The Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering at Virginia Tech reached a milestone this spring with its first-ever graduate student-led Mini Symposium. Held on March 27 in Holden Hall, the event brought together early-career researchers for a structured, yet informal, exchange of ideas centered on the future of sustainable minerals research.

The symposium was organized and moderated by recent PhD graduate Yanan Pan, the inaugural recipient of the department's new Bishop Family Pylon Graduate Fellowship. A native of Yangzhou, China, Pan came to Virginia Tech with a background in environmental engineering and a research focus on recovering lithium from low-concentration mineral sources, work which has direct implications for battery technology and the global clean energy transition.

Yanan Pan (standing) facilitates a discussion group session with fellow graduate students.
Small student breakout groups convened to discuss viewpoints before reconvening to with the full group.

The fellowship was established by Andrew "Drew" Bishop, a 1999 alumnus of Virginia Tech's Mining and Minerals Engineering department, and his wife Deborah. Drew, who serves as chair of the department's Advisory Board, will become Vice President of Strategy and Portfolio at ExxonMobil Upstream in July 2026.

The Bishops created the fellowship to attract, retain, and train the next generation of graduate students pursuing high-caliber work in mining, minerals, and energy-related research. It also allows students to take meaningful ownership of their professional development.

The fellowship takes its name from Virginia Tech's iconic pylons — Brotherhood, Honor, Leadership, Sacrifice, Service, Loyalty, Duty, and Ut Prosim — values the Bishop family holds dear.

"Creating this fellowship felt like a meaningful way for me to put into action the advisory board's belief in giving back to the university through time, talent, and treasure," Andrew said. "As alumni, it's important to honor the strong educational foundation Virginia Tech provided us."

Selected graduate students provided short "flash talks" on a research challenge or topic.
In all, roughly 25 people participated in the mini symposium, including faculty, graduate students, as well as several undergraduate students.

As the fellowship's first recipient, Pan was charged with organizing the Mini Symposium.

"My goal for the symposium was to create an open and collaborative environment where students and researchers from different backgrounds could exchange ideas on sustainable minerals and critical materials research," Pan said. "I was especially encouraged by how naturally the discussions extended beyond individual research topics into broader conversations about future challenges and opportunities in the field."

Pan structured the session around brief "flash talks" in which selected graduate students presented briefly on a research challenge, explained why it mattered, and identified a key question or obstacle they were navigating.

Small groups then convened to offer feedback and viewpoints before reconvening to share key takeaways with the full group. In all, roughly 25 people took part, including graduate and undergraduate students and several faculty members.

Students responded enthusiastically to the event. "It was refreshing to have a relaxed setting where our students could openly discuss research ideas beyond our own specialties," one attendee noted. "The symposium created opportunities for conversations and collaborations that normally wouldn't happen in a traditional seminar setting."

The department plans to hold the Mini Symposium annually to offer graduate students a venue for student-driven exchange that captures precisely what the Bishop Family Pylon Fellowship was created to inspire.