International Conference on Safety
                                                               ...Promoting A Culture of Safety

Shri S.B.Mathur
Director General
Directorate General Factories Advice Service and Labour Institutes (DGFASLI),
Ministry of Labour & Employment,
Govt. of India.

Shri S.B.Mathur is the Director General, Directorate General Factories Advice Service and Labour Institutes (DGFASLI), Mumbai, under the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Govt. of India. He has over three decades of Administrative, technical and industrial experience in the field of Occupational Safety and Health. Mr. Mathur is engaged in policy planning, framing and updating of statutory provisions relating to OSH including ratification of ILO conventions on OSH. He is involved in administration of OSH system in manufacturing and Port sectors of the country and is also the Chief Inspector of Dock Safety for the Major Ports of the country. He is instrumental to produce Safety Auditors and qualified Safety Officers in the country.

Dr. Anil Kakodkar
Chairman
Board of Governors
IIT Bombay

Dr. Kakodkar is a renowned scientist of India. He was the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India (AECI) and also the Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Atomic Energy. Dr Kakodkar was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour, on 26th January 2009. He was a part of the core team of architects of India's Nuclear Tests in 1974 and 1998. Also, he was the Chairman of Railway Safety Review Committee. Presently, he is the Chairman, Board of Governors of IIT Bombay.

Dr. M. Sam Mannan, PE, CSP, DHC
Regents Professor and Director
Holder of the T. Michael O'Connor Chair I
Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center
Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering
Texas A&M University, USA

Dr. M. Sam Mannan is Regents Professor and Director of the Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center at Texas A&M University. Dr. Mannan is a registered professional engineer in the states of Texas and Louisiana and a Certified Safety Professional. Dr. Mannan has published 160 peer-reviewed journal publications, several books and book chapters on inherently safer processes and delivered about 175 technical meeting presentations as invited and Keynote speaker. Dr. Mannan is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions from AIChE, TAMU, IChemE including the recent “Bush Excellence Award” for Faculty in Public Service.

Shri. Satinath Sarangi
Founder
Bhopal Group for Information & Action

Satinath Sarangi, Managing trustee of the Sambhavna Trust Clinic and founder of the Bhopal Group for Information & Action, had worked tirelessly to keep the Bhopal gas tragedy in the public consciousness and advocated for justice for victims. For his efforts, he was recognized with the Man of the Year 2010 by The Week Magazine.

Shri. Biju Dominic
CEO & Co-founder
FinalMile Consulting
Mumbai, Maharashtra
India (Mumbai Area, India) Management Consulting

Biju Dominic is CEO and Co-founder of FinalMile Consulting. Pioneered the practice of Behaviour Architecture - an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and influencing human behaviour using learning from Cognitive Neuroscience, Behavioural Economics, Eastern Philosophy and Design. FinalMile has applied this new science to successfully manage human behaviour across contexts - Public, Organizational and Consumer Behaviour.

Mr. August W. Schaefer
Senior Vice President - Public Safety Officer
Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
USA

Gus Schaefer is Senior Vice President and Public Safety Officer of Underwriters Laboratories (UL), USA. He acts as UL's Public Safety guardian, ambassador and advocate both inside and outside of the company, and represents UL on major safety initiatives, working closely with UL's Commercial, Operations, Regulatory Affairs, Consumer Affairs, Washington D.C. Office, and the staff of the CTO Group. He is also currently responsible for UL's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, Corporate Giving activities and UL's annual giving campaign.

Dr. Pravinray D. Gandhi, Ph.D P.E.
Corporate Fellow
UL LLC
Director, Corporate Research
USA

Pravin Gandhi is Director, Corporate Research of Underwriters Laboratories (UL), USA. He is well known in the North American and International Fire Protection Community as a leading fire researcher and, perhaps more significantly, for translating the product of fire research into economically useful applications in testing and certification of materials, products and systems.

Mr. Wayne Harris
Chairman International Safety Quality Environment Management Association
Director World Safety Organization UN-NGO London
United Kingdom

Wayne Harris, Chairman of International Safety Quality Environment Management Association (ISQEM) and Director of the World Safety Organization (WSO), has over 29 years experience in corporate risk and HSE management systems. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health (FRSPH), Fellow of the International Safety Quality and Environment Management Association (FISQEM), Member of the Institute of Directors (MIoD), and Member of the International Association of Emergency Managers (MIAEM).

Shri. Rakesh Srivastava
Dy. Director General
NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL
India

Rakesh Srivastava is the Deputy Director General of National Safety Council of India. He is a Mechanical Engineer with 34 years of experience in manufacturing and safety including his training at Japan International Centre for Occupational Safety and Health, Tokyo. He has developed and conducted several safety training programmes in India and also presented several papers on safety in different National and International Conferences.

