Biography

Dr. Derek B. Apel is a leading Geotechnical Engineering expert specializing in Drilling and Blasting. His career has taken him to diverse and challenging locations, from diamond mines in the Canadian Arctic to major urban projects in the bustling megacities of China. Notably, he has developed advanced prediction methods for rock bursting using machine learning, and he is currently pioneering the use of non-Newtonian fluid stemming techniques for blasting applications in underground mines. With over 30 years of experience, Dr. Apel has served as an engineer, mining inspector, consultant, and researcher in both civil and mining engineering. His expertise has also made him a sought-after expert witness for high-profile legal cases in mineral engineering. Since 2008, he has been a professor at the University of Alberta in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, where he has authored over 120 publications covering topics such as drilling and blasting, geotechnical engineering, and the application of machine learning in the mineral industry. Beyond his academic and professional achievements, Dr. Apel is recognized for his humanitarian work. At the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he traveled with his son Dominic to Poland, where they volunteered at a refugee shelter in Kraków's train station, helping Ukrainian refugees who had fled their homes with minimal belongings and resources. In his Drilling and Blasting course at the University of Alberta, Dr. Apel offers students unique, hands-on learning experiences by collaborating with industry partners. Students work with real geological data from a blasting site each term and design a blast plan that meets client requirements. Students present their design, including detailed patterns and calculations, to the site's blasting engineer. Just a few weeks later, they visit the site to observe the execution of "their" blast, bridging classroom theory with real-world practice and fostering industry connections that are invaluable