Derek Apel is an industry expert specializing in underground and surface mining. His work and research have taken him from diamond mines in the Canadian Arctic to the bustling megacities of China. He has developed long-term prediction methods for rock bursting using advanced machine learning methods and is interested in developing thermo-insulating barriers for civil and mining applications. Prof. Apel has over 30 years of experience as an engineer, mining inspector, consultant, and researcher in the mining industry. He has been a professor at the University of Alberta's School of Mining and Petroleum Engineering since 2008. Dr. Apel is the author of over 100 publications on topics ranging from mining drilling and blasting to machine learning in mining.
