University of Arizona’s Dr. Mary M. Poulton Receives the 2026 Cindy Moore Courageous Impact Award
3/16/2026
At this year’s Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Inc. (SME) 2026 MINEXCHANGE Annual Conference & Expo, Hecla presented the Cindy Moore Courageous Impact Award to Dr. Mary M. Poulton, University Distinguished Professor Emerita of Mining and Geological Engineering at the University of Arizona.
Established in memory of Cindy Moore, Hecla’s late Chief Engineer at the Lucky Friday mine in Idaho, the award honors individuals whose leadership, courage, and dedication have made a lasting impact on the mining industry and its people.
Dr. Poulton’s remarkable career reflects the spirit of this recognition. As the first woman to lead an engineering department at the University of Arizona, she has championed innovation, workforce development, and inclusion across the global mining community. Her pioneering research in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and cloud-based training technologies has helped redefine how the mining industry approaches safety, education, and sustainable resource development.
