Professor Peter Knights has been named BMA Chair of Mining Engineering, while Professor Anh Nguyen from the University of Newcastle will become the BMA Chair of Minerals Processing.

Head of the School of Engineering at UQ, Professor Jim Litster said the pair would take on a leading research and teaching role in the university's mining and minerals processing engineering programs.

“Through the chairs there's an enhanced relationship between the company specifically, the resources industry more broadly and the university in research areas as well as teaching. It will be a relationship of many different levels.”

A mine operations, maintenance and equipment expert, Professor Knights is the program leader of UQ's Smart Mining Systems project and has worked as a research engineer and professor of mining engineering in Australia, Canada and Chile.

Professor Nguyen is an international authority on colloid and interface chemistry of coal and minerals flotation, and has worked as an engineer, scientist and professor in the former Czechoslovakia, Germany and the US.

Professor Nguyen said forging links between the university's engineering programs and industry was crucial if student outcomes and research goals were to be met.

“With the BMA partnership, UQ will carry out the world-class research projects aimed at solving long-term industry problems, such as water and energy usage and environmental management,” Nguyen said.

“The collaborative efforts of industry and universities like the UQ-BMA partnership are needed to achieve a sustainable workforce and advancement for the future.”

BMA manager of research Cam Davidson welcomed the appointments, and said they would increase the number of skilled mining graduates entering the workforce.

“BMA’s sponsorship of the two chairs is aimed at maintaining a high level of teaching expertise to support the university’s first-class mining and minerals processing programs, and at the same time greatly enhance the research capability in these core fields,” Davidson said.

“In an environment of industry-wide skills shortages, BMA has identified a pressing need to take a strategic approach to meeting its present and future skills needs.”

Professor Litster said the School of Engineering's industry-focused approach was popular with students, with a 30% increase in enrolments in 2006.

“The support from industry and the graduate opportunities are some of the key reasons why there is a strong desire for students wanting to study engineering at UQ,” Litster said.

“It's an ongoing goal to build these industry partnerships and make that part of the fabric of our relationship with industry and government.”

The BMA appointments complement existing alliances the faculty has with Xstrata, Thiess, Main Roads and Boeing.