AIChE’s Nominating Committee has announced the slate of candidates for president-elect, and four director positions for the 2026 AIChE Board.
The president-elect will be elected to a three-year term, serving one year each as president-elect, president, and past president. The directors are elected for three-year terms.
Important dates
Voting by electronic proxy ballot will begin on Sept. 3 and end on Oct. 8. Starting in 2025, AIChE will no longer mail paper ballots for the Board of Directors election. All voting will be conducted electronically.
The election results will be announced at the Annual Business Meeting in Boston, MA.
2025 Election Timeline
May 12: Petition candidate cut-off date
Sept. 3: Election commences
Oct. 8: Election ballot receipt deadline
Nov. 3: Election results announced at the AIChE Annual Meeting in Boston, MA
2025 Election Slate for the 2025 Board of Directors
President Elect
Brian H. Davison
Brian H. Davison is Corporate Fellow and Chief Scientist for Biotechnology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. An AIChE Fellow, he has earned honors including an R&D100 Award and SIMB’s C.D. Scott Award. He served on AIChE’s Board of Directors and has been active with the Society for Biological Engineering and the AIChE Foundation. A longtime inclusion advocate, Brian founded ORNL’s LGBTQ+ group and helped launch AIChE’s LGBTQ+Allies community. He holds a BS from the University of Rochester and a PhD from Caltech in chemical engineering.
Lori T. McDowell
Lori McDowell is a chemical engineer with over 30 years of experience in the refining and petrochemical industries. An AIChE Fellow and Past Chair of both the Fellows Council and Fuels and Petrochemical Division, she currently serves as Chief Commercial Officer at Refinery Calculator, Inc. She is also the founder of Reimagine U Strategies, where she coaches high-achieving STEM professionals to align success with purpose. Lori is also an award-winning author and speaker focused on inclusion and mindset.
Director
Harold T. Conner Jr.
Harold T. Conner Jr. is a longtime AIChE member and Fellow with more than 60 years of experience in nuclear operations and engineering for the U.S. Department of Energy. He has held senior roles across major DOE sites and national labs. Conner was the first Black chemical engineering graduate from the University of Tennessee and holds a PhD in industrial and systems engineering.
Dan Coombs
Dan Coombs is Chairman of the Board at PureCycle Technologies, with 46 years of industry experience, including leadership roles at LyondellBasell, Chevron Phillips Chemical, and Qatar Chemical. A Trustee of the AIChE Foundation and Chair of its Corporate Council, Dan was named AIChE Philanthropist of the Year in 2021. He holds chemical engineering degrees from The Ohio State University and the University of Tulsa, and an MBA from Texas A&M.
Rob Crane
Rob Crane is the Technology Scouting and Venturing Lead at ExxonMobil, with 28 years of experience advancing breakthrough technologies from concept to commercialization. He holds a BS from Cornell and a PhD from Purdue, and is credited with 17 U.S. patents, including two that led to commercialized processes.
Gayle J. Gibson
Gayle Gibson is a Senior Fellow with Mission Possible Partnership and a former Head of Engineering at DuPont, where she spent 34 years, including six as Chief of Staff to the CEO. An AIChE Fellow and recipient of the Management Division Award, she co-chairs the AIChE Foundation’s Grants Committee and is active in the LGBTQ+ & Allies Community.
JoAnn Slama Lighty
JoAnn Slama Lighty is a Fellow of AIChE and AAAS with over 40 years of service, including leadership roles in the Environmental Division, EBPC, and CTOC. She was Dean of Engineering at Boise State University and was recently appointed Special Assistant to the Provost. She previously served as Division Director at NSF and received AIChE’s Lawrence K. Cecil Award.
Ah-Hyung "Alissa" Park
Alissa Park is the Ronald and Valerie Sugar Dean of Engineering at UCLA and a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering. She previously held the Lenfest Earth Institute Professorship at Columbia University and directed the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy. An AIChE Fellow, she is also a Fellow of ACS, RSC, and AAAS.
Jim Pfaendtner
Jim Pfaendtner is Dean of Engineering at North Carolina State University and formerly chaired chemical engineering at the University of Washington. His research focuses on computational molecular science and AI for molecular design. He is a Fellow of AAAS, recipient of AIChE’s CoMSEF Impact Award, and has published over 150 papers.
Cristina Thomas
Cristina Thomas is a chemical engineer with more than 35 years of R&D leadership across MARAVEN, IBM, and 3M, where she earned over 28 patents. She is a Fellow of AIChE and ACS, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and recipient of AIChE’s Industry Leadership Award and ACS’s Stanley C. Israel Award.
