The International Society of Automation (ISA) is celebrating 80 years of advancing the field of automation. It hardly seems like 5 years have passed since InTech magazine (the predecessor of Automation.com Monthly ) celebrated the society’s diamond anniversary [link to April 2020 issue to come]. A lot has changed, but the important things remain the same. Automation depends on people, and ISA gathers attracts thousands of engineers, technicians and managers interested in Setting the Standard for AutomationTM.
As ISA celebrates 80 years of advancing automation, and Automation.com marks 25 years of connecting our industry, it’s the perfect time to celebrate the people who make up the society. One place ISA will be doing that is at our annual ISA Automation Summit and Expo , being held this month at the Disney Coronado Springs Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. There, a little Disney magic will help automation professionals, technical experts, and solution providers celebrate achievements, make new connections and gain valuable knowledge.
Automation.com is celebrating individual ISA members by telling their ISA stories. We asked members to share their personal experiences with ISA people, activities and standards. Of the 28 submissions we received, we have chosen five to be the first in our “My ISA Story” series. Read their full stories through the links provided.
Krystal LaBruna
Krystal LaBruna’s story is titled “From Shrimp Boil to Section President.”
She tells how attending a section event led her to meet other professionals and get involved as the section membership chair. “One of the highlights during this time was traveling to Colorado Springs for the Automation Leadership Conference in 2023, which was my first time seeing ISA at a national level. Between the technical sessions, the career development talks and a volunteer workshop full of fresh ideas, I returned energized thinking about what we could do in Wilmington…. I was even able to reconnect with an engineer whom I originally met while working on my first-ever project in the industry.” Krystal is now the Secretary/President-Elect of the ISA Wilmington (Delaware) Section.
“When I think about why ISA matters to me, it’s simple,” says Krystal. “It’s where my world of automation and my world of community come together. ISA develops the standards I use every day, but it also gives me a space to grow, learn and give back.”
Harikrishna Rao (Hari) Mohan Rao
The story from Harikrishna Rao (Hari) Mohan Rao is titled “Finding Belonging, Purpose and Leadership in Automation.” Hari is a student member of the University of Alberta ISA Edmonton Section and he was one of the four student members of ISA from around the world selected to participate in the same 2023 Automation Leadership Conference in Colorado. “It wasn’t just an event—it felt like home,” said Hari. “It gave me something I had been seeking during the often-isolating journey of graduate school: a sense of belonging.
Meeting automation professionals from across the world, all driven by a shared passion for advancing the field, was both inspiring and grounding.” Soon after, Hari was asked to consider reviving the dormant ISA Student Section at the University of Alberta. He took on the challenge and succeeded. The section grew to more than 40 members and put on the first ISA on-campus event in more than four years. “That night, I saw how ISA could truly bridge students, academia and industry,” he said.
“For me, the people I have met along the way have been the greatest prize. They are the heart of ISA, and they remind me that while technology may define what we do, it is people and community that define who we are,” Hari said.
Victor Wegelin
Victor Wegelin is a person many ISA members and customers have had the privilege to meet. His story is titled “Reducing Environmental Pollution and Operating Costs with ISA Standards and Procedures.” Victor is an ISA Fellow (2005) and ISA Life Member as well as a licensed professional Control Systems Engineer for the state of California. Victor’s 45 years of ISA involvement started with teaching ISA courses—specifically, TS06 - IT and OT Survival Basics for I & C Personnel and TS12 – IT and OT Advanced Skills for I & C Personnel. Victor was also a member of the first ISA99 committee, which established industrial cybersecurity standards that eventually evolved into the ISA/IEC 62443 series of standards.
He subsequently developed and taught courses for the ISA Industrial Cybersecurity Certificate Program. Victor was an ISA instructor while helping his clients upgrade their control system networks. “Teaching these courses many times throughout the US and worldwide leads to business opportunities to help clients upgrade their control system networks to improve plant performance, safety and security, while reducing operating costs,” he said. Victor’s designation as a Fellow recognized the design, development and implementation of advanced control and networking systems for the process and aerospace industries.
