Dr. Qingqing Huang

Qingqing Huang joined the Department of Mining Engineering as an assistant professor in August 2017. She is the group leader of the Minerals and Metallurgical Processing Group at West Virginia University.

Education

PE, Mining Engineering, Kentucky Registration, 2016-present

PhD, Mining Engineering, University of Kentucky, 2011-2016

BS, Mineral Processing Engineering, Central South University, China, 2005-2009

Qingqing Huang joined the WVU Department of Mining Engineering as an assistant professor in the fall of 2017. Prior to her current position, she was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department in 2016 and was promoted to research assistant professor in March 2017.

Huang received her BS degree in mineral processing from the Central South University in China and her PhD degree in mining engineering from University of Kentucky in 2016. During her undergraduate and graduate study, she participated in a number of research projects in the general area of flotation reagents (collector, frother, depressant, etc.) evaluation, coal preparation, iron ore, phosphate and chalcopyrite processing and the investigation of using hydrometallurgical method to extract cobalt and copper from laterite ore. Her doctoral dissertation focused on using innovative surface chemistry fundamentals to process rock dusts for the underground coal mine explosion mitigation applications, which uniquely represents the combination of mineral processing and mine safety disciplines. In addition to her academic experience, Huang also received the opportunity to work with industrial companies such as SNF FloMin and FGXSepTech on mineral processing related projects during her doctoral study, from which she was able to apply theoretical knowledge in resolving the real engineering problems.

Huang's research interest is in surface chemistry aspects pertinent to mineral processing, froth flotation and hydrometallurgy for metal recovery from ores. She is currently partnering on a number of research grants from the United States Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory on pilot-scale and bench-scale testing of various circuits for the extraction of REEs from coal byproducts and acid mine drainage.

Huang currently serves as an external reviewer for a number of professional journals including Powder Technology, Minerals, International Journal of Coal Preparation and Utilization, Minerals and Metallurgical Processing, and Fuel. She is the Chair (2019-2021) of the SME Coal & Energy Mine Improvement & Innovations Unit Committee and also served as the 2018-2019 Chair of the SME's Young Leaders Professional Development (PD) Subcommittee.  She was named a distinguished SME Henry Krumb Lecturer for both 2015-2016 and 2018-2019. In addition,  she is the recipient of 2017 SME Rong Yu Wan PhD Dissertation Award on the basis of her doctoral dissertation research and the 2018 SME Mineral & Metallurgical Processing Division (MPD) Outstanding Young Engineer Award for the significant contribution she has made to the mineral processing field.