CHEMICAL CONSULTANTS NETWORK & 
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERS 
DELAWARE VALLEY SECTION 
MAY 9, 2012 MEETING 

 Date & Time: :  Wednesday, May 9, at the Cynwyd Club, Bala Cynwyd, PA; 

Networking, 5:30 PM; Dinner, 6:30 PM; Talk and Business Session, 7:30 PM

Space Travel in the 21st Century – Safety Strategies and Direction

Deborah L. Grubbe

Abstract:
Our speaker will address the techniques and efforts that NASA is currently using to ensure safe space travel in this century. An analysis of the Lessons Learned from the Challenger and Columbia Shuttle incidents will also be shared, as well as a summary of the current thinking around commercial space travel. As a member of the NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel since 2003, and as a consultant to Columbia Shuttle Accident Investigation Board, our speaker will be able to bring some clarity to NASA’s safety efforts, and will tie common elements to issues in the process industries.

Biography:
Deborah L. Grubbe has distinguished herself as an expert in engineering safety. She completed her bachelor's degree with highest distinction in chemical engineering at Purdue in 1977. She received a Winston Churchill Fellowship to attend the University of Cambridge in England and obtained a certificate of postgraduate study in chemical engineering. After Purdue, she joined the DuPont Co. and held progressive assignments over her 27-year tenure with the company. In 2005, she accepted an assignment with British Petroleum as vice president for group safety and industrial hygiene. Recently, Deb left British Petroleum and started her own consulting firm, Operations & Safety Solutions LLC, to address new challenges and effect positive changes within the industry. With a broad range of experiences, she is a leader in safety across many business sectors - chemicals and refining, and gas, solar, aerospace, and renewable energies.

She was recently appointed 2010 chair of the Institute for Sustainability, a technological community within the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. In addition, she currently serves on the NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel and was a consultant to the Columbia Shuttle Accident Investigation Board. She is a former advisory board member of AIChE's Center for Chemical Process Safety and a director of its management division. She has received a number of honors and awards, including Outstanding Chemical Engineer in 1994 by Purdue's School of Chemical Engineering and Distinguished Engineering Alumna by Purdue's College of Engineering in 2002. She also has received the Trailblazer Award from the Delaware Alliance of Professional Women. She was named Engineer of the Year by the state of Delaware in 2002 and, in 1985, was the first woman and youngest elected member on the State of Delaware Registration Board for Professional Engineers.

Location:
The Cynwyd Club, 332 Trevor Lane, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004. From I-76, drive S on City Line Ave. (US Rte. 1). Turn right on Conshohocken State Rd. (Rte. 23); stay in right lane. After the second light watch for white left-turn arrows painted on street (about 0.14 mile). Do not follow Rte. 23 left at turn but instead go straight ahead onto Llandrillo Rd. (passing to the right of Valley Press printing). After one block bear left onto Trevor Lane at stop sign. Clubhouse and parking are on the left. Please park in lot if space is available; otherwise park on Trevor Lane.  If lost, call the club at 610-667-4524, ext. 2.