Shri. Dunu Roy
Director
Hazard Centre
India

Dunu Roy, Director of the Hazards Centre, (B.Tech, M.Tech, IIT Bombay), is a chemical engineer by training, social scientist by compulsion, and political ecologist by choice. He has worked for over four decades in rural and urban scenarios, land and water management, secure settlements, safe work, environmental planning, leadership training, and pollution control, poised on the delicate borderline between environment and development.

Dr. Venkatesh Kodur , Ph.D., P.E.
F.ASCE, F.ACI, F.CAE
Professor & Director, SAFE-D Center
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Michigan State University
USA

Venkatesh Kodur, Fellow of Canadian Academy of Engineering, is a Professor and Director of the Centre on Structural Fire Engineering and Diagnostics at Michigan State University. His research interests include: Evaluation of fire resistance of structural systems through large scale fire experiments and numerical modeling and Characterization of materials under high temperature. Prof. Kodur is a professional engineer, Fellow of American Society of Civil Engineers, Fellow of American Concrete Institute. He is a Foreign Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering, Chairman of ACI Fire Protection Committee, Chairman of ASCE-29 (Fire) Standards Committee and a member of UK-EPSRC College of Reviewers.

Dr. Hugo Vits
General Manager Bitumen Technology / Site & HSSE Manager
Shell Technology Center Bangalore

Hugo Vits is currently General Manager Bitumen Technology / Site & HSSE Manager at Shell Technology Center Bangalore. He looks after Innovation, Business Development, Restructuring, Commercial, Regulatory aspects of Shell India. Earlier he was Director of Petit Couronne R&D Facility, President of Global Solutions France at Shell, Vice-President at Transredes and BD manager at Shell. He pursued his education from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and Universidad de Concepci.

Drs. Eur-Ing. Gordon Biezeveld
Program Manager
Building Materials, Life Safety and Security Industries
Underwriters Laboratories
The Netherlands

Drs. Eur-Ing. Gordon Biezeveld is actively involved in the European Fire Protection Community both as an engineer and safety consultant. He currently represents The Netherlands in CEN/TC 191-Fixed fire fighting systems, TC 191 Work Group 5 and TC 191 WG5 TC1 Components. Drs. Gordon is a licensed Safety Engineer under the European Network of Safety and Health Practitioner Organizations programs (ENSHPO) and the Program Manager of Building Materials, Life Safety and Security Industries at Underwriters Laboratories (UL). He is a registered Engineer with the European Federation of National Engineering Associations (FEANI).

Prof.  Raj V. Ponnaluri
Director and Area Chairperson of Operations Management,
Centre for Management Studies, ASCI,
Hyderabad, India

Prof. Raj V. Ponnaluri is the Director and Area Chairperson of Operations Management, Centre for Management Studies, ASCI, Hyderabad, India. He has over 17 years of professional experience in Road Safety, Traffic Engineering and Operations, Intelligent Transport Systems, Public Transport Systems and Transport Policy etc. He has done his B.S, MS from Duke University and MBA from University of Central Florida and is a Professional Engineer in the United States.

Mr. Jitendra C. Patel
Fellow of American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE)
Founder of ASSE India Chapter

Jitendra (Jitu) C. Patel, CPEA, is the founder of American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) India Chapter and is a Senior Board Advisor of the Arizona Chapter of ASSE. Mr. Patel received the Arizona Chapter’s Howard Hiedeman Safety Professional of the Year Award for 2006-2007 and the highest and the most prestigious honor of ASSE as ASSE Fellow in 2011. Recently he was honoured with the Diversity Award and International Practice Specialty Award at the ASSE PDC in Denver in June 2012. He played crucial role in global growth of AEES in Middle East and Asian countries including India. He is also the Membership Chair of the International Practice Specialty of the ASSE and a member of the Council of Member Regional Affairs (CoMRA) Global Committee.

Mr. R.V. Venkitachalam
Vice President & Managing Director,
Underwriters Laboratories – Emerging Markets

R.A.Venkitachalam is the Vice President & Managing Director of Underwriters Laboratories for the Emerging Markets. In this role, Venkitachalam leads UL’s businesses in ASEAN, India and South Asia, the Middle East and the Africa’s. During the last eight years, he has overseen the aggressive expansion of UL in the region, multiplying investments and the revenues. Prior to joining UL, Venkitachalam has led businesses in Telecom, Industrial and Consumer Goods sectors, with leading global organizations and addressing both Indian and global markets.

Venkitachalam has been actively associated with the CSR initiatives of UL, focusing on creating Safety Awareness among the public through public programs aimed at school children. Venkitachalam holds a Bachelor in Chemical Engineering from the Indian institute of Technology, Madras and a Masters in Industrial Management from the same institute.

Dr. Durgesh C. Rai
F. INAE
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Durgesh C. Rai is a Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) and Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. His research is mainly focussed on Earthquake Engineering and Structural Engineering. He is the winner of Shah Family Innovation Prize of Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), USA and Young Engineer Award of INAE. He did his Masters and PhD from University of Oklahoma, Norman and University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA, respectively. He is co-ordinator of National Information Centre of Earthquake Engineering (NICEE) at IIT Kanpur and serves on the Board of World Seismic Safety Initiative (WSSI) of International Association of Earthquake Engineering (IAEE).