Edwin Guevara Aleman
Edwin Guevara Aleman’s story is titled “Creating a Better World Through Automation,” and it definitely highlights the global reach of ISA. Edwin is a former ISA El Salvador Section President and is now the ISA Latin America and the Caribbean District (LA&C) District Chair. Edwin joined ISA in 2008, the same year he founded his system integration company. Ten years later, he was a board member at the ISA El Salvador Section and was recognized as an ISA senior member. In 2018, “the pandemic invited me to join my first ISA international event: the ISA IIoT and Smart Manufacturing Virtual Conference in Brazil.
Since this virtual event was not held in the USA, I finally realized that ISA is a worldwide organization,” he said. “In 2025, I achieved another great milestone: I was able to attend my first in-person international ISA event: The ISA OT Cybersecurity Summit in Brussels, Belgium…. The level of each technical presentation was impressive. Now I want to complete all four certificates and earn the ISA/IEC 62443 Cybersecurity Expert certificate.”
Kamalanathan Mani
Kamalanathan Mani’s story is titled “Low-Cost Automation, High Impact.” Kamalanathan is an ISA Senior member and Certified Automation Professional (CAP) with more than 15 years’ experience in oil and gas (LNG), OEM equipment, biotech and pharma supporting projects for National Grid, SI Group, Eastman Chemical, ENCON Evaporators and teams at Bristol Myers Squibb (now Lotte Biologics at that site), Lonza and Moderna. “If there’s a single throughline in my work, it’s discipline,” Kamalanathan said. “When a plant is on the line, I lean on standards before I write a line of code.
ISA‑5.1 gives me clarity on P&IDs. ISA‑18 anchors my alarm philosophy. ISA‑106 shapes procedural automation so startups and shutdowns are predictable. And ISA/IEC 62443 keeps cybersecurity in view as we connect more systems.
Those standards turn good judgment into repeatable practice.” “ISA has been my proving ground as well as my guide,” Kamalanathan said. “Earning the ISA Senior member grade and the CAP credential pushed me to demonstrate breadth across the full automation lifecycle—from feasibility and definition to design, development, deployment and operations/maintenance. “CAP isn’t easy; it demands real depth across process control, instrumentation, systems integration, industrial networks, and safety and reliability.
Volunteering around CAP content has been my way of giving back—helping keep the bar high for the next generation.”
Om Mandhane
Om Mandhane’s story is titled “From Seventh Place to Scholarship Winner.”
“It all began on a quiet morning in my second year of college at VESIT, Mumbai, when I stumbled into a workshop hosted by the ISA student section,” Om said. “What I didn’t realize was that this step, seemingly ordinary, was the beginning of a journey that would shape not only my technical skills but also my friendships, confidence and outlook on what it truly means to be part of a community.” Much later, when he and two friends were each awarded a $2,000 scholarship, Om remembers “reading the congratulatory letter from ISA President Scott Reynolds over and over, hardly believing it was real. For me, it wasn’t about the money—it was about recognition. It was proof that our journey, with all its ups and downs, mattered.
ISA had seen the effort, the learning, and the perseverance and decided it was worthy of acknowledgment.” Om has now entered the final year for his bachelor’s degree in automation and robotics—and his role has shifted. He is now mentoring juniors, guiding them for competitions like the Automation Games, and leading workshops. “I see the same spark in their eyes that I had when I first opened LabVIEW or touched a PLC board,” he said.
“And I realize the legacy of ISA is exactly that—passing the torch, building a community where every student feels supported, challenged and inspired.”
Find your people
Congratulations to these fine examples of the hundreds of people who make up ISA. People are the heart and engine of the Society, so go find your people—in a local section, while volunteering on a standards committee, or while chatting with other automation professionals. You can talk with others from around the world at ISA events or through the ISA Connect Forums. These ISA-members-only spaces let you dive deep into technical discussions and get tough questions answered. Join the conversation on ISA Connect .
This column also appears in Automation.com's 2nd Annual Cybersecurity Trends Report, published in October 2025.