Elections for Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and the five Operating Committee positions will be held for positions to begin their 3-year term January 1, 2027. The current chairpersons and duties of the positions are briefly outlined below.

Self-nominations are due by September 4, 2026, and the slate of nominees will be posted October 2, 2026. AIChE will manage the secret ballot. Voting will take place October 30, 2026, through November 27, 2026, with results being announced December 4, 2026. Three-year tenures for all positions will begin January 1, 2027, and will end December 31, 2029.

 Current Chairpersons

 Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary

The Chair of DIERS shall provide overall leadership of the activities of DIERS and will also chair the Operating Committee. The Chair shall have responsibility for issuing technical meeting announcements. The Vice Chair shall act in the absence of the Chair. The Chair shall report directly to the Managing Board.

The Chair and Vice Chair, who shall be Senior Members or Fellows of AIChE and have broad recognition among AIChE members in two-phase relief system design, shall be elected by the DIERS membership for a three-year term and be approved by the President of AIChE in concert with the AIChE Executive Director. The Chair may be elected to a maximum of three consecutive three-year terms, unless otherwise approved by the CCPS Managing Board.

The Secretary of DIERS shall have the responsibility of issuing technical minutes of DIERS meetings and minutes of the Operating Committee Meetings.

 Operating Committee

The Operating Committee shall organize and lead the overall activities of DIERS under leadership of the DIERS Chair and Vice-Chair. These activities should be determined through an annual planning process with budgets approved by the CCPS Managing Board.

The Operating Committee shall be comprised of no fewer than seven committee members and not more than eleven, including:

• Past Chair, who assumes office upon completing a term as Chair
• Chair, who is elected by the membership
• Vice Chair and Secretary, who are elected by the membership
• DIERS Staff Director, and
• At least three and up to seven at-large committee members who are members of DIERS.

All members of the Operating Committee shall be Senior Members or Fellows of AIChE, except that up to two DIERS members who are members in good standing of another national engineering/professional organization of rank equivalent to AIChE Senior Member or Fellow may be elected as at-large members of the Operating Committee.

Election of the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and at-large Operating Committee members shall occur every three years. Election procedures shall follow standard procedure for AIChE Divisions, Forums, and Technical Entities.

 DIERS Operating Committee Duties and Responsibilities

• Past Chair
• Chair - Plan, Lead, Organize, and Control (Accountable)
• Vice-Chair - Act in the absence of the Chair
• Secretary - Issue technical minutes of DIERS meetings
• AIChE Staff Director - Duties in DIERS By-laws
• Education Chair - AIChE DIERS Training Courses, Education (e.g., SACHE), External Conference (e.g., CCPS Global Congress) Organization, Recognition, Globalization, and Service Activities
• Outreach Chair - Stewardship of DIERS outreach resources and responsible for the development and maintenance of the DIERS outreach programs
• Program Chair - Call for and Selection of Speakers, Preparation of Meeting Agenda, and Industrial Visits (during meetings)
• Membership/Finance Chair - Build DIERS membership, coordinate advertisement and promotion of DIERS organization; DIERS website coordinator; Monitor and manage membership annual dues
• Technology Projects Chair - Coordinate and maintain DIERS project queue with project managers and soliciting and facilitating new projects