Professor Shah celebrates decades of success
Process technology professor G.C. Shah has been teaching at San Jacinto College since 1992. Among his most significant accomplishments? Seeing his students strive through hard work and dedication, to succeed.
“When I visit plants, I often run into supervisors, shift leaders, and operators who were once my students,” Shah said. “This makes me extremely happy and so proud to be a part of their success story.”
Shah’s story spans a long career in the petrochemical field. He holds several master’s degrees which include - chemical engineering, process control, along with instrumentation. Throughout his career, he has worked in many areas across the industry, including refining, and served as a consultant on instrumentation, fire protection, and environmental health and safety.
“Safety is a huge part of operating in the petrochemical industry,” Shah said. “I have seen incidents firsthand that impact entire communities.”
According to Shah, one of the best ways to ensure safety is having open communication and teamwork.
“In my previous work, we had a safety culture that thrived on working together,” he said. “Our job was to get things back to operating safely and without unnecessary delays. We were able to do so because we didn’t let bureaucracy get in the way. I strongly believe teamwork and trust can reward us with stellar safety performance — in any place, at any time.”
Shah passes this teamwork emphasis to his students. In April 2023, he led two student teams to win first and second place at the 2023 North American Process Technology Alliance Troubleshooting Skills Competition.
Process technology alumnus Austin Self says Shah’s thoroughness helped prepare their team for the win.
“Mr. Shah would look at every possible unit, hypothesize every upset, and send us his notes,” Self said. “We were constantly deep diving into every possible failure or ‘what if.’ We practiced on the modules and watched YouTube videos on the process. We didn’t leave any stone unturned.”
Shah sees the win as a group effort among students, faculty, and staff.
I am deeply grateful to my leaders and colleagues. It is their support and my team’s enthusiasm that helped us win,” he said. “Without this, we would not have been successful. I do not have adequate words to express my gratitude to everyone!
With over 30 years of teaching under his belt, Shah takes pride in the professional relationships he’s built over the course of his teaching career.
“I find great inspiration from the fine staff, faculty, and support partners at San Jac,” he said. “I have been fortunate to have worked with folks in operations and maintenance. They treat me like their family. We are all in this together — we are one team.”
To learn more about the process technology program at San Jac, visit https://sanjac.edu/programs/areas-of-study/manufacturing/process-tech.
