Aplan and Bossard to Receive Montana Tech Chancellor's Medallion

The Chancellor’s Medallion is given at the sole discretion of the Chancellor to recognize an alumnus who has excelled in both their educational and professional careers. The award recipients will have earned at least one degree from Montana Tech and will have made significant academic related contributions including professional publications, holding faculty positions, advising graduate students, and participating in academic research.

“Montana Tech is fortunate to have two distinguished alumni accept the Chancellor’s Medallion,” said Don Blackketter Chancellor of Montana Tech. “Dr. Aplan and Mr. Bossard have made significant positive impacts on students and I am proud to be associated with their accomplishments.”

Awarding of the Chancellor’s medallion began in 2013 with Dr. Joseph E. Cavanaugh and Dr. Lee W. Saperstein receiving the honor. In 2014, Dr. Douglas Fuerstenau received the award.

ABOUT THE AWARDEES:
 
Dr. Frank Aplan
B.S. Metallurgical Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines, 1948,
M.S. Mineral Dressing, Montana School of Mines, 1950
Sc.D., Mineral Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1957
Professional Degree, Montana Tech, 1968

Frank F. Aplan was a Distinguished Professor of Metallurgy and Mineral Processing at Penn State University. He fully retired in 2000 to give his complete attention to his wife Clare who had developed Alzheimer’s disease. She died in 2010. Together they raised three children – Susan, Peter, and Lucy.

Frank was born in Boulder, CO in 1923 and was raised by a single mother during the depression in the small cow town of Fort Pierre, SD. He entered the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T) in 1941 to study metallurgy. Part way through, he enlisted in the Army and served as an infantryman in Europe during World War II where he earned the Combat Infantryman’s Badge and the Bronze Star, and was promoted to Technical Sergeant. Upon his discharge, he re-entered SDSM&T and graduated in Metallurgical Engineering. Attracted by the strong reputation of the Montana School of Mines ore-dressing program, he enrolled in their M.S. program graduating in 1950. Several years later, he attended MIT and graduated with a Doctorate of Science (ScD) degree in 1957.

Dr. Aplan’s professional work alternated between industry and university. He served as a faculty member at the University of Washington, Seattle. He earned 15 years of diversified experience with several mining, metallurgical, and chemical corporations, which culminated in his advancement to Group Manager Research and Development for Union Carbide’s Mining and Metal’s Division. He left Union Carbide in 1968 to become Professor and Department Head of Mineral Preparation at The Pennsylvania State University. At Penn State, he progressed to Section Chair of Mineral Processing and Metallurgy and to Distinguished Professor.

Dr. Aplan developed an active teaching and research program, adopting new programs in applied surface chemistry, particle technology, mathematical modeling of processes, hydrometallurgy, and environmental pollution control.  New faculty members were added in these areas and he recruited students, emphasizing industrial problem solving.  Of the nearly fifty MS and PhD students Dr. Aplan advised, he would say that they were all well-educated, hard-working problem solvers that you’d be proud to know.  All of this was achieved while surviving four cancers since 1974.

Floyd C Bossard
B.S. Geological Engineering, Montana School of Mines, 1950
M.S. Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, 1968
Professional degree, Environmental Engineering, Montana Tech, 1981

Floyd C. Bossard was raised in the Goosetown section of Anaconda, Montana. After graduating from Anaconda High School, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Geological Engineering at the Montana School of Mines in 1950, followed by a master’s degree in Industrial Hygiene at the University of Cincinnati.

Floyd’s legacy in the mining industry began in 1948 at the Mountain Con mine in Butte while a student attending the Montana School of Mines. As with many of his classmates, Floyd gained valuable practical experience in the depths of the mines working for the Anaconda Company.

After graduation from the School of Mines, Floyd continued his employment with the Anaconda Copper Mining Company for 19 years working in all aspects of mining as mining engineer, planning engineer, ventilation engineer, construction superintendent, and finally as chief ventilation and industrial hygiene engineer.

Floyd became an associate professor at Montana Tech in 1969 and led the effort to establish the first bachelor of science degree in Environmental Engineering in 1972. He followed that accomplishment by developing and establishing the only bachelor of science degree in Occupational Safety and Health in all mineral/petroleum oriented colleges in the United States. Floyd retired from education in 2001 leaving a legacy to 859 environmental engineering graduates as well as 587 Occupational Health and Safety graduates.

Floyd continued working in industry as a consultant in mine ventilation and environmental engineering for 25 years.  While inspecting over 140 underground mines, Floyd’s travel took him from the Northwest Territories in Canada south to Chile, and from New Brunswick to Australia.

In his spare time, Floyd co-authored “Mine Ventilation Design Practices,” a practical text for mining engineers and authored “Butte, The Richest Hill of Earth,” a 100-year history on the underground mining of Butte’s richest orebodies.

In continued support of education and his alma mater, Montana Tech, Floyd and his wife Margaret established the Margaret and Floyd Bossard Endowed Scholarship and support the Calvin Bossard memorial scholarship in memory of his father. Margaret and Floyd are the proud parents of three children (all Montana Tech graduates):  Julie Norman, ’74 and ’78, Janice Elliott, ’73, and Brian Bossard, ’89.