Prof. Kathy A. Notarianni, Ph.D., P.E.
Head, Department of Fire Protection Engineering
Associate Professor of Fire Protection Engineering and
Mechanical Engineering
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Massachusetts, USA

Dr. Kathy Notarianni is the Head of the Fire Protection Engineering program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Massachusetts, USA. Her research focus is on the Technologies for the fire service, Fire detection and Fire suppression. Prof. Notarianni is directing a multi-year study to determine the best procedural standards and resource allocation to reduce loss of life and property for both firefighters and civilians. She has done her PhD from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), and MS from both WPI from CMU.

Dr. Debjyoti Banerjee, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Faculty Fellow, 3M Corp.
Faculty Fellow, Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Texas A&M University (TAMU), USA.

Dr. Debjyoti Banerjee is Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University. He is a Faculty Fellow of 3M Corp. and Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center at TAMU. He is working on micro/nano-sensor based explosive detection device for homeland security, occupational health and safety, mine safety, etc. Dr. Banerjee is Associate Editor, ASME Journal of Nanotechnology in Engineering and Medicine (ASME-JNEM). He received his M.S , Ph.D. from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and B.Tech from IIT Kharagpur.

Dr. K.U. Mistry
Chairman
Gujarat Pollution Control Board
Government of Gujarat

Dr Mistry is currently the Chairman, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Govt. of Gujarat and Chairman, State Level Expert Appraisal Committee. He has served as a Deputy Chief Inspector of Factories, Surat and Chairman, Gujarat Public Service Commission. He has written several books and more than 30 articles on Industrial Safety & Health. He has been awarded 'Public Honour Awards' by the Rotary Clubs of Vapi & Ankleshwar for functioning as the best Government Officer.

Dr. Rajagopalan Srinivasan
Associate Professor
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
National University of Singapore, Singapore

Dr. Rajagopalan Srinivasan is Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the National University of Singapore. He serves as the President of the AIChE’s Singapore section and an Editor of the IChemE’s journal - “Process Safety & Environmental Protection”. Inherent safety and inherently safer design is one of his major research areas. He has authored or co-authored over 320 international peer-reviewed publications with several books and patents. He received his B.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology Madras and PhD from Purdue University.

Shri D. C. Chaudhari
Director, Industrial Safety & Health
Government of Gujarat

Shri D. C. Chaudhari is the Director of Industrial Safety and Health, Govt. of Gujarat. He is associated with Gujarat Industries for more than 25 years at different capacity from Inspector of Factories, Joint Director and Director of Industrial Safety and Health. Presently, he is also the Vice Chairman of National Safety Council (NSC) - Gujarat Chapter, Ahmedabad and Vice Chairman of Gujarat Safety Council (GSC), Vadodra. He has written several articles on growth stories of Gujarat Industries and safety issues of related to these industries.

Shri Ravi Ramaswamy
Head
Process Safety Management at Centre for HSE Excellence
Reliance Industries Limited, Mumbai

Ravi Ramaswamy is the Head of Process Safety Management at Centre for HSE Excellence, Reliance Industries Limited, Mumbai. He has over thirty years of experience in fertilizer and Petrochemical Industry. He is the member of steering committee, Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS), AIChE and member of Steering Committee, Mary Kay O’ Connors Process Safety Centre (MKOCPSC) at Texas A & M University. He has done his B.Tech from Madras University and MS from Birla Institute of Technology and Science.

Dr. Scott Harris, PhD, MSPH
OccHealth & Risk Management Consultant
UL Knowledge Services

Dr. Harris has EHS management experience of over 29 years in federal and state government, consulting, general industry and university instruction. Received PhD in Environmental Science, with a specialization in Disaster and Emergency Management, from Oklahoma State University and holds degrees in Public Health (MSPH) and Geology (B.S.) from Western Kentucky University.

Dr. Ranjit Bannerji
Chief Executive Officer
Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA)

Dr. Ranjit Banerjee is currently the CEO of GSDMA, one of the premium agencies in India to manage, mitigate and safeguard society in Gujarat against disaster. Prior to this assignment Dr. Banerjee has worked for a number of years at International Monetary Fund at Washington, as well as the ministry of Finance, Govt. of India.

Mr. Joachim Nell
Head of TechCenter
India & Director Affordable Cars Strategy Continental Automotive Components (India) Pvt. Ltd.

Mr. Joachim Nell is heading the Technology Center of Continental AG in Bangalore, India. Also he is also heading a worldwide team for cross divisional affordable cars strategy of Continental. After his Master degree at RWTH Aachen in Automotive Engineering, Mr. Nell began his automotive career with Daimler AG in 1988 in Stuttgart, Germany and held various management positions in brake component and system engineering. Presently, he is working on several initiatives for road safety.