Overview
What is "Down For That"?
“Down For That” is an initiative that informs students about the underground industry through resources and opportunities to get involved. Led by the Underground Construction Association of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (UCA of SME), in collaboration with the ASCE GeoInstitute, The Deep Foundations Institute (DFI), The Beavers and the Moles, this website is a one-stop resource for students, professors, and industry professionals to gain knowledge and share information on the underground construction and tunneling industry.
Go Deeper
Students, Professors, and Industry Professionals: Learn How to Get Involved
The first step in an exciting career in the underground starts with education. We invite students and professors to browse our library for resources and information. Industry professionals can contribute their real-world experience through presentations, papers, project photographs, videos, and individual profiles.
Engineering Students
Explore videos, papers, and presentations on underground topics. Find out about available tunnel tours, on-campus presentations, and scholarships.
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Engineering Professors
Browse presentations and content to support classroom lessons. Find tunnel tours and on-campus speakers for classes and clubs.
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Underground Professionals
Get involved. Pass on the legacy of an exciting underground career. Share your story, do an on-campus presentation, welcome students to your project site, or contribute materials for professors.
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100+
Engineering Students were surveyed
Here's what we found
74%
Are very interested in seeing a tunnel under construction, but they don't know where to find one
80%
Learn about careers from their professors, but they wish they knew more about underground careers
59%
Know underground is a place for careers, but they don't know what the jobs are like
Industry Profiles
The underground construction and tunneling workforce brings engineers from across multiple disciplines to create innovative solutions crucial to society, economies, and the environment. Explore the diverse stories of these professionals who make up the underground industry.
Rajat Gangrade
Ph.D. Student, Colorado School of Mines
Leader of the UCA student chapter at Mines
I am a Ph.D. student and I’m studying the characterization of geotechnical and geological uncertainty and tunneling risk. I’m in my third year. I earned my Civil Engineering degree in India and then completed my Masters in Geotechnical Engineering at Virginia Tech. After, I worked on multiple transportation projects in Iowa with CH2M as a Geotechnical Engineer. Then I moved back to India and joined AECOM where I worked for two years on the Mumbai Metro Line 3. This project was a big inspiration to continue this work.
Read Their Full Story
Phaidra Campbell
Tunnel Engineer
JCK Underground
Phaidra believes that the underground industry allows you to get a lot of perspective. As an undergraduate engineering instructor, Phaidra has seen students get inspired to pursue a career in underground because of its sheer scale, unique opportunities and multi-faceted nature. Phaidra’s job at JCK Underground includes design, geotechnical analysis and constructability review. Read her profile to find out why she thinks underground is weird.
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I had a great experience at the tunneling conference. There were a lot of networking opportunities and I was able to get some great advice concerning my career.”
Rahel Dean-Pelikan UCA of SME Scholarship Recipient