Deputy Secretary Keith Sonderling of the U.S. Department of Labor visited the Blacksburg campus on Tuesday. Sonderling met with President Tim Sands and other senior leaders to talk about artificial intelligence in education and the university's experiential learning programs. He also toured the Center for Autonomous Mining, also known as the mock mine, and talked with some of its faculty about research and workforce development initiatives related to mining safety.

Deputy Secretary Keith Sonderling (at left) speaks while standing next to another man.
Deputy Secretary Keith Sonderling (at left) speaks during a tour of the Department of Mining and Mineral Engineering's mock mine. Photo by Luke Hayes for Virginia Tech.
Graduate student Evans Okyere wears a mining exoskeleton while walking beneath a tarp in the mock mine.
Evans Okyere, a master's degree student in mining engineering demonstrated how exoskeletons can be used to mitigate fatigue on mining workers. Photo by Luke Hayes for Virginia Tech.
A close-up of a model vehicle used in teh mock mine.
Model vehicles are used in mining simulations at the Department of Mining and Mineral Engineering's mock mine. Photo by Luke Hayes for Virginia Tech.

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