Public Affairs & Information Committee (PAIC)

PAIC is tasked with:

• broadening AIChE's activities and providing consistent information flow to and from federal government representatives on technical issues where chemical engineering expertise is needed
• providing the various Institute groups (divisions, forums, and industry technology groups) and members with information on issues under consideration by public officials
• guiding members and local sections in their interactions with state and local government and, when asked, providing leadership on local issues that can have a broader impact 
• developing internship and fellowship opportunities for AIChE members in public policy positions
• providing information on issues at the international level, and
• working more closely with sister organizations in the evolving global economy. 

PAIC consists of at least 15 and up to 20 members, who serve five-year terms. Members may only be re-nominated once, and therefore, serve a maximum of ten years. Members are selected to represent the broad membership, with at least one-third being current or former members of the Board of Directors and one-third chosen from various Institute entities. 

PAIC, chartered in 2012, is a successor organization to the former Government Relations Committee.

Latest News & Articles

Senate Testimony on Mission & Role of Chemical Safety Board (CSB)

L to R: Chris Jahn, CEO, American Chemistry Council; Shakeel Kadri, CEO & Executive Director, CCPS; Steve Sallman, Assistant Director of USW Health, Safety, & Environment

On Wednesday, January 29, Shakeel H. Kadri, Executive Director & CEO of AIChE's Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS)^® testified before the Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works on the mission and role of the Chemical Safety Board (CSB).

• Download testimony
•   Watch archived Webcast

AIChE Supports Coalition to Support Open Science

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) has joined more than 125 scientific societies and journal publishers to urgently warn the Trump administration not to move forward with a rumored executive order that would make all papers produced by federally funded research immediately free to the public.

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Fracking Attracting Increased Interest in Chemical Engineering at NCSU

Recently, AIChE 2014 Past President Phil Westmoreland and two students from NC State University’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering were interviewed by Time Warner Cable News about the University’s chemical engineering program and its role in solving fracking’s challenges and in helping the energy industry to continue to evolve.

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AIChE Process Safety Policy

Safe chemical processes and process operations are essential to the well-being of the workers who operate them, the communities in which they operate, the environment, and the organizations which own them.  Advancing methods and education for process safety is among AIChE’s highest priorities.

Read the Policy

AIChE Climate Change Policy Statement

Read statement published in November, 2019

Chemical Engineering Progress (CEP) ChE in Context Articles

• "ChE in Context: The Plastics Circular Economy" by Mary Ellen Ternes and Jeffrey Seay
• "The ChE in Context: Managing Your Career and Reputation: The Criticality of Ethics" by Deborah Grubbe
• "The ChE in Context: How Important Are Professional Credentials and Licenses?" by Deborah Grubbe
• "The ChE in Context: AIChE’s Aids to Information Exchange" by Evelyn Fairman and Phil Westmoreland
• "The ChE in Context: AIChE Updates Its Climate Change Policy Statement" by Phil Westmoreland and Mary Ellen Ternes
• "The ChE in Context: PAIC Reorganizes to Pursue AIChE’s Strategic Objectives" by Nada Marie Anid 
• "The ChE in Context: Perspectives on Industrial Water Reuse" by Yoram Cohen
• "The ChE in Context: Member Voices Shaping AIChE’s Climate Change Policy" by Mary Ellen Ternes
• "The ChE in Context: Educating the Future Advanced Manufacturing Workforce" by Nada Marie Anid
• "The ChE in Context: Your Voice and Role in Public Outreach" by Evelyn Fairman and Phil Westmoreland
• "The ChE in Context: The food-Energy-Water Nexus: An Engineering and Public Policy Priority" by Nada Marie Anid and Dale L. Keairns
  
   

Shale Gas Resource Page

To help AIChE members better understand and better communicate about shale gas, the Public Affairs & Information Committee has helped curate valuable shale gas resources. These resources offer technically sound information drawn from AIChE publications, web forums and webinars, conference proceedings and Congressional briefings.

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Washington Internships for Students of Engineering (WISE)

Each year, outstanding engineering students are selected to spend nine weeks in a special summer program to learn how government officials make decisions on complex technological issues and how engineers can contribute to legislative and regulatory policy decisions. PAIC coordinates AIChE’s participation in the WISE program, which is ranked one of the best internship opportunities in the U.S. by the  Princeton Review. For more information please visit: www.wise-intern.org

2019 AIChE Wise Interns

This year's WISE interns are from Bucknell University and the University of South Carolina

Learn more

AIChE White Papers

• AIChE and Climate Change Policy Statement - Updated November, 2019
• Bridging the Finance Gap for Carbon Capture and Storage
• Recommendations for Establishing Process Safety Investigation Boards
• Energy Sources Integration, with Figure
• Framework for a 21stCentury United States Energy Strategy (by AIChE & ACS)
• Massive Electricity Storage - An AIChE White Paper
• LNG: A Viable Technology for Improving Gas Supplies - An AIChE Position Statement