I’m honored and excited to serve as President of our Institute for 2026. I want to start by thanking my predecessors for leading us to where we are today, and the AIChE staff who have made it all possible. Since 1908, AIChE has provided a platform to collaborate, catalyze innovation, support professional growth, and lead our profession into the future. Our founders didn’t know exactly how innovation would change our profession, but they knew we’d need to pool our resources to make it happen. Building on the revolutionary changes in the first century of AIChE, this century has continued to see remarkable transformation driven by advances in computing technology, material and biological science, and process intensification, as well as a focus on waste minimization, sustainability, and process safety.
A stronger Institute through engagement and collaboration
Our Institute is strongest when we each engage and collaborate in AIChE communities, access and benefit from what AIChE provides, and contribute to the richness of AIChE. A member-focused Institute strengthens our engagement experience — across technical communities, divisions, forums, meetings, publications, and volunteering — so each of us can connect to colleagues and resources to help us thrive at every career stage and mentor others along the way.
Over the past year, we have identified and acted on several opportunities to streamline operational activities, improve financial performance, and create the stability needed for the future of AIChE. We saw strong engagement and active participation in technical communities, topical conferences, and both the Annual Meeting and the Annual Student Conference in Boston.
Each of us participates in AIChE in different ways. I’m proud to have been a contributor to our Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) in its early days and to have served in a leadership role since 2005. I have benefited from collaboration, contributing to publications, and from presenting and learning from colleagues at conferences around the world. When the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) charged AIChE with strengthening process safety within the chemical engineering curriculum, I helped shape the Undergraduate Process Safety Learning Initiative (UPSLI) in coordination with the AIChE Foundation. I championed my company’s participation, and personally led Faculty Workshops for several years.
In 2026, I’m committed to an AIChE that provides similar opportunities for each of us by focusing on the Institute’s relevance, engagement, reach, and impact.
Relevance
AIChE is at its best when it helps us solve practical problems — technical, professional, and organizational. That means improving how we find credible expertise, training, and community through our divisions and forums, our communities and centers, and our learning offerings. Whether you’re in industry, academia, government, or just starting out, AIChE should feel immediately useful.
Engagement
In 2026, I want more of us to find avenues for engagement that evolve to fit our lives and careers: mentoring a student; sharing a lesson learned; organizing or presenting at a conference; contributing to a technical community; or perhaps, most importantly, inviting more colleagues to participate and collaborate through AIChE. A special priority for me is helping early-career engineers transition from student members to professional members — and building their confidence and competency.
Reach
Through international regional conferences (some in collaboration with other chemical engineering societies), as well as student chapters around the world and its variety of far-reaching member benefits, AIChE can ensure every chemical engineer on the planet has a place to call home. We continue to work toward an inclusive profession, guided by AIChE’s IDEAL principles, so more people see chemical engineering as a place where they can belong and lead.
Impact
Chemical engineering is evolving, and the public’s understanding of our work often lags behind our own. AIChE, in partnership with other chemical engineering societies, can help close that gap by providing communication tools to clearly explain what chemical engineers contribute and why our profession matters. With the right toolbox, student chapters (and each of us) can engage K-12 students to encourage them to pursue chemical engineering.
Moving forward together
Finally, I want to acknowledge the continuity of leadership that brought us here. Each president, CEO, volunteer, and member have helped shape AIChE into the organization it is today. We build on all this work as we adapt to new realities. I’m grateful for that foundation and am excited to carry it forward in partnership with all of you.
My ask for 2026 is simple: get involved. Join a community. Give a paper or chair a conference session. Bring a colleague. Mentor someone. Share your story. Encourage your company to get more involved. Support the AIChE Foundation through your philanthropy; Do A World of Good.
Your involvement strengthens our Institute so we can continue to serve chemical engineers everywhere, and lead our profession safely, innovatively, and with impact. If you have thoughts, ideas, or feedback, I welcome hearing from you: president@aiche.org.
Anne O’Neal, 2026 AIChE President
