chemistry

Trish Kerin

Trish Kerin is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Trish Kerin rather than just read about it. In short: Trish Kerin is an Australian safety expert, engineer, and was director of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), science communicator, and one of the Science Technology Australia, Superstars of STEM 2023–2024 cohort. Education Kerin graduated with honours in mechanical engineering at RMIT in 1994.

Key takeaways

Trish Kerin belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Trish Kerin to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Trish Kerin from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Trish Kerin is an Australian safety expert, engineer, and was director of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), science communicator, and one of the Science Technology Australia, Superstars of STEM 2023–2024 cohort.

Education Kerin graduated with honours in mechanical engineering at RMIT in 1994. Following graduation, Kerin worked for several years in project management, operational and safety roles for the gas, chemical and oil industries.

Career Kerin has been a board member of the Australian National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority. She is a Chartered Engineer, registered Professional Process Safety Engineer, as well as a Fellow of IChemE, Engineers Australia and a senior member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Kerin also holds a diploma in OHS, as well as a Master of Leadership and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Kerin is the director of the IChemE Safety Centre, and leads a team that helps organisations share and learn about process safety. Kerin uses her engineering experience and leadership to help organisations improve process safety outcomes.

Kerin's work involves safety and risk minimisation in the workplace. She commented, in The Chemical Engineer publication,“People have a right to stay safe, no matter where they are. As chemical engineers address our global challenges and pivot our technologies to deliver a low-carbon future, all those engaged in process safety will be a crucial component in minimising the risk of operating in new fields.”

Publications Kerin is the author of two books, "The Platypus Philosophy", on how to identify and manage weak signals, in safety processing. The second book is "Lets talk about your leadership", learning through the art of storytelling. Select peer-reviewed publications include: Kerin, T. (2016) The evolution of process safety standards and legislation following landmark events—what have we learnt? Process Safety Progress 35 (2), 165–170–17. Kerin, T. (2018) Accounting for hindsight bias: improving learning through interactive case studies. Loss Prevention Bulletin. 264: 17. Kerin, T. (2020) Taming the wild river rapids: How process safety can apply outside the process industries. Process safety progress 39 (1), e12088.

Media Kerin was interviewed for Occham's Razor, on the ABC, about chemical safety and improving safety processes, with Tegan Taylor. They discussed how "everyone has a right to be safe at work", and Kerin shared a creative way to encourage spotting warning signs early, saving mistakes ahead of time. Kerin also hosts a podcast with Endeavour Business Media's Chemical Processing Magazine called "Process Safety with Trish and Traci", as well as regular column called "Stay Safe".

Awards 2023-2024 – Science Technology Australia, Superstars of STEM. 2022 – ASBPE Bronze Award. 2022 – Leader of the Year award from Women in Safety in 2022. 2018 – Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Centre Trevor Kletz Merit award.

References

External links Meet the 60 women named Superstars of STEM in 2022 – Women's Agenda article

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Trish Kerin

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Trish Kerin claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Trish Kerin before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Trish Kerin ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Trish Kerin

In research: Trish Kerin appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Trish Kerin in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Trish Kerin is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Australian chemical engineers, Fellows of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, Living people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Trish Kerin outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Trish Kerin in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Trish Kerin means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Trish Kerin out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Trish Kerin in simple terms?

Why does Trish Kerin matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Trish Kerin?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Trish Kerin.