Mary Kay O’Connor Safety & Risk Conference

Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) engineering students are continually advancing their skills by attending conferences. This October, three TAMU-CC students took an extra step by being the only students to attend the 2025 Mary Kay O’Connor Safety & Risk Conference (MKOSRC) in Memorial City, Tx.  

The conference invites researchers and industry professionals from around the world to discuss innovations and developments in safety processes. Because the MKOSRC symposium was geared toward industry professionals, not many students were in attendance. Even so, Mason Martinez ’26, Hayden Yeich ’27, and Brooke Stille ’29 had the unique opportunity not only to attend the conference, but also to watch their professor, Dr. Stewart Behie, present his research. 

Before becoming a professor of Industrial Engineering at TAMU-CC, Behie worked in the industry for companies such as OxyChem. He brings his years of experience to TAMU-CC and teaches courses including Industrial Safety Systems Engineering. At the MKOSRC symposium, Behie presented his research, which argues that many serious accidents within the engineering industry could be prevented if people quickly recognized that a situation is a non-routine operation (NRO) and required special handling. His paper proposes a clear, structured framework for identifying and managing NROs and demonstrates how dangerous it can be when operations continue in the “Zone of Uncertainty”.  

“As a student of Dr. Behie’s I sometimes forget about all the experience he has in the industry, but seeing him present his research to other industry experts was a great reminder of all the real-world experiences he has encountered. It was really cool to see my professor in that different setting,” Martinez said. 

Martinez and the other students were given valuable opportunities to see how the knowledge they have gained in Dr. Behie’s Industrial Safety Systems Engineering class applies beyond the classroom. The conference serves as a platform for sharing expertise, fostering collaboration, and strengthening safety practices across a wide range of industries — both now and in the future.