Appendix C
Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
Otis A. Shelton, Chair, is director for Safety and Environmental Services Compliance and Operational Assessments Program for Praxair, Inc., a position he has held since 1992. In this position, Mr. Shelton is responsible for managing Praxair’s assessment program that focuses on environmental, process safety, personnel safety, industrial hygiene, emergency planning, distribution, and medical gases programs. Previously, Mr. Shelton worked for Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) for 25 years in a variety of assignments, including production, distribution, financial analysis, and safety. Starting in 1986, he managed UCC’s Regional Corporate Health, Safety, and Environmental Protection Audit Program. This program reviewed UCC’s health, safety, and environmental compliance in all UCC’s operations, worldwide. He holds an M.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Houston. He is a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AICHE) and has served on its board of directors. He has also served on the National Society of Black Engineers’ National Advisory Board for 20 years. He was elected as secretary of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers in 2004. Mr. Shelton was a member of the NRC Committee on Chemical Demilitarization and has served as vice-chair on the NRC Committee to Review Secondary Waste Disposal and Regulatory Requirements for the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives Program. He was also a member of the NRC Committee to Evaluate the Safety and Environmental Metrics for Potential Application at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities.
Robert A. Beaudet is retired from the faculty of the University of Southern California, where he served continuously in the Department of Chemistry since 1962. He received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Harvard University in 1962. In 1961 and 1962, he was a U.S. Army officer and served at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a research scientist. He also has served on Department of Defense committees that have addressed both offensive and defensive considerations surrounding chemical warfare agents. He was chair of an Army Science Board committee that addressed chemical detection and trace gas analysis. He also was the chair of an Air Force technical conference on chemical warfare decontamination and protection. He has participated in numerous NRC studies relating to chemical demilitarization. Most of his career has been devoted to research in molecular structure and molecular spectroscopy. Previously, Dr. Beaudet served as a member of the Board on Army Science and Technology (BAST), as a member of the NRC Committee on Review of the Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Disposal Program, and as a BAST liaison to the NRC Committee on Review and Evaluation of the Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program (the Stockpile Committee). He was a member of the NRC Committee to Examine the Disposal of Activated Carbon from the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Systems at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities; the NRC Committee to Review and Assess Developmental Issues Concerning the Metal Parts Treater Design for the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant; and the NRC Committee on the Review of the Design of the
Dynasafe Static Detonation Chamber (SDC) System for the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (Anniston). He was also a member of the standing NRC Committee on Chemical Demilitarization.
Mauricio Futran, NAE, is currently an independent consultant. Previously, he was vice president for Process Research and Development at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, where he was responsible for leading process development. He was responsible as well for small molecule and semibiologic API development from its interface with discovery to manufacturing validation. Prior to joining Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dr. Futran held positions with Merck Research Labs and Maquinaria Plastica, Morderna, in Mexico. He has published in journals such as the Journal of Chemical Physics, made invited presentations at national scientific meetings, and lectured at universities such as Harvard and North Carolina State. He holds two patents, “Crystallization method to improve crystal structure and size” and “Process for producing N-amino-1hydroxyalkylidene-1, 1-bisphosphonic acids.” He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the American Chemical Society. Dr. Futran formerly served on the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology. In addition, he serves as chair of the chemical engineering advisory board at Princeton. He received the B.S. and M.S. in chemical engineering from Rice University and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Princeton.
J. Robert Gibson retired as a director in DuPont’s Crop Protection Products Division in Wilmington, Delaware, in 2001. During his 30-year career with DuPont, Dr. Gibson held positions in R&D, chemical plant management, and corporate administration, as corporate director of safety and health. He was also assistant director of DuPont’s Haskell Laboratory for Toxicology and Industrial Medicine. He was board-certified in toxicology by the American Board of Toxicology from 1980 until 2005 and is currently a consultant in toxicology and occupational safety and health. Dr. Gibson graduated from Mississippi State University with a Ph.D. in physiology. He holds a master’s degree in zoology and a B.S. in general science from that same institution. He has chaired the standing NRC Committee on Chemical Demilitarization and served on its predecessor, the Committee on Review and Evaluation of the Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program (the Stockpile Committee), because of his more than 25 years of experience in toxicology and occupational safety and health. Dr. Gibson was appointed as the U.S. representative to the Scientific Advisory Board of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in October 2003. He has served on a variety of chemical demilitarization ad hoc committees, including as chair of the NRC Committee to Review and Assess Industrial Hygiene Standards and Practices at Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (TOCDF).
Randal J. Keller is currently a professor in the Department of Occupational Safety and Health at Murray State University. He received a B.A. in chemistry from Eisenhower College in 1979; an M.S. in toxicology from Utah State University in 1984, and a Ph.D., also in toxicology, from Utah State University in 1988. He is certified in the comprehensive practice of industrial hygiene by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene, the comprehensive practice of safety by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, and in the general practice of toxicology by the American Board of Toxicology. Dr. Keller is widely published and maintains an independent consulting practice related to toxicology, industrial hygiene, and safety. He served on the NRC’s Committee to Review and Assess Industrial Hygiene Standards and Practices at Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (TOCDF) and on its Committee on Evaluation of Safety and Environmental Metrics for Potential Application at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities.
Tim Overton is president of TOPS Consulting. Before this, he was the group head for process safety at BP. His expertise is in development and implementation of process safety standards and management systems and of corporate process safety metrics and incident reduction and risk reduction programs. Prior to joining BP, Mr. Overton was chief process safety engineer at the Dow Chemical Company, where he had oversight of process safety practices and standards. He holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Texas. Mr. Overton serves as chair of the Center for Chemical Process Safety’s Committee on Process Safety Metrics. He is also a member of the standing NRC Committee on Chemical Demilitarization.
Carol A. Palmiotto is the global safety health and environmental manager for the agriculture, nutrition, and applied biosciences businesses at E.I. du Pont de
Nemours. During her 30 years there she has worked for a variety of businesses and at several manufacturing sites, including the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Plant in Aiken, South Carolina. In the 10 years Ms. Palmiotto spent at the Savannah River plant she was responsible for safety, health, and environment at the Savannah River laboratories, P-reactor area and F area separation facilities, which included the naval fuels operations. She has served as a panel member on the National Safety Council’s Off the Job and Community Safety programs. From 1997 through 2005 she served on the International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers Environmental Health Committee. Currently she is a member of the European Crop Protection Association Manufacturing and Supply Chain EHS committee. Ms. Palmiotto graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. degree in biology from Tufts University. In 1978 she received an M.S. in environmental health/engineering and air pollution, with recognition in radiation control and industrial hygiene, from the Harvard University Graduate School of Public Health. She is a certified industrial hygienist.
Styron N. Powers is currently vice president, environmental, health, safety and security, at U.S. Foodservice. Before that, he was the director for health, safety, security and the environment (HSSE) at BP Refining and Marketing, Global Fuels Value Chain. Prior to that, Mr. Powers held senior HSSE positions for Invensys, RR Donnelly, and Lockheed Martin. He is a member of the board of directors of the Virginia Tech Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Mr. Powers was educated at Harvard’s Advanced Management Program (2002); he holds an M.B.A. from Rutgers University and B.S. degrees in chemical engineering and biological life sciences from North Carolina State University. He is a certified safety engineer and certified hazardous materials manager.