Benjamin Wallen, a Colorado School of Mines PhD candidate in Civil and Environmental Engineering, was recently awarded a Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) scholarship to further his research in landmine detection. He has also been awarded a G.A. Harris Research Instrumentation Fellowship by Decagon Devices.
His research aims to improve landmine detection by characterizing the environmental conditions in the vicinity of a landmine emplacement location. Wallen, who is also a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army, spoke to Assistant Professor Kathleen Smits in 2012 just before leaving for his third tour in Iraqi.
“She convinced me that Mines is where I wanted to be, and I’m forever grateful,” said Wallen. Smits is now his advisor.
“Over 2,000 people are killed or maimed by landmines each month. The UN has named them the largest man-made hazard, and they’re still a significant problem in over 70 countries. It’s an honor to contribute to the research that will help us improve how we find them,” explained Wallen.
By studying how the air and atmosphere right above the ground are affected when disturbed by the burial of a landmine, researchers can use characteristics such as heat transfer, saturation, soil moisture and temperature to model the effect of a buried landmine and enhance the algorithms used to detect them.
The SAME scholarship will allow Wallen to spend two weeks at the Engineer Research and Develop Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where the U.S. Army has been conducting research on mine detection for more than a decade.
“The opportunity to work at the ERDC field sites with buried mines will enable me to validate my findings,” said Wallen.
Only six Harris fellowships are awarded annually, providing $30,000 worth of Decagon research instruments. “The Harris fellowship from Decagon will better equip my sand tank so we can understand more fully what is happening when there is a disturbance in the soil. I only have a year left before I finish my PhD and want to make the most of my time to advance the research being done,” said Wallen.
After Wallen finishes his PhD next spring, he will return to his alma mater, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he will teach in the department of Geology and Environmental Engineering.
“This is just the beginning of a great partnership between Mines and ERDC,” Wallen said. “Even when I am at West Point, I look forward to connecting my students to what ERDC needs and the research happening at Mines.”
Contact:
Deirdre Keating, Information Specialist, College of Engineering & Computational Sciences | 303-384-2358 | dkeating@mines.edu
Karen Gilbert, Director of Public Relations, Colorado School of Mines | 303-273-3541 | kgilbert@mines.edu
