AIHA Named Awards The AIHA Named Awards honor the outstanding achievements and lasting impact of occupational and environmental health and safety (OEHS) professionals at every career stage. These individuals demonstrate unwavering dedication to protecting and advancing worker health and safety in workplaces and communities worldwide. 2026 President’s Award for Distinguished Service to AIHA This award is the highest honor bestowed upon an AIHA member or team, recognizing distinguished service and exceptional contributions to the advancement of the OEHS profession. Recipients have demonstrated outstanding technical expertise and unwavering dedication to AIHA’s mission and vision. Selection is made by the AIHA President. John R. Mulhausen, PhD, CIH, CSP, FAIHA , and Michele M. Twilley, DrPh, CIH
Risk Analysis, and the International Society for Exposure Sciences. Within AIHA, Dr. Maberti has organized and presented numerous AIHA Connect sessions, authored multiple Synergist articles, and serves on the advisory board of the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Texas at Houston School of Public Health. She has been an active mentor across professional associations and academia and has volunteered as a translator for AIHA technical documents to support the association’s global reach. Darrah K. Sleeth, PhD, MPH, CIH, FAIHA science, with 55 peer-reviewed publications and 36 funded research grants. She directs the university’s wind tunnel laboratory and serves as Convener for ISO TC146/SC2/WG1, which is updating ISO Standard 7708, the foundational international standard defining respirable, thoracic, and inhalable sampler specifications. She is a founding member of the International Sampler Comparison Group and received the AIHA David L. Swift Best Aerosol Paper Award in 2017. At the University of Utah, Dr. Sleeth has chaired 55 master’s theses and 4 doctoral dissertations, with 43 students achieving peer-reviewed publications under her mentorship. She has also received teaching and mentoring awards on multiple occasions. Within AIHA, she served as President of the JOEH Board of Directors (2022–2024), chaired the Aerosol Technology Committee, and supervised 21 students who presented posters at AIHA Connect, five of whom received best poster recognition. She received the AIHA Leadership Award in 2014. Simon James Smith, PhD, FRSChem, FAIHA Darrah K. Sleeth, PhD, MPH, CIH, is a tenured full professor at the University of Utah and a recognized leader in occupational aerosol
he authored and led the rapid development of Canadian respirator performance standard CSA Z94.4.1 in ten months to address a critical national PPE shortage, earning the Canadian Standards Award of Excellence in 2022. Within AIHA, Dr. Smith has contributed for 33 years, serving as chair of the Respiratory Protection Committee (2011–2012) and delivering professional development courses in 2013, 2015, and 2021. As founder of the International Society for Respiratory Protection’s Education Committee, he led a training program that reached all primary care hospitals in Cambodia. He has received both the ISRP Hyatt and Revoir Awards, the society’s two highest honors, in recognition of his lifetime contributions to the field. John E. Snawder, PhD, DABT, FAIHA Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. As Co-Director of the NIOSH Center for Direct Reading and Sensor Technologies and leader of its Biomonitoring Research Team, he developed rapid immunochemical methods and point-of-care devices for detecting occupational chemical exposures in the field. His work has spanned oil and gas extraction, nanotechnology, and first responder environments, and he has been a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology since 1995, serving on its Board of Directors from 2008 to 2012. A long-time AIHA volunteer, Dr. Snawder chaired both the Oil and Gas Working Group and the Real- Time Detection Systems Committee, delivered numerous professional development courses, and authored AIHA publications. He also serves as a volunteer firefighter and emergency responder in his community, demonstrating a sustained commitment to worker safety that extends well beyond his professional role. John E. Snawder, PhD, DABT, has made significant contributions to occupational health through three decades of research at the National
doctoral research, he led teams for over 30 years in developing groundbreaking respiratory protection devices and standards. He pioneered new classes of CBRN filters for first responders, designed advanced respirator filters, and established Canada’s largest filter test laboratory. In addition to his technical achievements, Dr. Smith has advanced the profession through dedicated service and mentorship. He has held leadership roles in professional organizations, created vital training programs, and advised governments, industry, and professionals worldwide. As a founding member of the International Society for Respiratory Protection, he continues to shape the field. His development of the “Simon Says” database, cataloging known national and international respirator test standards, exemplifies his enduring impact. 2026 Donald E. Cummings Memorial Award for Outstanding OEHS Practice This award recognizes outstanding contributions to the knowledge and practice of the OEHS profession through demonstrated practical application of scientific knowledge, advances in the practice of Total Worker Health ® , expansion of the profession through active collaboration via alliances and partnerships, and the creation of tools applicable beyond the OEHS profession. 1970s as a plastics engineer, where he helped solve critical workplace exposure issues, sparking his lifelong dedication to industrial hygiene and risk assessment. He played a key role in developing foundational resources, including AIHA’s A Strategy for Occupational Exposure Assessment and the Risk Assessment Principles for Industrial Hygienists , and has been deeply involved with related committees since the 1990s. Mike has authored over 40 peer- reviewed articles, contributed to the development of exposure modeling software, and served on numerous panels for government agencies, trade associations, and AIHA volunteer groups. His collaborative work with organizations, including The LifeLine Group, and his influence on advancing Total Worker Health ® exemplify his broad impact on the profession. Michael A. Jayjock, PhD, FAIHA Mike Jayjock has been a prolific contributor to the field of occupational and environmental health and safety (OEHS) for decades. His career began in the
Dr. Mulhausen and Dr. Twilley are recognized for their work on the Advancing OEHS Science and Practice through four key initiatives. Their efforts have significantly furthered AIHA’s mission to empower professionals to protect workers and communities from occupational and environmental hazards using the application of scientific knowledge.
2026 Edward J. Baier Technical Achievement Award
This award recognizes an individual whose technical accomplishments have made a substantial, leading- edge contribution to the field of OEHS through technical expertise, innovations, research, scientific advancements, and interaction with or influence on other scientific disciplines. Simon J. Smith, PhD
Simon James Smith, PhD, FRSChem, has spent over 40 years advancing the science and standards of respiratory protection, with
particular focus on sorbent filter development and CBRN respirator design. His first-responder CBRN filters, developed in the late 1990s before dedicated standards existed, served as benchmarks in the development of NIOSH CBRN respirator standards and remain in production today. During COVID-19,
Simon J. Smith is recognized as one of the most influential scientists in respiratory protection from 1985 to 2025. After four years of post-
AIHA Connect 2026
AIHA Connect 2026
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