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James Laurita to Deliver Poundstone Lecture in Mining Engineering
James L. Laurita, Jr., president and CEO of MEPCO, LLC., will speak at West Virginia University on Thursday, April 23 as part of the Department of Mining Engineering's William N. Poundstone Lecture Series. The lecture, entitled "Longview Power: The Completion of a Vision of Sustainability and Reduced Market Risks," will begin at 4:00 p.m. in Room G102 of the Engineering Sciences Building on WVU's Evansdale Campus.
Laurita, born in Morgantown, began working in the family mining business at an early age and while attending West Virginia University. After receiving his bachelor's degree in mining engineering in 1982 he began working with MEPCO, a privately owned coal company located in Morgantown. While at MEPCO, Laurita held a series of jobs within the company, developing and managing surface and underground coal mining operations. In 1990, Laurita became president of Mepco and expand company's operations, and developed a large quarry operation in Southwestern Pennsylvania. In 2000, he became the Chief Executive Officer. Laurita is a registered professional engineer. He is married and has three sons.
MEPCO, LLC., has developed the 685 megawatt Longview mine mouth power plant operation located in Monongalia County, and is currently under construction. Longview will have taken nearly fifteen years to develop and construct, and is the largest single project with respect to dollars spent in the history of West Virginia. The presentation will discuss the rationale behind the decisions for a coal producing company to build a power plant, and the required ingredients for success.
The Department of Mining Engineering established the William N. Poundstone Lecture Series in 2000 to honor Poundstone, a distinguished alumnus of the department, and to bring mining industry experts to campus to share their expertise with students and faculty.
This event is free and open to the public, and all attendees are invited to attend a dinner following the lecture. To attend the dinner, RSVP by April 13 to Karla Vaughn at karla.vaughn@mail.wvu.edu
03/24/2009
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