Dr. Stankus's mining career started in 1968 in mine operations. Dr. Stankus worked as a Section Foreman, Assistant Mine Foreman, and Mine Foreman for several coal producers and as a research assistant at the former U.S. Bureau of Mines.

Dr. Stankus received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mining Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. His M.S. studies specialized in computer applications for mine roof control. Under the direction Dr. Syd Peng, Dr. Stankus then went on and received his Ph.D. degree in Mining Engineering from West Virginia University.

Joining Jennmar Corporation in 1988, he served as a mining engineer and quickly moved up the ranks to Vice President of Engineering for Jennmar Corporation before his appointment to President of Keystone Mining Services in 1999. He was instrumental in the development of Jennmar's Roof Control Cadd (JRCC) and Finite Element Analysis (JFEA) systems currently used by Keystone Mining Services.

Dr. Stankus has authored numerous papers on specific ground control concepts and presented many technical papers at international mining conferences. Dr. Stankus is the inventor or co-inventor on over 32 U.S. Patents related to ground control systems.