44th Annual Conference

William Gates




Dr. Gates is retired Army Special Forces (Green Beret) officer and is a Principal with McMillen Jacobs Associates in Seattle, Washington as a Rock Engineer specializing in geotechnical, rock engineering, blasting and hydrogeology with more than 50 years of practical, hands-on experience dealing with various engineering geology and geotechnical problems worldwide. He is a registered professional engineer and geologist in several western states. He has completed numerous rock engineering, emergency rock fall and blasting projects with the railroad industry. Will started his blasting career as a combat engineer in the United States Marine Corps. For the next 12 years, he owned a heavy-highway development and sand mining company on the east coast of the US. He returned to college in 2008 and obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mining Engineering from Colorado School of Mines (CSM). Will first was introduced to blast movement while working for Newmont in Nevada, where he discovered first-hand the challenges and benefits of adopting new technologies in a modern mining operation. Since that time, he has consulted at dozens of operations around the world, taught blast dynamics at several mining universities and for the International Society of Explosives Engineers, and taught short courses for engineers.

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