Source Evaluation Society

During the 2008 Annual SES Membership Meeting a motion was made and carried that SES create a Scholarship to honor the memory of Matt DeVito.  Here is some background information about the scholarship’s namesake and the scholarship itself.

Matt received a B.A. in Chemistry from Fairmont State in 1978.  He also received a M.S. in Energy Resources fro the University of Pittsburgh in 1991.

Matt was an active member of the Source Evaluation Society (SES), the professional association for the stack testing industry, for many years and its’ President beginning in 2000  He was a dynamic and effective leader, advocating our industry’s positions in many areas including programs aimed at the accreditation of air emissions test professionals.  He was also a very articulate, intelligent, practical, and most hard working person.  Matt was a top notch coal researcher as well as a hands-on stack sampler.  His drive, energy, and wit makes his absence felt more strongly.

Matt died on December 5, 2000 at the Consolidation Coal Company Buchanan Mine #1 in Mavisdale, Virginia.  The OSHA Report summarizes the accident as follows:

On Tuesday, December 5, 2000, at approximately 10:00 a.m., a 45 year old environmental monitoring technician was fatally injured as a result of a fall sustained while he was in the process of readying equipment to take air quantity measurements from the exhaust emission stack of a thermal dryer.  The victim was preparing to lift sampling equipment with a rope onto a platform located 130 feet above ground level.  As he was removing ice from the platform with his feet, a 24 inch x 28 inch section of steel grating on which he was standing collapsed, causing him to fall to the ground.  The grating was severely corroded where it lay on a support beam near the exhaust emission stack, causing it to break at this location.

The accident occurred because the steel grating on which the victim was standing had not been maintained in good repair to prevent injuries to personnel.  The grating had lost its structural integrity and collapsed because of severe corrosion.

In March 2001, the SES Board of Directors created an award to be presented to the person who does the most to further the principles that Matt DeVito (former SES President taken from us in an untimely accident several years ago while stack sampling) stood for: quality, integrity, safety, and an ethical approach toward stack sampling.  The award is not given annually, but only when an individual’s contributions warrant special recognition.

Details on the Scholarship are listed below. 

1. The scholarship will be established at Fairmont State University in West Virginia, Matt’s Alma Mater
2. The Scholarship will be titled “Matthew S. DeVito Memorial Scholarship”.
3. The scholarship will be managed through the Fairmont State Foundation, Inc. under their “Impact” program, making the funds available at the time they are recieved.
4. The Source Evaluation Society (SES), will contribute $3,500.00 toward the 2008-2009 school year.
5. SES expects to make annual contributions indefinitely into the foreseeable future.
6. SES prefers that the funds be awarded to student(s) working toward degrees in Chemistry, Environmental Engineering, or a related field.
7. Fairmont State will award ½ ($1,750) of the fund in the Fall of 2008 and the second half of the fund in the Spring of 2009.
8. Fairmont State will select the recipient(s) based on their evaluation of the students’ needs and merit.
9. Fairmont State may elect to divide the funds between two individual students per semester as they see fit.
10. Fairmont State Foundation may publicize the creation of the scholarship in Matt DeVito’s name, and additional contributions by others will be welcome.
11. Fairmont State will notify SES as to the particulars of each award recipient.

We are so proud that we can utilize our collective resources to honor the memory of someone who meant a lot to us and to be able to help others better themselves at the same time.