Dr. Sam Mannan, executive director of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station's (TEES) Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center and Regents Professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been appointed to serve on the Department of Energy's (DOE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee (HTAC).
"The Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee is important to ensuring our nation's advances in hydrogen and fuel cell commercialization, policy, regulations, standardization, financial climate, and research and development," said Dr. M. Katherine Banks, vice chancellor and dean of engineering and director of TEES. "Dr. Mannan's expertise in hazard assessment and risk analysis, vulnerability assessment, process safety management, and risk management as related to hydrogen and fuel cell deployment will be a strong contribution to this high-level group of experts."
As an HTAC advisory board member, Mannan, a TEES Distinguished Research Professor, will provide technical and programmatic advice to the DOE on its hydrogen research, development and demonstration efforts. He joins 18 other members, including representatives from industry, academia, professional societies, government agencies, financial organizations and environmental groups.
"It is a great honor to serve on such an important DOE committee, particularly at a time when our nation is faced with many choices and challenges in energy resources, both in supply chain development and sustainability,"said Mannan.
Mannan's research interests include abnormal situation management, aerosol research, inherently safer design, quantitative risk assessment, reactive chemicals, modeling of silane releases, liquid-to-natural-gas safety, and design and flammability research.
A professional engineer and certified safety professional, Mannan is a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, fellow of the U.K. Institution of Chemical Engineers, and a member of the American Society of Safety Engineers, International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration and National Fire Protection Association. In addition to his many honors and achievements, Mannan was named the first holder of the M.A. Naser Chair at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, and has served as a consultant to numerous entities in both the academic and private sectors, including the Columbia Accident Investigation Board.