Congratulations to ISA student Klaertje Hesselink for earning first place in the Tinker Process Safety competition for her poster on BP's Texas Refinery Disaster!

The Tinker Process Safety competition, sponsored by Chemical and Biochemical Engineering alum Sharon Tinker, took place on Friday, February 21, 2025. Participating students were to complete a project based on an incident investigation report and a poster to showcase investigations by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB). Klaertje chose to do her project on BP's Texas City Refinery Explosions because of its immense severity among industrial accidents in recent U.S. history. 

Students participating in this competition were required to investigate the report, write an essay detailing root causes and investigation findings, and then create a poster to present to industry professionals. 

On her motivation for her research, Klaertje says, "I have a great appreciation for process safety, especially working in an experimental lab where safety is paramount to our success. I really enjoyed being a part of this competition, and I learned so much about the chemical industry."