Chemical engineering head earns risk analysis honor

Dr. Faisal Khan, head of the chemical engineering department at Texas A&M University, has received the Ayyub-Wiechel Risk Analysis Award. The distinction is presented annually by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) as a way to honor significant contributions to risk, reliability and safety through research, teaching and leadership.

It was established in 2015 by the ASME Safety Engineering and Risk Analysis Division and ultimately developed into a society-level award, reflecting the growing importance of safety engineering. 

“Receiving the Ayyub-Wiechel Risk Analysis Award is a deeply humbling honor,” Khan said. “This recognition reflects the collective efforts and contributions of my students, colleagues and collaborators. It brings to mind our many long, critical discussions and late evenings spent developing and validating concepts and their applications.”  

With the award primarily connected to research and teaching, Khan believes it highlights the importance of continued attention to safety, strengthens opportunities for collaboration and helps inspire students and researchers to take on work that has a real and lasting impact on society.

In both research and the classroom, Khan emphasizes that engineering is not only about performance and efficiency, but also responsibility and ethics. His research is centered on improving safety and reliability in complex engineering systems and helping industry make better, safer decisions. 

“My goal is not only to advance knowledge, but to help translate it into safer operations and better decisions,” Khan said. “I remain focused on important challenges such as aging infrastructure, offshore safety, energy transition risks and the role of AI in safety management.” 

Khan hopes that by receiving the award he can inspire the next generation of engineers, as well as dedicate the honor to his students, whose contributions have been invaluable. 

“More than anything, I hope this recognition helps encourage younger engineers and researchers to see safety engineering as a field where they can make a real and lasting difference,” Khan said. “Seeing my former students contribute across academia, industry and regulation is one of the most meaningful parts of my work.”