Koehler Instrument Company’s Director elected as a Fellow at the International Institute of Physics

Dr. Raj Shah, a New York based Chemical engineer, and current Director of Sales, Marketing and Technical Services at Koehler Instrument Company was recently inducted  as a Fellow at the Institute of Physics.

The Institute of Physics (IOP) is one of the world’s largest professional body and learned society for physics inspiring people to develop their knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of physics, headquartered in London.  

The great challenges we face in years to come, such as climate change and developing clean energy are international in scope and physics is the key to a lot of these societal problems. International collaboration is essential to tackling them; no individual country can solve them alone and physicists, have a fundamental role in leading the development of technologies to address these problems. The IOP has international reach and global connections, but is independent of government or any academic institution or business. This enables them to bring together scientists and organizations from around the world, building the cross-border links that fuel scientific discovery and technological innovation. Becoming elected to a Fellow at the IOP is an unparallel honor and when Dr. Shah was informed about this in NY this week, he was grateful to all his company , the management, his colleagues and industry mentors who helped him so far on his journey and he said he was extremely humbled. 

This honour for Dr. Raj Shah  comes right after his recent elevation as a Fellow at the Institute of Chemical Engineers. The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) is a world class professional society in its own right, a multi-national institution that advances chemical engineering's contribution worldwide for the benefit of society. They have over 35,000 members in more than 100 countries and is the leading professional society for Chemical engineers in the world. IChemE applies its expertise and experience to make an influential contribution in solving major global challenges. To be elevated to a Fellow at IChemE is considered the pinnacle in any Chemical engineers career. Dr. Shah was inducted as a Fellow into this Society recently and when contacted by us at that time, he was extremely grateful and said he accepted this honor with great humility on behalf of his colleagues and his family.

This year, Dr. Shah was also selected as an eminent engineer into Tau Beta Pi the oldest engineering honor society in the United States, which has over 600,000 members at 254 colleges and universities across the country An eminent engineer status is rare and is afforded only to one with remarkable and outstanding performance in their chosen engineering field as well as exemplary character. Extensive and significant  contribution to the field of engineering is what got Dr. Shah this honour 

Dr. Shah also received another allocade this year by being elevated as a Fellow at the Institute of Measurement and Control an organization very familiar to the readers of Petro industry news

 The Institute of Measurement and Control is recognized by the Royal Charter as the professional body for scientists and engineers working in measurement, automation and control. Founded in 1944, its members’ original priority was to maintain the national infrastructure and support wartime logistics. During the post-war reconstruction years, attention shifted to developing new major infrastructure programs including nuclear power, oil and gas, the transport network and major industrial and chemical facilities. Dr. Shah was indicted into its hall of Fellows (its highest honor ) this week. Currently the members of INSTMC are still involved in all the above areas, but the digital age has opened a new sphere of involvement in the area of sensors linked to intelligence.  This includes the Internet of Things, cyber security, smart cities and transport networks, driverless cars, personal health monitoring and astronomical exploration. It is indeed a very unique and singular honor for Dr. Shah to be honored as a fellow by this prestigious institute. 

Dr. Shah is no stranger to distinction. He has been named a Fellow at the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK which boasts such historical members as Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and Albert Einstein. 

The Royal Society of Chemistry has over 54,000 members and is one of the largest professional bodies for chemical scientists, supporting and representing our members and bringing together chemical scientists from all over the world. The Royal Society of Chemistry was founded in 1841 and incorporated by a royal charter in 1848, and its main patron is her Majesty the Queen of England. A not-for-profit organization with a heritage that spans 175 years, The Royal Society of Chemistry has an ambitious international vision for the future. Around the world, they invest in educating future generations of scientists and partner with industry and academia, promoting collaboration and innovation. The Royal society of Chemistry also advises governments on policy and promote the talent, information and ideas that lead to great advances in science.

Dr. Shah was also honored recently as well, by the Energy institute with the title of a Chartered petroleum engineer. The Energy Institute (EI) is the largest professional membership body that brings global energy expertise together. The global energy industry, the people working in it and wider society all benefit from the EI’s work. Election to the status of a chartered petroleum engineer so far has been limited to just 7 people in the United States. Dr. Shah is the first Indian American engineer to be conferred this honor. 

Dr. Raj Shah is widely recognized worldwide for his contributions to the field of Fuels, Lubricants, and Greases. His specialization is in the development of laboratory analytical instrumentation used primarily in the petroleum laboratory. He has been recognized for his inventions and his efforts in creating standardized test methods for use worldwide by the American standard of testing materials ( ASTM International )  with three awards of Excellence and an ASTM Eagle award (a sui genres distinction) .  He is the currently the Director at Koehler Instrument Company, Inc. based in Holtsville, NY and he currently serves, or has served on the Board of Directors/ Advisors of various institutions such as the Department of Material science and Chemical Engineering , State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY, Farmingdale College ( Mechanical Technology ) , in Long Island NY, The School of  Engineering, Design, Technology and Professional Programs (SEDTAPP) at Penn State University, PA,  Tribology Minor in engineering at Auburn University, the Foundation Board at Developmental Disabilities Institute in  Smithtown, NY until 2009, and he served on the board of directors of  the National Lubricating Grease institute  for almost 2 decades. With over 450 publication in journals worldwide he is also an Adjunct Professor at the Dept. of Material science and Chemical Engineering at State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY, and an Adjunct Faculty in the department of Engineering Management at Hofstra University, NY.  

Dr. Shah is now an elected  Fellow at STLE, IOP, CMI, NLGI, AIC, RSC, InstMC, IChemE and EI a singular honor that is indeed unprecedented worldwide. In addition to a Ph.D in Chemical Engineering from Penn State  University three decades back, he also has a Fellow designation from the the Chartered Management Institute in London 

A recipient of multiple awards at ASTM over his career, more recently he was awarded the PM Ku medal ( the youngest recipient of this medal ), from STLE and prestigious John A. Bellanti Sr. Memorial Award from NLGI as well. 

Dr. Shah has also been conferred the distinguished alumni award from the Institute of Chemical technology, Mumbai (ICT).  In conferring him this honor ICT Mumbai, stated " Dr. Raj Shah, a professional par excellence due to his high degree of integrity , commitment and professionalism has been responsible for the high esteem in which his alma mater , the Institute of Chemical Technology is recognized " More recently National Certification Commission in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering in Washington, DC honored Dr. Raj Shah with inducting him as a Certified professional chemist and Certified Chemical engineer.

 Dr. Shah is also an elected Chartered Engineer from the Engineering council in the UK, a Chartered Chemist from the Royal society of chemistry  and a Chartered Scientist from the science council, all of these combined are exceptional honors within the scientific community. Dr. Shah is the only person in the chemical industry worldwide who now holds all 6 of these elected certifications namely CPC, CCHE, CEng, CSci, CChem, CPEng. 

Dr. Shah's other interests include kayaking, mentoring engineering students and mobile photography. He lives currently in Long island , NY with his wife of 25 years Dr. Niloufar Faridi and their son Kian. They are active in the special needs community and  they enjoy participating in various philantropic community events.