The Role of Academia In Process Safety and Safety Engineering

The Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center (MKOPSC) was established in 1995 at Texas A&M University (TAMU). At that time there was no major process safety program at a US university. Acceptance of process safety as an academic field was limited. However, under the leadership of Dr M Sam Mannan the program flourished.

This is an informal discussion of the progress made in this field by the MKOPSC and others, especially the role of Dr Mannan. The MKOPSC also administers a complimentary Safety Engineering program at TAMU which is also rare in academia. The history, current status and future possibilities will be addressed.