Michael A. Trevits, PG, is the President of the Board of Directors and a Founding Member of the Rebuilding Their Future Foundation. He is President of Xtraction Science and Technology, Inc., (XS&T) which, since 2014, has been providing professional international consulting services to the extractive energy sectors and for the development of new safety technologies.  He also serves as President of  MBBB Innovations, LLC which focuses on application of novel engineering methods to address difficult problems and the creation of new technologies. 

Michael has been working in the mining industry for more than 48 years.  Over a 39-year period he worked for the U.S. Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of Energy, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).  He left government service in the beginning of 2014.  During his government career, he was responsible for highly successful applied and basic research programs addressing a wide range of mining problems and issues. He was also responsible for oversight of contract work that focused on the development of inert gas generation equipment for sealed mine areas, a mine escape vehicle, and robotic assist technology for post-event mine exploration, mine rescue and response.  Michael also worked in the NIOSH Disaster Prevention Branch.  Here he conducted research for creating remotely installed seals for mine fire control, conducted burn experiments to determine the characteristics of deep-seated fires, evaluated deep-seated crib block fires and direct-application fire suppression agents, and assessed the use of gas-enhanced foam for mine fire control and suppression.  Prior to leaving government service, Michael served as a NIOSH Senior Research Scientist where he worked on the transfer of health and safety technologies into the mining industry and developing technology for assisting in post-event mine rescue and response. 

Under  XS&T, Michael’s research work has been focused on post mining event issues such as safe remote mine evaluation using unmanned aerial vehicles, refuge alternative communication, and the development of training videos for Responsible Persons, mine rescue teams, and mine visitors. 

Michael is an active member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc. (SME) and serves as the Past-Chair of the Pittsburgh Section of SME.  He is a former President and an Emeritus Board Member of the Pittsburgh Coal Mining Institute of America, former President and current Board Member of OneMIne.org  and a former Board Member of the International Emergency Management Society.   He is recognized both locally and nationally as a Distinguished Fellow of SME.  He holds an undergraduate degree in Geology and a M.B.A., both from the University of Pittsburgh, and is a Registered Professional Geologist in North Carolina.  He has authored 133 publications and has been granted one patent.