Dr. Robert E Young is currently an Associate Professor of Engineering Practice in the Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Material Science at the University of Southern California. Since joining USC full-time in 2016 (part-time from 2014 to 2016), Robert has taught the Chemical Engineering Process Control, Computer-Aided Design, Process Plant Design, and the Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Laboratory courses. Additionally, he has developed and taught a Chemical Process Safety course that is new to USC. He is currently working with the CCPS Undergraduate Process Safety Education Committee developing on-line e-Learning modules.
Prior to coming to USC, Robert worked for ExxonMobil refining and polymers manufacturing operations in both engineering and managerial roles. In engineering roles, he specialized in process control, automation, and optimization of polymerization processes, crude distillation, hydrocracker and hydroprocessing operations and other refining operations usually focused on reactor control. Throughout his career at ExxonMobil, he actively participated in process safety and risk management. Later in his career at ExxonMobil, after managing the refinery Quality Assurance Laboratory, he focused his efforts on process safety and risk management, working as the senior process safety engineer and, finally, managing the Torrance refinery Safety and Security Department. Prior to working at ExxonMobil, Robert worked for a process control subsidiary of Honeywell, ICOTRON, and, while a student at the University of Texas, co-oped at GAF Corporation in Texas City, Tx. During his career at ExxonMobil, Robert received a Chemicals President’s Award and three Refining Outstanding Contributions to Excellence (ROCE) awards. He also co-invented a Raman Analysis System for Olefin Polymerization Control.
As active AIChE member Robert has served as the CAST Area Director and Programming Coordinator and is a member of IEEE and SIAM and a long-time participant of the Texas Wisconsin California Control Consortium (TWCCC). While at ExxonMobil he served as a member of the WSPA Process Safety Group and on the advisory group for the development of new process safety regulation for the State of California. Robert earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Texas Austin in 1983 and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from University of California, Santa Barbara in 1985 and 1988.