Raj Shah has become the first person to receive both the prestigious AOCS Fellowship and the Golden Grease Gun Award in the same year.

At the American Oil Chemists' Society (AOCS) 2024 annual meeting in Montreal, Dr. Raj Shah, director of Koehler Instrument Company in New York, was recognized as a Fellow, one of the highest honors awarded by the society.

This fellowship is given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the areas of oils, fats, and surfactants, including achievements in research, industry advancements, leadership, and education. The AOCS aims to advance the science and technology of oils and related materials for global betterment.

In a message read at the event, Shah expressed deep appreciation for his mentors and colleagues, notably highlighting Dr. Sevim Erhan, his mentor for over 30 years. Erhan accepted the award on Shah’s behalf, as he was unable to attend.

This award is one of several accolades Shah has received this year. Recently, he was honored with the Clarence E. Earle Memorial Award at the National Lubricating Grease Institute (NLGI) annual meeting in Toronto. This award was presented in recognition of his contributions to the technical literature on lubricating grease, especially his co-editing of the Grease Guidebook, a vital resource for industry experts.

Shah also received the Golden Grease Gun Award, marking him as the first person to achieve both distinctions in a single year. In 2024, he was also elevated to Fellow status at the Institute of Physics, the Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Institute of Measurement and Control.

Furthermore, Shah holds the distinguished title of Chartered Petroleum Engineer, granted by the Energy Institute, an honor held by only seven people in the U.S. His career in petroleum testing laboratory instrumentation includes over 675 publications, with numerous recognitions from ASTM International.

Shah, an esteemed alumnus of the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai, earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Penn State University.