Archer Daniels Midland Doing a World of Good by Educating the Educators

On July 26^th, 24 chemical engineering faculty members from 20 universities joined process safety leaders from ADM and the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) in Decatur, Ill, for a three day workshop to learn first-hand the process safety challenges ADM and the industry face.  Thanks to the generosity of ADMCares, a new cadre of educators will be better prepared to bring process safety back to their classrooms and prepare undergraduates for their careers in industry.

Shakeel Kadri, CCPS’s, executive director, said “today, the vast majority of chemical engineering students graduate with limited process safety education; we are especially grateful for ADM’s support in holding this Educating Educators process safety workshop and leading the way to a safer world through the Undergraduate Process Safety Learning Initiative – a global effort that will define how the next generation of chemical engineers are prepared to enter the workforce.”

I’m bringing back more material than I could have hoped for to incorporate in the curriculum. 

- Hunter Flodman, University of Nebraska

During the workshop, faculty members learned about ADM’s operations as a leading global agribusiness, process safety risks and the importance of creating a safety culture early on as part of undergraduate’s chemical engineering curriculum. They also toured plant operations to study chemical engineering practices.

According to one attendee, Hunter Flodman PhD, Assistant Professor of Practice, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, “ADM, CCPS and SAChE hosted the best process safety workshop that I’ve had the opportunity to attend and I’m bringing back more material than I could have hoped for to incorporate in the curriculum.”

Ken Tague, ADM’s Process Safety Manager said, “the educators who participated in this program now have a unique and more in-depth perspective on what process-safety knowledge undergraduate students need when they enter the workforce.” He added, “I’m excited that some of their students could walk into work at ADM in the next few years and, on day one, have the real-life insight their professors learned here.”

Engaging faculty in Process Safety Workshops is one of the most effective ways to educate the next generation of chemical engineers and transform undergraduate chemical engineering education. CCPS’s goal is to have 500 faculty members join us at industry-led faculty workshops by 2019.  This is the largest undergraduate process safety education undertaking in the history of AIChE and a core component of AIChE’s Doing a World of Good campaign.

See photos from the event.

Learn more about the Undergraduate Process Safety Learning Initiative.