Professor of Civil/Environmental Engineering of University of Southern California
Najmedin Meshkati is on the Governance Board of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, and a tenured Professor of Engineering and International Relations at the University of Southern California (USC). With more than three decades worth of research experience on reducing risk and enhancing the reliability of complex technological systems, in systems ranging from nuclear power to aviation, petrochemical, and transportation, Meshkati is an expert on safety culture and the human factors that can help prevent disasters.
He has authored numerous books, as well as articles and commentaries on public policy and risk for national and international newspapers and magazines including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and he has taught in USC’s internationally renowned Aviation Safety and Security Program.
Meshkati’s expertise on safety has been valued at the highest levels of government. He has been appointed Senior Science and Engineering Advisor and Office of Science and Technology Advisor to the Secretary of State in Washington, DC. His knowledge has also been translated to the healthcare industry, where he is on the Board of Directors of the Center for Transforming Healthcare, and he serves as a Commissioner of the Joint Commission, a nonprofit organization that accredits and certifies nearly 21,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the United States and operates in 92 countries around the world.