The Journal of Explosives Engineering - March/April 2013 - 11

President’s Award

The President’s Award is presented to those who have
unselfishly contributed to the Society their time, talents,
and effort in a voluntary capacity.
Lon D. Santis

Lon Santis earned a
master’s degree in
mining
engineering before starting
as a sales rep for the
Ensign-Bickford Company in 1986. He then
went on to work as
a researcher for the
U.S. Bureau of Mines
at the Pittsburgh Research Laboratory for
12 years, presenting
some of his research
through papers at
ISEE’s technical sessions. In 1998 he beLon D. Santis.
came the manager of
technical services at
the Institute of Makers of Explosives (IME) in Washington,
D.C. At IME, he manages several committees, interacts with
federal agencies that oversee the explosives industry, testifies before the U.S. Congress on explosives safety and security, and oversees IME’s Safety Library. He is the chair of
the NFPA Technical Committee on Explosives and the ANSI
A10.7 Subgroup on Explosives Safety.
He has been a voice for the industry and a frequent
presenter at ISEE chapter conferences including: Best in
the West, Kentucky Blasting Conference, and the Potomac
Chapter’s training programs. He is the vice-president of the
Potomac Chapter of ISEE. He has presented at ISEE’s Blasters Training Seminar. He serves on the ISEE Program Committee and has been an ISEE member since 1997.
Kevin H. Waldock
Kevin Waldock received his blaster’s license and started
working in quarries in western Sydney, Australia, but became dissatisfied with the service he was getting from the
local explosive supplier.
So he started a business that went from a simple AN
based supply and supplied bagged ANFO into small quarry
markets. This business grew to bring watergels and emulsions to a wider market in Australia, progressing to be a full
service supplier in the process.
His company grew in the 1980s and moved to operate in the three major mining states in Australia as well as
having operations in Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and
Thailand.
After his business was purchased in 1988, he was relatively quiet in the industry, but could not keep away so he
identified a gap and subsequently formed another explosive company along with his own drilling company. This
business was again successful and was purchased in 2000.
He spent the next few years in Wyoming developing a
concept for low-density explosives with some success. He
returned to Australia in 2006 and started to supply product
in the Bowen Basin region of Queensland. He also built an
March/April 2013

John Capers (right) presents award to Kevin Waldock (left).

emulsion plant in the heart of the mining area – the only
non-aligned plant in the country.
During all his time in the industry, he has been an
avid supporter of the ISEE. He freely supports young engineers and provides opportunities for people to work in
the industry. He has attended many ISEE annual conferences and views this as a premier event to meet other likeminded individuals and share ideas and understand new
technologies.
Kevin has been a shining example of taking technology
from around the world and giving it to customers who are
looking for an alternative.

Blaster’s Leadership Award

The Blaster’s Leadership Award is presented to those
who exemplify the blaster in the field and have given generously of their time and talents in helping fellow blasters.
Paul V. Sterk

Paul Sterk began his
career in 1973 as a
driller/blaster
and
heavy equipment operator after graduating
from Michigan Tech.
He worked his way up
through various companies to drilling and
blasting engineer in
an underground mine
where he worked for
23 years, planning,
drilling, and blasting bench, uphole,
and VCR bulk stopes
underground. While
Paul V. Sterk.
there he developed
new blasting techniques, tested explosives, increased efficiency by implementing new drilling techniques, taught
explosives training courses, and purchased more than 2
million pounds of explosives annually.
When the Homestake Goldmine shut down in 2001,
he decided to try the powder peddling side of the industry. Since then, he’s worked for SEC, Orica, and now Austin
Powder developing sales and providing technical expertise

The Journal of Explosives Engineers

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The Journal of Explosives Engineering - March/April 2013

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