah-Offei, S&T’s Union Pacific Foundation/Rocky Mountain Energy Company Professor and chair of mining and explosives engineering. “I’ve been fortunate to work with many outstanding colleagues and students over the years who have supported my efforts, and I’m grateful for their support.” 

Awuah-Offei has been a member of SME since 2005, and he received the organization’s Environmental Distinguished Service Award in 2023. 
 
He joined the Missouri S&T faculty as an assistant professor in 2007 after earning a Ph.D. in mining engineering from S&T the year prior. In 2020, he was named Union Pacific Foundation/Rocky Mountain Energy Company Professor, and he became chair of mining and explosives engineering in 2022. 
 
Awuah-Offei directs Missouri S&T’s O’Keefe Center for Critical Minerals and the university’s federally designated Regional Innovation and Technology Hub focused on critical minerals. 
 
He is also a Fellow of the West African Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum and a member of the Society of Mining Professors. 
 
Before attending S&T, Awuah-Offei completed some of his doctoral studies at the University of Alberta in Canada. His bachelor’s degree in mining engineering is from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. 
 
Dr. Samuel Frimpong 

Frimpong, a member of SME since 1990, says the Fellow designation is significant to him because it is SME’s highest honor for professional distinction. “Joining SME’s ranks as a Fellow means a great deal,” he says. “Very few professionals receive this distinction, and many of those who do have made significant contributions to the field that I have admired throughout my career. I truly appreciate the recognition and the many people who have supported my work along the way.” 
 
Frimpong joined Missouri S&T in 2004 as a professor and the Robert H. Quenon Endowed Chair of Mining Engineering. Some of his past leadership roles at S&T include serving as vice provost for graduate education, chair of mining and nuclear engineering and interim chair of computer science.  
 
At S&T, Frimpong directs the Mining Industry of the Future Initiative Research Laboratory and the Mine Escape Research, Innovation and Technology (MERIT) Center.  
 
Prior to arriving at S&T, he was a professor at the University of Alberta in Canada. 
 
In 2024, Frimpong received SME’s 2024 Mineral Industry Education Award, and he was honored with the society’s Daniel C. Jackling Award in 2017 for his long-term contributions to mining engineering education and research. 
 
He is a member of the United Nations Council of Experts on Sustainable Mining and Metals, the College of Reviewers for the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program, the U.S. Board on Natural Resources and the Botswana International University of Science and Technology Council. He has also served as a UNESCO research fellow. 
 
Frimpong earned a Ph.D. in mining engineering from the University of Alberta in Canada and a master’s degree in mining engineering from the University of Zambia. He also holds a post-graduate diploma and bachelor’s degree in mining engineering from Ghana’s University of Mines and Technology. 
 
To learn more about Missouri S&T’s mining and explosives engineering programs, visit mee.mst.edu. 

About Missouri S&T

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students located in Rolla, Missouri. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, Missouri S&T offers over 100 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top public universities for salary impact, according to the Wall Street Journal. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.