EFCE Excellence Award in Process Safety
Award winners
Excellence Award winner 2025
Dr. Shuaiqi Yuan
His PhD thesis on
“Dynamic and Integrated Safety and Security Barrier Management in the Chemical Process Industries”,
completed at Delft University of Technology under the supervision of Professor Genserik Reniers and Dr. Ming Yang, was selected by the jury as the best submission in terms of technical quality, scientific impact, innovation, dissemination of results, industrial relevance, and significance to the safety community in chemical engineering.
Shuaiqi Yuan obtained his BSc in mining engineering and his MSc in safety engineering from the China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing, PR China, and his PhD in Safety and Security Science from the Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, in November 2024. In 2025, he joined the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China, where he holds the position of Postdoctoral Fellow. He works on Risk Management and Safety Assurance of Intelligent Systems, under the supervision of Dr. Xiaoge Zhang. His research interests include process safety, process security, probabilistic risk assessment, cyber-physical systems, uncertainty quantification, risk management, reliability engineering, resilience modeling, and emergency response.
The award will be presented to Shuaiqi Yuan on 10 June 2025 at the 18th International Symposium on Loss Prevention and Safety Promotion in the Process Industries - Loss Prevention 2025 which will be held in Bologna, Italy, on 8-11 June 2025.
Sponsor - European Process Safety Centre IVZW (EPSC):
The European Process Safety Centre IVZW (EPSC) is an international not-for-profit network of major hazard operators in the pharmaceutical, chemical, oil and gas industries (and consulting companies serving these industries) dedicated to the development and promotion of process safety. The association aims to promote and to share technical & managerial best practice in process safety in Europe.
EPSC provides a platform to learn as an industry, to improve together and facilitate the elimination of process safety incidents. The beneficiaries are our member companies and all process safety professionals in general. Our members benefit from (confidential) meetings & an active network where experiences are shared and latest developments discussed. To the general public we offer high quality, reliable information on process safety through our website www.epsc.be (e.g. our EPSC Learning Sheets) and our annual EPSC conferences. In 2024 the EPSC European Conference on Plant & Process Safety will take place on 2 & 3 December in Barcelona, Spain.
Excellence Award winner 2022
Dr. Federica Ovidi
Her PhD thesis on
“Development of a methodological framework for the integrated HSE assessment of LNG supply and utilisation chain”,
completed at the University of Pisa, Italy, under the supervision of Prof. Chiara Galletti, Prof. Gabriele Landucci, and Prof. Leonardo Tognotti, was selected by the jury as the best submission in terms of breadth and depth of the thesis, scientific impact, innovation, industrial relevance, dissemination of the results, and evidence of personal input.
Federica Ovidi obtained her M.Sc. in chemical engineering and her Ph.D. in industrial engineering from the University of Pisa.Thereafter, she held the position of Post-Doctoral Fellowship in industrial engineering at University of Pisa on continued working on the development of methods for the safety analysis of liquefied natural gas (LNG) transport and storage systems. In April 2021, Dr. Ovidi joined RINA Consulting S.p.A. in the Organizational Unit “Oil & Gas Occupational Health & Safety and Permitting” as HSE Specialist and Safety Engineer.
The Award will be presented on 7 June 2022 at the end of the morning plenary session of the 17th Loss Prevention Symposium, which will be held in Prague, Czech Republic, from 5 to 8 June 2022.
Sponsor - Aspen Oss B.V.:
Aspen Oss is a global supplier of complex, highly potent Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and has a proud history of almost 100 years. We work from a deeply rooted and pro-active quality culture. Our core competences are the production of steroids, heparin, peptides an alkaloids. A broad experience in cGWIP manufacturing, customer and regulatory support and extensive product know-how are applied to offer our customers a consistent quality. Aspen Oss employs approximately 800 employees and is a dynamic organisation built on entrepreneurial strength and forward thinking minds.
Excellence Award winner 2019
Dr. Paolo Mocellin
His PhD thesis on
"Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) hazard analysis",
completed at the University of Padova, Italy, under the supervision of Prof. Giuseppe Maschio, achieved the best evaluation results in terms of breadth and depth of the thesis, scientific impact, innovation, industrial relevance, dissemination of the results, and evidence of personal input.
