Emily Sarver
Virginia Tech, United States
Emily Sarver is the Stonie Barker Professor and Graduate Program Director in the Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering at Virginia Tech. Her teaching and research sit at the intersection of minerals and society, with particular focus on environmental management and protection of worker health. The global reach of the mining sector is what drew Emily into the field. While she earned a BS (2004) and MS (2005) in Mining Engineering and a PhD in Civil Engineering (2010)–all from Virginia Tech–she sought any opportunity to gain international exposure. As a student, Emily studied abroad for a year at four European mining institutions and worked with a global copper producer. As faculty, she has continued her international engagement with a range of research, teaching and outreach collaborations and as a member of the Society of Mining Professors, which she will lead as its President in 2026.
“My COIL course is one of the most fulfilling collaborations I have. It allows me to work with an amazing group of colleagues, whom have come to be dear friends, and to learn from so many students from all over the world. Plus, since the minerals sector is global by its very nature, COIL just feels like an authentic way to teach and learn.”
Project Information
Partner Institutions:
Universidad Nacional de Colombia-Medellín, Colombia (Professor Oscar Jaime Restrepo Baena); co-teaching since 2016.
Colorado School of Mines, USA (Associate Professor Nicole Smith); co-teaching since 2018. (CSM is obviously not an international institution, but has been integral to our COIL course!)
Universidad de Chile-Santiago, Chile (Assistant Professor Emilio Castillo); co-teaching since 2021.
Project Summary: My COIL project is a co-offered course on Sustainable Development of Mineral and Energy Resources. I have been leading the course in its current form since 2016, and my co-instructors are Professor Oscar Jaime Restrepo Baena (Universidad Nacional de Colombia-Medellín), Assistant Professor Emilio Castillo (Universidad de Chile-Santiago), and Associate Professor Nicole Smith (Colorado School of Mines). Each instructor brings a specific expertise to the course–I focus on environmental management, Oscar has first-hand experience working with artisanal and small scale mining communities, Nicole is a social scientist with expertise in resource-impacted communities, and Emilio works in the domain of mineral economics and policy–and our students bring a rich diversity of educational backgrounds and lived experiences. We teach the course synchronously with students enrolled at all four sites. Together we explore the concepts and principles of sustainable development; the role that mineral and energy resources play in societies and economies, and their impacts on environments and local communities; and the challenges and opportunities for evolving a new paradigm where raw resources provide capital for sustainable development. We emphasize meaningful student interactions across all course sites to make the most of our class community.
Relevant Links:
Virginia Tech News (Oct 2021) United Nations touts Virginia Tech mining engineering class as model of sustainability education