He called Hassani a passionate driver of the road through excellence.   PIMI Portal is honored to present the first interview with Prof. Hassani arranged by Mine & Business Today with him after receiving the prestigious award. The questions of the media and the answers of Prof. Hassani goes as follow:

As the recipient of the CIM 2017 Distinguished Service Medal Award, would you please explain about your achievements in mining engineering- related research and teaching? What would be the significant effect of this research on the mining sector?
This gold medal was inaugurated by the 1956-57 Canadian Institute Mining and Metallurgy (CIM) Council as an award for distinguished or meritorious service to the Institute and the mineral industry.As far as I am concerned, my biggest achievement has been the supervising and the training of over 170 young men and women student (some of them Iranian) conducting Ph.D., Maters and researches throughout my 35 years at McGill University. Most of these bright and talented individuals are now working over the world in the leadership role and contributing to our mining industry and for the better being of this world.
Some of the work I have done in the past is as follows;
I obtained my B. Eng. (1975) and Ph.D. (1981) in Mining Engineering from Nottingham University, England. I have been at McGill University since 1983 and many years in a leadership role. I am, presently, the Webster Chair Professor of Mining Engineering. My focus has been in Rock Mechanics, Mining Innovation, Mine and Energy as well as Mine Backfill. The work done has contributed to the efficiency of the mining operation.
I was the co-founder and the chairman of the Canadian Mining Innovation Council (CMIC). This is now a very reputable private mining research-oriented organization, financed by the industry itself.

I Have been the advisor to number of governments on the mining issues, consultant as well as a researcher to many top major mining companies around the globe, as well as the recipient of many patents and awards.
I still maintain a strong interdisciplinary research and have supervised approximately 170 Ph.D., MEng. students and research scientists. I have contributed to over 350 scientific articles, books, and reports. I have been an active member of Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy(CIM) for 35 years involved in many CIM national conferences and have been an active member and chair of some of its committees.  I have been chairing many international conferences such as Mine Backfill in 1989 and 2007, the World Mining Congress 2013 as well as the International Society of Rock Mechanics Congress in 2015. These events not only contributed financially to CIM but also generated over 20 Million dollar of Business in Montreal. Recently, I was awarded the honorary Ambassador of Montreal by the provincial Minister.

Please read the whole interview from the “SOURCE”