External Advisory Council
The External Advisory Council [EAC] is a group of industry representatives and corporate leaders who meet every semester on campus to advise and support the department in best preparing chemical engineering students to enter a competitive workforce.
Key Objectives
- Update faculty about technical, business and professional needs of industry and government
- Improve research by presenting current and future industry trends
- Advise the department of the latest professional skills expected of graduates
- Listen to direct feedback from students about curriculum and university operating procedures to best inform and guide department leaders
- Assist recruitment of outstanding undergraduate and graduate students
- Contribute networking, training and employment opportunities for students and recent graduates
- Help obtain necessary resources, both financial and intellectual, to meet department needs
- Provide corporate checks and balances for the department’s management of operations
Current Members
| Name | Position and Company |
| Salvador Aldrett | Global Team Leader, Process Economics Biofuels and Chemicals - Shell |
| Sean Arnold | Chief Revenue Officer - Akselos |
| Scott Browning | Partner - Apollo Global Management |
| Stephanie Bryant | Professor, Director, Materials Science & Engineering Program - University of Colorado - Boulder |
| Luis Cirihal | President, Refining Technologies - W. R. Grace & Co. |
| Javier Cuellar - Vice Chair | Director, Energy Procurement, North America – BASF |
| John Dowdle | Senior Research Scientist - Dow |
| Tejuana Edmond | Vice President, Plastic Additives Americas - BASF |
| Bunmi Esho | Principal Consultant - Ori Consultancy |
| Juergen Hahn | Professor and Director, Jackson Center for Biotechnology + Interdisciplinary Studies, Depts. of Biomedical Engineering and Chem. + Biological Engineering - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
| Ross Harris | Technical Manager, Cedar Bayou Pt. - Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. |
| Corley Hutton | Vice President, Quality | Process Systems and Solutions – Emerson Process Management |
| Paul Kirsch | Vice President, Yield Enhancement Engineering - Samsung Foundry |
| Amanda Lewis - Chair | Senior Director, Quality Operations - Moderna PCV |
| Aubrey Maale | Senior Manager, Offshore Optimization, Process and IC&E - Chevron |
| Kimberly Markiewicz | Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion – DuPont |
| Angie Murray | Senior Vice President, Houston Region Operations - Enterprise Products |
| Mark Murray | Senior Vice President - Acetyls | Celanese Corporation |
| Hoshang Subawalla | Chief Business Officer - Moleaer |
| Daniel Valenzuela | Senior Vice President + CFO - TPC Group |
| Kathleen Vincent | Professor, Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology - UT Medical Branch, Galveston |
| David Woods | Global Sustainability Reporting Manager - ExxonMobil |
Meetings
Last meeting: September 4-5, 2025
Next meeting: April 16-17, 2026
Location: CPE Building