Paolo Mocellin obtained his Bachelor Degree in Industrial and Material Engineering and his Master Degree in Chemical and Process Engineering from the University of Padova. Currently, he hold a postdoctoral position in Chemical and Safety Engineering at the University of Padova
Research topic: Natech Risk Assessment, computational fluid dynamic simulations of atypic accidental scenarios.
The Award was presented on 18 June 2019 at the end of the morning plenary session of the 16th Loss Prevention Symposium, held in Delft, The Netherlands, from 16 to 19 June 2019.
Sponsor - Aspen Oss B.V.:
Aspen Oss is a global supplier of complex, highly potent Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and has a proud history of almost 100 years. We work from a deeply rooted and pro-active quality culture. Our core competences are the production of steroids, heparin, peptides an alkaloids. A broad experience in cGWIP manufacturing, customer and regulatory support and extensive product know-how are applied to offer our customers a consistent quality. Aspen Oss employs approximately 800 employees and is a dynamic organisation built on entrepreneurial strength and forward thinking minds.
Excellence Award winner 2016
Dr. Stefania Cagnina
Her PhD thesis on
"Understanding of the mechanisms of chemical incompatibility of ammonium nitrate by molecular modeling",
completed at the University Pierre et Marie Curie and INERIS (National Institute for Industrial Environment and Risks), France, under the supervision of Professor Carlo Adamo and Dr. Patricia Rotureau, achieved the best evaluation results in terms of breadth and depth of the thesis, scientific impact, industrial relevance, innovation and dissemination of the results.
Stefania Cagnina obtained her License of Chemistry and Master's degree in Advanced Chemical Methodologies, from the University of Turin, Italy, and her PhD in in theoretical chemistry and computer science, from the Pierre et Marie Curie University of Paris, France. Currently, she holds a postdoctoral position in chemical kinetics at IFP Energies Nouvelles, Engine and Vehicle Modeling Department, Rueil-Malmaison, France.
The Award was presented in Freiburg, Germany, on 7 June 2016 during the 15th Loss Prevention Symposium.
Excellence Award winner 2013
Dr. SOFIA CARNEVALI
Her PhD thesis on
"Unsteady aspects of sodium-water reaction - Water cleaning of sodium containing equipments"
completed at CEA and the University of Compiègne (UTC) in collaboration with INERIS institute, France, under the supervision of Professor Christophe Proust achieved the best evaluation by the jury in terms of breadth and depth of the study, scientific relevance, innovation and industrial impact and dissemination of the results.
Sofia Carnevali obtained her Bachelor's and Master's degree in Energetic Engineering from Pisa University, Italy, a European Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering (EMSNE) from the European Nuclear Education Network Association, and her PhD in Energetic Nuclear Engineering. Currently, she holds a position at CEA, Paris, France.
The Award was presented in Florence, Italy, on 14 May 2013 during the 14th Loss Prevention Symposium.
Excellence Award winner 2010
Dr. SPYROS SKLAVOUNOs
His PhD thesis on
"Investigation of Environmental Impacts from Major Accidents in Chemical Installations"
completed at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Greece, under the supervision of Professor Fortis Rigas received the best evaluation results in terms of innovativeness, breadth and depth of the study, quality of publications, and the transfer of know-how to industrial applications.
Spyros Sklavounos received his diploma in Chemical Engineering, specialised in specializing in Food Technology and Biotechnology, and his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens. During his PhD studies, he participated in various research programmes related to biosafety and obtained certification as a consultant for the Safe Transportation of Dangerous Goods from the Greek Ministry of Transportation. In 2008 he was appointed Judicial Investigator of Accidents at Work.
The award was presented during as special session of the 13th Loss Prevention Symposium held in Bruges, Belgium, from 6 to 9 June 2010.
Dr. Sklavounos has been invited to give a presentation on the topic "Multi-perspective advanced computer simulation as a tool for reliable consequence analysis"
