Welch has co-authored texts on aluminum smelting and has a lifetime of experience between industrial application, research, and development on topics of importance to improving smelter performance, and academic and industrial teaching and training. He has also co-authored a significant number of papers spanning almost all areas of importance to aluminum smelting technology. A 2015 TMS Fellow, Welch is also the 2014 recipient of the James Douglas Gold Medal from the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME), among many other awards and honors.