Separation, Purification, and Filtration Technologies Expert

Expertise

• Separation, fractionation, and purification technologies.
• Supercritical fluid technologies developing extraction and reactive systems in the alternative energy, neutraceutical, and semiconductor industries.
• Membrane separation.
• Phase equilibrium measurement and modeling at conditions up to high temperatures and pressures.
• Water filtration and purification.
• Point -of- use filters (e.g., Brita water filters).
• Development of CBRN (Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear) equipment using state-of-the-art technologies.

Experience

Undisclosed Company, 2007 - Present

• As an independent consultant, deliver high quality technical expertise, project management skills, and product launch experience to help both small and large companies execute on process and product development needs.
• Servicing a wide variety of industries such as foods, defense, neutraceuticals, plastics, semiconductors, paper, consumer products, and medical devices.
• Addressing ongoing process and product performance issues for a chemically altered biopolymer.
• Efforts leading to a substantial reduction in defects for this business critical product.
• Innovating with polysaccharides and enzymatic treatments to give a client access to a multimillion dollar opportunity.
• Directed the technical efforts on a million dollar government contract to develop and scale up a new chemical and biological protective garment for the Department of Homeland Security.
• This program involved working with government agencies and end users to develop and rank product requirements, evaluating available products and technologies to meet the requirements, and then managing a team of six internal technical experts and multiple subcontractors to develop and run pilot-scale trials for an optimal garment material.
• Evaluated membrane materials for advanced dangerous chemical removal applications.
• Integrated nanotube sheets and nanomaterials into textile systems and tested product efficacy for advanced protection.
• Developed antimicrobial coatings to kill viruses, spores, and bacteria that contact a material surface.
• Researched advanced extraction processes to concentrate therapeutic agents from natural sources for consumer use.
• Worked directly with federal government clients to build on existing relationships and deliver results that would lead to future contracts.

The Clorox Company, Pleasanton, CA, Scientist II, 2003 - 2005

• Innovated new products, executed product improvements, and implemented costs savings projects to meet consumer and customer needs for this consumer products industry leader.
• Executed research, led teams, and managed project timelines to drive business growth.
• Moved new products from bench to pilot and ultimately to production scale.
• Led a technical team in developing refrigerator filter products with the potential to grow the business unit over 20%.
• The team addressed complex challenges including part and injection mold development, part assembly, filter development, regulatory compliance, legal and patent infringement evaluation, high volume manufacturing scale-up, and packaging.
• Assumed role of overall project manager (overseeing marketing, sales, and technical teams) in a rapid response product development project required to meet time critical customer needs. This project filled a customer demand for new consumer preferred designs to increase sales and drive Brita promotion campaigns.
• Worked to develop color changing coatings that could be added to a variety of substrates as a performance indicator.
• Derived methods and executed programs (both experimental and finite element modeling) for determining flow patterns in fixed bed particulate filter systems. This independently initiated research pointed to methods that more efficiently use the filtration media so that a substantial cost saving (up to $1 million per year) was achievable with no negative impact on filter performance.
• Determined new capital and material costs to evaluate the financial viability of projects throughout the development process.
• Performed hands-on experimental work with various adsorption and ion exchange media (some agglomerated materials) for the removal of dangerous contaminants from drinking water.
• Experimented with nonwoven filtration media and membranes for particulate removal. This work addressed a major consumer dissatisfier, and was expected to increase sales of Brita's best- selling product by over 10%.
• Drove efforts in determining secondary suppliers and new primary suppliers for a wide range of products. In one case, found a new supplier vastly superior to the original by virtue of a 15% lower part cost and a 20% faster response time.
• Ensured that products and product claims were in compliance with regulatory agency mandates.
• Spearheaded efforts to determine the cause of failure in products.
• Performed safety audits in the corporate technology center.

Novellus Systems, San Jose, CA, Sr. Process Engineer, 2000 - 2002

• Worked closely with a diverse technical team to develop new processes and equipment for cleaning semiconductor substrates for a major semiconductor equipment manufacturer.
• Responsibilities included developing and implementing experimental plans, studying existing literature and patents related to our technical goals, protecting new discoveries through patents, and scaling up processes from lab to production scale.
• Developed a supercritical fluid process and chemistries for chemically extracting and oxidizing residues commonly found in semiconductor manufacturing. The bench scale process was transferred and validated on a production scale and proved viable even under the strict financial and technical constraints.
• Led experimental effort to measure phase behavior and equilibrium properties of cleaning chemical formulations.
• Extensive experience in surface analysis techniques related to films, coatings, and nanoscale surface features.
• Evaluated various chemicals and ensured that they were safe to use together as well as compatible with equipment materials of construction.
• Built internal capabilities for high pressure and temperature experiments.
• Recommended hardware design and process parameters to assure good mixing, proper flow dynamics, and reaction kinetics were achieved.
• Worked with outside vendors to assure chemicals for the clean process could be obtained in sufficient quantity at the right cost and quality.
• Gained expertise in deposition processes for producing films of metals, silicons, organosilicates, and polymers.
• Received six patents covering all aspects of the process and development work.

Clemson University, Clemson, SC, Research Associate, 1994 - 1999

• Under a Department of Energy grant, developed a simulation of an alternative fuel production process through advanced experimental and modeling research.
• Technical responsibilities included design and construction of apparatus for high temperature and pressure measurements, developing experimental methods for phase equilibrium and separation studies of hydrocarbon mixtures, and evaluating and altering models for physical property estimation to allow for accurate process simulation.
• Worked in a team to simulate a coal to liquid fuel plant in ASPEN process simulation software and evaluated proposed plant economics.
• Designed and constructed equipment for high temperature and pressure phase equilibrium and extraction experiments.
• Developed physical property and VLE models to assure process modeling efforts closely reflected realistic systems.
• Coordinated project objectives with researchers at other institutions.
• Trained and supervised undergraduate research assistants.

Honors & Publications

Credentials

• Analytical Skills: Extensive experience with chromatography (GC, HPLC, SFC), Dielectric constant (k) measurements (Hg probe), Film Thickness Measurements, Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Particle size measurement analyzers.
• Tools: MS Office, MS Project, Statistical Analysis Software, Lotus Notes, FORTRAN, Aspen Plus.

Academic and Professional Affiliations

• American Institute of Chemical Engineers - AIChE

Chemical Consultants Network

• Ben Franklin Technology Partners - Physical Science Advisory Committee

Publications and Patents

• Six publications in technical journals relating to separation technologies such as supercritical fluid extraction and membrane purification.
• Eight patents held for a variety of applications in the semiconductor and consumer product industries.

Education

• Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC
• M.S. Chemical Engineering, Manhattan College, Riverdale, NY
• B.S. Chemical Engineering, Manhattan College, Riverdale, NY