Mining Feature: Electrical engineer John Sammarco, Ph.D., Honored with Don S. Kingery Award

Thursday, March 25, 2021

A cropped screen grab from the virtual award ceremony shows John Sammarco speaking after receiving the Don S. Kingery Memorial Award.

NIOSH electrical engineer John Sammarco, Ph.D., was recently honored with the Don S. Kingery Memorial Award by the Pittsburgh Coal Mining Institute of America (PCMIA). The award was presented during a virtual, regular business meeting of the Pittsburgh section of the Society for Mining and Metallurgy Exploration (SME) in conjunction with PCMIA.

PCMIA annually recognizes an individual with the Kingery Memorial Award who has significantly contributed to “the furtherance and improvement of mine safety and health.”

With this award, the organization recognizes Dr. Sammarco’s more than three decades of work in mine safety and health research, especially his efforts in systems safety and illumination. As a lead researcher, Dr. Sammarco developed improved designs for brighter LED cap lamps and lighting systems for roof bolters and other mining machines that created less glare and have been adopted across the industry.

His current work focuses on lighting that will mitigate circadian rhythm disruption among mine workers.