The Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center (MKO-PSC) at Texas A&M University has announced that Shakeel Kadri, Executive Director and CEO of the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), is the recipient of the 2025 Trevor Kletz Merit Award.
The Trevor Kletz Merit Award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to advancing education, research, and service in process safety, reflecting MKO-PSC’s vision of “Making Safety Second Nature.” Kadri is being honored for his exceptional leadership in strengthening global process safety practices, advancing education and awareness, and fostering a culture of safety across industries.
Kadri will formally receive the award during the 2025 MKO Safety & Risk Conference Awards Dinner, to be held October 22, 2025, at the Westin Houston, Memorial City, Texas. As part of this recognition, he will also deliver the Trevor Kletz Award Lecture during the conference program, sharing his perspectives with the global process safety community.
“Professor Trevor Kletz’s legacy has long served as an inspiration in my work and in the broader field of process safety. To be associated with his name through this award is a distinction I will always cherish. I am especially appreciative of the Center’s collaborative efforts with CCPS and its continued dedication to advancing process safety through education, research, and service—values that I hold in the highest regard,” said Kadri.
Victor Bohnert, AIChE’s Interim CEO, praised Kadri’s impact: “Shakeel’s leadership has advanced CCPS into a truly global force for process safety. This recognition by the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center is a testament to his dedication to protecting lives, strengthening industry standards, and carrying forward the legacy of Trevor Kletz. All of us at AIChE are proud to celebrate this well-deserved honor.”
Since joining AIChE in 2015, Kadri has led CCPS in expanding its international presence to close to 50 countries and nearly 300 member companies. Under his leadership, CCPS has launched transformative initiatives in process safety education, risk management, process safety credentialing, technology innovation, and “responsible collaborations,” reinforcing its role as a leading authority in process safety.
The Trevor Kletz Merit Award commemorates the legacy of Professor Trevor Kletz (1922–2013), widely regarded as the father of inherent safety in chemical process industries. His philosophy of learning from incidents and designing systems with safety at the core continues to influence generations of engineers.
For more information about the MKO Safety & Risk Conference, visit https://psc.tamu.edu/.
About AIChE: AIChE is a professional society of more than 60,000 members in more than 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.