The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) has announced that Christine B. Seymour, PhD, Director at Pfizer, Inc., will become President of AIChE in 2018. Seymour succeeds 2017 President T. Bond Calloway, Jr., Associate Laboratory Director at the Savannah River National Laboratory. Kimberly Ogden, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Arizona, will become 2018 President-elect, and will succeed Seymour as AIChE President in 2019. Additionally, Rosemarie D. Wesson, Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Chemical Engineering in The Grove School of Engineering at The City College of the City University of New York, was elected to a three-year term as Treasurer, beginning in 2018.
Newly elected members of the AIChE Board of Directors are: Kristi S. Anseth, Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Colorado; Marianthi G. Ierapetritou, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at Rutgers University; Lori T. McDowell, Director of Business Development at Matheson; and Timothy J. Olsen, a refining consultant at Emerson Process Management. The directors serve three-year terms.
Seymour is a director in Global Regulatory Chemistry and Manufacturing Controls at Pfizer, Inc., where she leads the regulatory strategy and implementation for a portfolio of projects across all phases of drug development, commercial applications, and established products. Previously, she led chemical process research teams at Pharmacia and G.D. Searle. She earned chemical engineering degrees from Lehigh University (BS) and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (PhD), as well as an MS degree in regulatory affairs from Temple University. Seymour has participated in AIChE leadership for more than twenty years, including roles as: Secretary of the Board of Directors (2012–2015); Chair of the Forum Formation Committee and first Chair of the Pharmaceutical Discovery, Development, and Manufacturing Forum (2012–2014); Society of Biological Engineering Board of Directors (2012–current); Chair of the Executive Board of the Program Committee (2012); AIChE Director (2009–2011); Spring Meeting Programming Chair (2008); Spring Meeting Program Vice Chair (2005); and Process Development Division Chair (2003–2005). She is the recipient of the 2012 Epstein Award for Technical Programming and is an AIChE Fellow.
About AIChE: AIChE is a professional society of more than 53,000 chemical engineers in 110 countries. Its members work in corporations, universities and government using their knowledge of chemical processes to develop safe and useful products for the benefit of society. Through its varied programs, AIChE continues to be a focal point for information exchange on the frontier of chemical engineering research in such areas as nanotechnology, sustainability, hydrogen fuels, biological and environmental engineering, and chemical plant safety and security. More information about AIChE is available at www.aiche.org.