Please join the South Texas Section for our monthly dinner meeting, sponsored by HGA. The dinner keynote will be a panel discussion on process safety. The event will take place at the University of St. Thomas CSHP Atrium. See map below for event location details, as well as the map link.
The dinner meeting follows the TIEEP Energy Forum.
- 4:00PM - 6:00PM Energy Forum (2 PDH by TIEEP)
- 6:00PM - 6:30PM Networking and Drinks
- 6:30PM - 7:15PM Dinner
- 7:00PM - 7:15PM Dessert, Announcements, and Awards
- 7:15PM - 8:15PM Keynote Presentation (1 PDH by STS)
AIChE Dinner Registration
Virtual Attendance Registration
Dinner Registration Fees
|
Registration Fees |
In-Person Registration |
Virtual Registration |
|---|---|---|
|
STS student member |
$0 |
$0 |
|
STS YP member |
$10 |
$5 |
| STS member | $20 | $5 |
| Non-member | $30 | $10 |
Keynote Presentation (1 PDH available)
Topic
Process Safety - Future Directions
Questions can be asked of the panelists at this link, or by scanning the QR code below!
Abstract
The purpose of the panel is to explore the future of process safety in the chemical, energy and manufacturing industries through the lenses of the technological, environmental and societal developments. As the rate of technology deployment is increasing and the introduction of more complex chemical formulations is expanding, it is more than ever necessary for process engineers to safeguard their facilities with new thinking, skills and alliances. Learning from the successes and failures of the past we can chart a direction that promotes a generative safety culture, an evergreen learning environment, synergy with our communities, and an adoption of new technologies under the right training and safeguards. The evolution of Artificial Intelligence, combinatorial chemistry, biomolecular advances, along with stricter environmental and occupational safety laws bring opportunities and challenges that we all need to face. Let’s hear from our panel on how they see the future of process safety and what they recommend on how a professional can prepare.
About the Panelists
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Panelists:
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Samantha Scruggs, P.E., PMP, CCPSC - Process Safety Technical Authority at BP
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Jack Chosnek, Ph.D., P.E. - President and Principal at KnowledgeOne LLC
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Nick Gonzales, Ph.D. - Principal Technical Expert in Reactive Hazards, Shell Global Solutions
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Moderator: Andreas Matzakos, Ph.D. - Energy Expert & Consultant and AIChE STS Past-Chair (2023)
Samantha Scruggs, P.E.
Samantha has almost 20 years of experience in the process safety engineering, risk, HSSE and management system fields, with significant capability in ideating, developing, and delivering process safety and HSSE programs targeted from the operations front line to engineers and leadership.
Samantha has worked at bp since 2005, holding roles in the upstream, downstream and group organizations, in the office and in the field, at offshore and onshore assets, and in both domestic and international locations. She is currently the Process Safety Advisor – Framework for bp’s central HSE & Carbon team, focused on the overall strategy for management of Process Safety within the company.
Samantha is a keen participant in the Center for Chemical Process Safety and joined the CCPS Planning Board in 2023. She has been bp’s representative to the CCPS Technical Steering Committee (TSC) since 2016, and also acts as a member of the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center (MKOPSC) Steering Committee, representing bp since 2020. Samantha is a member of the AIChE Process Safety Division Leadership Team, serving as the 1st Vice Chair in 2024, 2nd Vice Chair in 2023 and as Director from 2020 - 2022. She also serves on two Process Safety Expert Groups within the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP).
Samantha is a licensed Professional Engineer in Texas (2012), Project Management Professional (2013), and has a CCPS Process Safety Professional Certification (2016). She has a BS in Chemical Engineering and a certificate in Systems (Process) Safety Engineering from Texas A&M University, and a Post Graduate Certificate in Engineering Management from the University of Manchester. She is a Senior Member of AIChE and an Associate Member of IChemE.
Jack Chosnek, Ph.D., P.E.
Jack Chosnek has over forty years of experience in the petrochemical industry with involvement in process safety in the majority of them. He worked for Celanese Corporation for 25 years in R&D, Tolling, Pilot Plants, Operations, Process Engineering and Process Safety Management in management and staff positions. He is President and Principal at KnowledgeOne LLC, where he has consulted for companies in the chemical, refining, oil and gas, offshore, and LNG industries, implementing process safety management systems, facilitating PHAs and LOPA/SIL studies, conducting incident investigations, and conducting process safety audits and gap analyses. He has developed software for PHA facilitation, Management of Change (MOC) and a Hazards Register. Jack is the Chair of the Technical Advisory Committee of the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center (MKOPSC). He has been the chair of the PSM Workshops at the South Texas Section of AIChE since 2003. Jack chaired PPSS at the 3rd Global Congress on Process Safety. He has chaired the PSM session of AIChE’s Southwest Process Technology Conference since its inception. Jack has published over 15 papers and is a listed contributor to the 4th edition of Lee’s Loss Prevention in the Process Industries.
Jack has a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Missouri at Rolla, and an MBA from Texas A&M—Corpus Christi. He is an AIChE Fellow and a Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Texas. He is the holder of three patents related to chemical production.
Nick Gonzales, Ph.D.
Nick earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Utah and held a postdoctoral research position in chemical engineering at UC Berkeley. He joined Shell in 1997 and is currently the principal technical expert in reactive hazards. His focus is reducing the potential for runaway chemical reactions in Shell’s refineries and chemical plants by understanding the possible chemistry in each unit, assessing the potential consequences to people, assets, and the environment if a runaway occurs, and then suggesting mitigations to prevent such catastrophic events. These assessments require expertise in reactive chemistry, adiabatic calorimetry, layers of protection analysis, and two-phase reactive relief.
Andreas N. Matzakos, Ph.D.
Andreas Matzakos is a recognized industry leader with strong track record on R&D program management, product development and novel technology deployment in Energy and Chemicals R&D. He is an AIChE Fellow and the past-chair of the South Texas Section. His has 30+ year experience in Process Development and Engineering, Catalysis and Reaction Engineering, Upstream/ Downstream Facilities. He is specialized in process modeling, optimization and design of Specialty Chemicals, Fuel Decarbonization, Gas Conversion, Improved Oil Recovery, and Water Treatment plants. He has developed and deployed many new processes in the above areas. He has passion for safety, health, environment, sustainability and transition to decarbonized energy sources. Before retiring from Shell in 2023 he held the position of Academic Partnerships Manager in Houston, Texas. In that role he developed long-term partnerships with academic and third-party R&D providers in the US, pursuing cutting edge technology development that aimed to solve challenging energy problems.
Andreas has led numerous R&D Teams, HS&E committees, project engineering teams and he participated in numerous joint industry committees, including the RPSEA consortium and the AIChE RAPID Institute. He has served as adjunct professor at the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department of Rice University and he been awarded 8 US patents.
Andreas received a Diploma of ChE from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, and a Ph.D. in ChE from Rice University in Houston, Texas. He enjoys cycling, swimming, travel, reading and photography.
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